NaNoWriMo Preparation

 

I finally have an idea for a story to write during NaNoWriMo. Yay! Now, I'm busy thinking about the plot and the characters I will write about. For me, I have to know my characters before I even start writing the story. The first step, is picking a name, and for some reason, this is proving hard for me.

My critique and blogger partner here on DNA Writers, Erica, has her names all picked out. Why am I having such a hard time? Well, I'm limited. The picture above is a hint about the theme for my new story. I want my characters to have names that go with the theme and fit their personality. To me, the name of a character is pivotal. I'm sure I will find the perfect ones, but, for now, it's giving me a headache.

The next part of my preparation is jotting down a plot arc and determining settings. After I know what characters and settings I'll be working with, I'll fill a note book full of pictures, bios, and scenes. It really helped last year to have the story note book with me while I wrote. I had a plan, and I worked from it, which kept me on schedule. I could see an image of my character to help me describe her or him. And, through the pictures of settings I had, I could imagine the places where my characters interacted in.

Sure, I could probably just put words down on page until I reach 50K, but that's not me. When November is over, I want to have a viable arc developed, and all I have to do is add some meat to the story.

That's it, for now. Next time, I'll talk about plot.

So, are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? And, if you are, how do you prepare for it?

You can find Brenda on her blog: http://brenleedrake@blogspot.com 
or on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/brendadrake

What's Your Dream?

Hello!
I hope you are all doing well!!

Dreams. We all have them. Not the kind you have when you sleep (although, we have them, too, most of us) the kind that keeps you getting up in the morning...

For me, there's nothing more awesome than someone realizing their dream. AND all of us witnessing it. I've been watching X Factor, and I can't help but to relate to these regular people of all ages trying to make it in the world with a dream and not much else. It's inspiring. Ol' Josh below is a burritto slinger. Yes, that's what he does. AND now he's a star. His rendition of Etta James' At Last was Ah-Mazing. You can see his dream unfolding as he belts out those notes.



My dream? As much as I'd love to sing in front of millions of people (and I would) I'd like to write books and have others read them, and love them. I want to help my friends capture their dreams, too. I also want to believe in myself and work hard enough to make my dreams real.

One of my favorite quotes is, "Dreams aren't perfect. They come true, not free."

So. What's your dream?

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

erica m. chapman is a YA writer by night, workin' for the cause by day. Fan of football, especially Lions and Michigan. She loves alternative music, Foo Fighters, animals, reading, golf and playing her guitar. She resides in Michigan where she sits quietly typing her next story on her macbook in her Detroit Lions Snuggie. You can also find her at ericachapman.com.

Lines in the Sand: How Much of Your Life is in Your Work? Or, isn't?

When I write, I try to make my characters their own people. Unless I'm writing for myself and for cathartic purposes, I don't make myself the "star" of a novel. I enjoy the role of creator and not that of character.

There's a big difference in writing a novel and thinking, "What would I do here?" and "What would my character do here."

But it's no surprise to me that I see parts of myself scattered throughout the characters in my stories. I draw on life experiences to color the world I'm trying to create. To an extent.

No-Fly Zones

I have certain no-fly zones; topics I won't include in my novels. For example, I won't base my fiction on my kids or the experiences I've had with my husband. I don't want anyone to read my stories and "find" the people I care about in my stories. I don't want them to be dissected or "figured out"--people already make assumptions about who I am because of how I portray my characters, but that's my burden as a writer.

Public Domain

Although I don't tend to use my own experiences in my writing in a specific sense, broad experiences like a day at the beach or how it feels to hold a helpless, trembling kitten are part of the public domain. I do pull from those feelings and look at them through the filter of my characters' lives. There are also personal experiences of my own that, with the passage of time, have dulled in significance; they don't seem to belong to me anymore. What once might have been too private and personal to include even symbolically becomes part of the public domain of my life experiences.

Perception

Not everