Author Versus Character

Outline and Notes

Chapter Five





Author:
‘The night passes quietly. Character sleeps soundly and wakes up at first light. Rooster crows. Climbs down from the hay loft and stretches, pleased to see that the fog of the night before has cleared and he can now see the town -- a couple dozen buildings, including a travelers’ inn. He'd found refuge in their stable. Grateful for the chance to sleep so comfortably --‘

Character:
You know, I've been quiet and gone along with you for the previous four chapters without a complaint, but this is too much. I've spent six days sleeping on leaves, huddled by a tree in the rain, and half-drowned and miserable. And now you think leeping in a hay pile is comfortable! I tossed and turned all night. Hay isn't down feathers, you know -- it's dried twigs. They stab. And what the hell is this? (holds up something between his fingers)

Author:
(peers closely) Looks like a needle to me.

Character:
Right. What perverted person would put a needle in a pile of hay? It jabbed me.

Author:
Did it? (looks hopefully at the needle, then glances at research books) Is it rusty? Tetanus... severe muscle spasms, also called lockjaw... that might be interesting. I hadn't thought of an illness like that, before the shots and everything. Let me see it.

Character:
See what?

Author:
The needle!

Character:
(brushing hands) What needle? There's no needle here. Can't be. This is pre-industrial. No needle... and no tetanus.

Author:
(reluctantly puts aside the books) Oh well. Okay, where were we?

Character:
New day, no fog, etc.

Author:
Right. Okay. ‘Character makes his way through the stable yard and past the open door to the inn's kitchen --‘

Character:
‘His stomach growling --‘

Author:
If you're hungry, eat the journey bread in your pocket.

Character:
Are you joking? That stuff's so hard I could chip rocks with it. A caveman with this journey bread could have ruled the world.

Author:
‘Character walks past the door and out into the street where he sees something that makes him shut up and forget everything else. There, on the hill top overlooking the village, is the black stone castle that has haunted his dreams for the last five years! He anxiously turns that way, heading toward the distant castle gate --‘

Character:
Are you crazy? Or do you just think I'm stupid?

Author:
What's the problem now? That's the castle -- your goal in sight --

Character:
Yeah, the castle. Those dreams would be the ones where I wake up in a cold sweat, screaming because the castle sucked me in and buried me alive. And now you expect me to blithely head straight up and walk in? To hell with that. I'm heading the opposite way on this road, just as fast as I can --

Author:
Back toward the toll gate and the guards you so carefully avoided last night? Oh, good plan.

Character:
Damn. I forgot. What's to the right?

Author:
‘A fetid swamp still curling with the last tendrils of the fog from the night before. It must once have been part of a lake and port. Character can even make out the masts of ships buried in the muck, vines twining up across tattled sails.... and the bleached bones of men, trapped within those ropes of green, as though the plants had suddenly reached out and grabbed them --‘

Character:
I get the idea. Thank you so much for another new level of nightmare to add to my others. What's to the left?

Author:
‘To the east’ -- left for Characters not paying attention to where they are --
‘he can see a few more buildings, some of them obviously abandoned. Beyond that
are rocky fields and small plots of dying plants. Less than a mile away is the
shadow of the forest --‘

Character:
Excellent! Oh, and may I say that five chapters is a bit long to be waiting for a name?

Author:
I want it to be the right name, the perfect name. I'll know it when I see it.

Character:
Fine. Whatever. ‘Character casts one worried look at the brooding black castle and sets off on foot past the falling buildings and into the fields --‘

Author:
‘Almost immediately, Character hears the baying of dogs and looks worriedly toward the castle. He can see the pack that is pacing beneath the walls, he thinks waiting for the morning meal. But now they've seen him moving in the empty land below --‘

Character:
Shit.

Author:
Don't worry. They're only poodles.

Character:
A pack of poodles? Toy? Miniature? Standard?

Author:
A mix. And actually they're only half poodle.

Character:
(eyeing them cautiously and trying to guess if he can reach the forest and get away from them) Half poodle and half what?

Author:
Wolf.

Character:
(stops and shakes head) Wolves. You crossed poodles and wolves. And the reason was...?

Author:
Wild killers, less fur to clean up. ‘They have spotted Character, and the woodle pooves bay -- or maybe yip -- again.’

Character:
Woodle pooves. I'm getting an image of the dogs here.... oh man, that's just wrong.

Author:
Are you trying for the trees or not?

Character:
Can I make it?

Author:
Probably. They're kind of inbred woodle pooves. Not entirely bright.

Character:
Okay then. Better than the castle.

Author:
‘Character jogs along the broken path between the rocks as the woodle pooves gather at the top of the hill. He's more than halfway to the cursed forest before they --‘

Character:
(stops) Cursed forest? You didn't say anything about the forest being cursed!

Author:
Let's see: Deadly swamp, dying fields, big brooding black castle.... of course the forest is cursed. Duh.

Character:
Good point. My mistake. What kind of curse?

Author:
(flips through notes) ‘A century ago a major battle was fought at the village. A mage-king, seeing all about to be lost, cast a desperate spell to save his throne. He brought not only the plants of the lake but also the trees into the battle. They won, but unfortunately, the trees developed a taste for blood. They on't kill you... well, not right away.’ You can escape in a couple years. You won't be sane, of course, but I think you might be an interesting character if you were insane.

Character:
I don't need a cursed forest of vampire trees to drive me crazy. I've got you. ‘Character, sensing something evil from the forest -- or maybe not wanting to risk his luck with the woodle pooves -- turns around and hurries back to the village.’

Author:
‘Character soon reaches the street and turns toward the castle.’

Character:
No.

Author:
What do you mean no? You've found out there is no other direction. Now start up for the castle --

Character:
I am not going to that frigging castle!

Author:
Do you know how long I've been setting this moment up? That castle has been in your dreams --

Character:
Nightmares --

Author:
For five years! You’ve been pursuing it since you came of age!

Character:
I had dreams about Daisy from the Bread and Barrel for ten years! Why couldn't I pursue her instead?

Author:
This isn't that kind of book!

Character:
Like I haven't noticed!

Author:
‘Character, reluctantly realizing he has no choice, and that this is his destiny, heads for --‘

Character:
The privy. It has to be around here by the inn somewhere.

Author:
You're just putting off the inevitable.

Character:
Where is the privy? Or we're going to have something else inevitable happen.

Author:
‘The privy is at the opposite side of the stable. Character can see the swarms of flies and flinches at the stench as he nears --‘

Character:
Bullshit.

Author:
I don't think bulls have anything to do with this problem.

Character:
Look, this is stupid. The world has magic. The first thing they're going to use it for is to fix the stink from the outhouse! ‘Character heads for the privy, nothing the faint scent of lilacs and roses. Butterflies dance in the air.’

Author:
‘As he slips in and closes the door --‘

Character:
A little privacy, if you don't mind. Out.

Author:
...

Author:
...

Author:
...

Character steps back out, looking toward the door to the kitchen again.

Author:
Too bad you don't have any money.

Character digs into jacket and pulls out shiny silver coin.

Author:
You've been holding out on me.

Character:
I got it off one of those five bandits who tried to kill me back in Chapter Three. You know, right before the bridge -- the one that had borne the weight of a thousand peasants and their wagons -- gave way under me for no apparent reason and I nearly drowned.

Author:
Yeah, but you lost the bandits who were trying to kill you.

Character:
I'm going for breakfast. Then I'm going to lay low for the rest of the day and escape the way I got in. Don't even bother to say anything. ‘Character goes in and orders food, has a quiet leisurely meal, lingering over bread and honey. The local serving wench isn't bad looking, either. She reminds him of Daisy, the girl he left behind. They might have a pleasant day together. He finishes up the food, pushing away the plate --‘

Author:
‘And the guards, having been relieved of their posts at the gate, come in for their own breakfast. They immediately spot Character and know he's a stranger who didn't come through their gate. Worse, though, is that they recognize him.’

Character:
What? I've never been here! They can't --

Author:
‘The guards fall on him, and he's soon beaten to his knees --‘

Character:
Beaten? But -- but --

Loter, Captain of the Guard:
Another one! You look like your great-grandfather, boy! We're not going to have any more mad mage-kings!

Selis, Another Guard:
I didn't think that dream crap would work, but hell, what is this? Fifteen of them now? Up boy.

Author:
‘Selis grabs Character by the arm and hoists him to his feet, taking him outside. Captain Loter loops a rope around his arms and ties it to his saddle --‘

Character:
But --

Author:
‘Loter kicks his horse into a trot, heading toward the castle gate, and only barely slows when Character stumbles and falls, dragged along the rough road. Bloody, bruised and panting, Character gets back to his feet and tries to jog along behind the horse.’

Character:
Look, it doesn't have to be like this --

Author:
I gave you the chance to come here quietly. You really shouldn't argue with your author. It just gives me more time to come up with something more interesting to do.

Character:
Maybe the woodle pooves wouldn't be so bad --

Author:
‘The group slips through the gate and into the shadows of a courtyard where it seems the sun never reaches. People scurry for the shadows and hide at their approach. Somewhere a man bellows in rage. Loter doesn't pause, as though the place unsettles him. The three head straight into the building -- cold, damp walls, mold in corners, the sounds of rats running. Salis pushes open a door and the head down the first set of stairs, then another... down and down and farther until it seems...’

Character:
‘The castle has swallowed him alive.’ Yeah, I get it.

Author:
‘Finally they reach a hall lit by a flickering torch, obviously magically fueled because the cobwebs are so thick that no one could have been down this way in a long time. Salis grimaces and uses his sword to cut through them. Decay and death scent the air, and the only sound is hysterical crying from behind a door they pass. "Can I go home now? Please, can I go home?" Loter stops at another door and nods. Salis pries up the rusted metal bar.’

Character:
I hope he gets tetanus.

Author:
‘The door comes open with a loud wail of unused hinges and Loter shoves Character inside and down to his knees again.’

Loter:
What's your name, boy? We need it for the records.

Character looks plaintively at author.

Author grabs name books.

Guards, anxious to get out of this hell hole,
look at author.

Author:
Yes, fine. Right. Okay! I found the name: Varyn!

Character:
(looks back at the guard) My name is Varyn.

Loter:
We'll write it in the book, Barren --

Character:
No, no. Varyn, with a V and a --

Author:
‘The guards slam the door closed. Varyn can hear the bar dropping into place and the guards hurrying away, and the hysterical whisper of someone else: "Can I go home now? Can I go home now?" Varyn leans back, ignoring blood, scrapes and bruises. He knows -- having seen the cobwebs -- that no one is going to come back for a long, long time.’

Varyn:
(bangs head on door a couple times) This is great. Wonderful. Do you have any clue how you're going to get me back out of here?

Author:
Well... Do you still have that journey bread?

Hello?

Well, yes, I have been busy. And crazed. Moving from one computer to another has been more trouble than I expected, but I'm mostly getting it sorted around. I can't believe, however, that it's nearly the middle of the month. Do you have any clue how much work I have to do before November 1? I have a list of about 12 real things that need to be done. I finally got one of them completed yesterday.

I even read Holly's post where she tagged me -- and then forgot about it. Just too damned busy, and not having much fun at all. But I have November coming up, so I have something to look forward to, at least.

Other pieces are falling together, at least. I have contracts in hand for my copyeditors, but I'm trying to get a final clarification on how this works from Deron. Then those go out with the next three projects and all is well there until January.

I have most of the outline for my main NaNo book. I'm happy with it, too. I think it's going to be a fun book to write.

I am trying to get Vision put together. Last issue of the year -- #30! I would like to have something on NaNo, but I'll probably have to write it myself since I didn't think to put out a request before now. The big problem at the moment is that the articles are spread between two machines. Many of them are already copyedited. I'm just having a hellish time pulling it all together.

Ada Nish Pura is within 100 pages of completion. I want to just sit down and work with it, and get it done, let it sit one more time -- too many changes to trust it just to go off without another rest and read, and probably an edit. But I feel good about it.

I want to send Muse to someone for submission... and I can't find a place. I just can't. I keep trying to look, and I bounce off of everything, and I'm not even certain what sort of publisher or agent I should be looking for -- and quite honestly it's making me very frustrated and crazy. I shouldn't write anything that isn't sf or fantasy.

I have 183 points on my outline for Kat Among the Pigeons. I want a 100k book out of this, and that's just not enough to get me there. That would be about 550 words per 'point' which... well, that's not really that bad, I guess. I would prefer to get something down to about 300 words per point -- really easy to make those words and the writing flies. But that would mean about 335 points, and I just don't see that happening -- not unless I find an entire subthread hiding in the story somewhere. This is a first person POV, too, so I'm not going to be adding in secondary characters with their own chapters. I could -- I've seen some nice work switching between first and third lately -- but I'm not comfortable with it. Besides, there are no characters who would add to the story, since it's staying pretty tight to what Kat is doing.

Gah. I don't have a connection to the Internet.

I think I'll just go do some work now. And keep a copy of this in my files so I don't have to type it up again.

The Truth in Writing

There have been variations on this question going around lately. There are several levels and types of truth. I'm going to deal with only one type here and that's about the 'truth' of writing realistically. It's all pretty obvious stuff. Most of you are just going to nod and say it's obvious. But sometimes I write this stuff for myself because I need the reminders that I say to others.

The question is what you owe the reader.

You don't owe the reader anything because in this case 'the reader' is a mythical creature that writers imagine reading their books, nodding at every nuance, thrilled with ever scene, and following the plot and the characters with understanding and excitement. That reader does not exist and never will, no matter how hard you work on your novel. There are, instead, groups of people who like your work to varying degrees. Some will love the stories, and they are closest to this 'mythical reader,' although there will still be times when they let you know that something just didn't work right for them. However, the majority of readers will like this part but dislike that part; some will think you were too harsh on your characters, and others who think you didn't put your characters through nearly enough hell.

Some will tell you that your world was too simple, and others will tell you that you spent too much time on the details and not enough on the plot and characters.

You cannot please everyone. We know this on one level, and yet people still sometimes look at the idea of owing the reader as though if you are 'truthful enough' you will somehow win them all over and no one will ever have reason to complain.

It doesn't work that way. People who have never even read your books will complain about your writing skills. Plots and characters that you love will be trite and childish to others. That's all right. Get used to the idea. You are not writing for them. Don't try to adapt your work for someone who complains about the very things you love.

You owe nothing to that reader or to the mythical reader.

However, there is one reader for whom you absolute have to write the best book, not skimp on any of the emotional levels, or turn aside from the hard decisions your characters have to make. You have to do the absolute best for this person, who is your first reader.

That first reader is you.

Many of us fail ourselves on some level because we don't try hard enough. I often fail because I don't put enough depth on paper compared to what I see in my mind. It is an easy laziness, and I try to overcome it as best I can.

Tamara Siler Jones is one hell of a writer. I've read her first book, Ghosts in the Snow. The depth of her world is amazing. Everything is 'real' in ways that are extremely difficult to achieve. My only problem with her books (and I've told her this) is that I don't read horror, and that's what she's written on one important level. I don't get a shivery reaction to horror -- most of the time I either get a 'shrug' or a 'yuck.' That made reading Tamara's first book an interesting experience for me because I was in absolute awe of the writing and the world, but parts that others talked about didn't catch me the way they did for most of her readers. It's just not my type of book. If I didn't know her through FM I wouldn't have read it, and that would have been my loss, over all.

Holly Lisle is another hell of a writer, but with a completely different style. Looking at Midnight Rain in comparison to Tamara's book is interesting. There is terror in Midnight Rain, but not horror. There are scenes of blood and gore, but they are not the key parts of the plot like Tamara's book. There are even ghosts, and far more dangerous than those in Tamara's book.

Holly's world building is less obvious, mostly because the story takes place in modern day and she doesn't have to create the entire structure of society and build the castle floor by floor. What she does show us is easily woven into the plot and understandable without much extra because we know places like these. She walks us through a world with enough detail that we are never lost in it.

But if I didn't know Holly, I wouldn't have read this book either. Romantic suspense is not a genre I usually look at, either. Romance novels in general just don't interest me.

If I hadn't read this book, however, that would have also been my loss. This was another one that I really enjoyed. Yes, I know that means there are likely thousands of books out there that I would enjoy if I gave them a try, but despite having liked these two, I'm still not interested enough in the genres of horror or romance to look for much more.

Both of these writers don't pull any punches with the truth when it comes to writing, and comparing the two shows that there are many ways in which you can approach telling a story. Some of the basic elements are the same -- crazed killer, ghosts -- but the way in which the novels turn on these things is completely different.

What I mean to point out is that you can be truthful with your readers in different ways. Murder need not be about gore, and just because one writer creates a scene that shows every gruesome detail to show a murder doesn't mean that, for instance, a simple dead body with a splattering of blood can't be as effective in the right story.

Write what you want to tell, not what someone else has done for her story, especially if it doesn't fit yours. You need to be truthful with yourself about what is needed for your story. Would a scene like one of Tamara's fit into your book, or would it stand out and draw attention more because it is so different rather than being 'truthful' about the murder scene? There is at least one such scene in Holly's book as well, but we are led up to it in ways that make it a natural step in the story process. It shocks the reader, and raises the sudden level of terror. Tamara's murder scenes are a mirror of her murderer, filled with clues that include the 'gore' itself. But her novel is not about gore, and these scenes aren't as shocking after the first one. They are detailed, graphic examinations of brutal murders and they are done to a purpose and for a purpose.

Use the tools needed for description wisely, but don't do it to mimic. Find your own path that may be like one or the other, or neither. And it may -- and should -- change from book to book. (Though probably not within a series, of course.)

Those are the truths you owe to any reader -- to be yourself and write in your own way. Don't write things that you don't like just because someone else said that you aren't 'truthful enough.' At the same time, though, you can't be lazy and skip things just because it's easier.

Be truthful in what you're doing. Be truthful in what you want to create and what readers you want to draw.

Be truthful to yourself about what you want this story to do and learn the best ways to do it.

Things....

Sunset on the road

As many of you hanging around FM have seen, we're going to a new chat system. It's not something I really wanted to do, but it's what we really don't have a choice. Margaret Fisk has done a wonderful job of working with the one that is 'the choice.' We are 99% certain this is the one we'll be going to.

Some people are going to have problems with the new chat. We're testing it out right now and seeing what accommodations we can make for different people with problems. The great thing is that this chat has different skins, and you'll have a better chance of finding something that works for you for the 'look' but there is only so much that can be done with the actual set up.

The chat will likely not work at all for some people. The same was true of the one we have now, and the one before that, and the one before that. No system will work for everyone. We're going to try to do what adjustments we can to get it working for the most people, but we all have to face the fact that at some point it just will not work. It's unfortunate, but it's also the reality of the internet with the myriad computers, OS systems, connections, programs, security systems, etc.

We'll just continue to do the best we can and see what we end up with. My hope is that eventually everyone will be able to get in and will find the best set up for their computer.

Oh, and for those who are waiting for the changes at FM that I said were going to happen, I put them aside when I found out about the chat. Not that I've had to do a lot of work for it -- Mar has done virtually everything -- but that I knew there would be some problems with a change of this size, and I didn't want to add FM board changes in at the same time. So that will be happening either in October or in December. (We all know that nothing but NaNo happens in November, right?)

In other news…

Two of my publishers have started 'stores' through Lulu.com, which means some of my work will have print copies probably by the end of the year. I am oddly looking forward to this. As I've said before, Lulu does not nice work on the printing side. I just don't recommend that anyone self-publish if they have a chance of getting a 'real' publisher to look at their work. But these books of mine have gone through copy editors, and while they may not be perfect, they've at least had a chance at improvement. (grin) I'll be curious to see how this goes, though.

Russ will be leaving in the morning for the East Coast. He'll be gone for a week. We're pretty much all set to survive here. I'm probably going to spend some time in the other house cataloguing books while he's gone. This will be about the best time to get that place done since I won't be disturbing him as he works.

I have 'things' to get done tonight. Lots of things. So, off I go… probably to mess around some more!

And more nice stuff!

I've had two bits of good news in the last couple days. First this:

http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/issue_next.htm

I love this cover! (grin)

And second good news was the arrival of a copy of the Misfit Studios Treasure Trove # 1: SpirosBlaak Aresenal, which includes my short story, Blood of the Clan. The story can also be found on line. I wrote this years ago for them, based on cover art that was dropped before the game went to print. The SpirosBlaak game hit quite a few snags before it came out from Green Ronin, and now Misfit Studio is producing some of the extras for it. I'm glad to see it finally, really out.

So, there are two nice little publications -- one out, and one upcoming.

The new computer is wonderful, too -- but I'm having a horrible time getting caught up on everything as I get it up and going. I still can't find a couple programs, too. Russ leaves for the East Coast on Wednesday and won't be back for an entire week. I sure hope we get everything sorted out before then!

I have added 1700 books to my BookThing.com listing. I still haven't gotten to house #2. I think I have about 200-300 more here... as long as I ignore the paperbacks on the porch. I know some of them have been ruined (we had a leak and didn't know it), and I'm really not looking forward to sorting through them.

But, overall... nice fun stuff. I'm working on the 2YN class right now, and then I'm going to do some other writing (I've been getting between 4-5k a day lately), and then I'm going to play with Daz/Bryce. After all, it is the weekend!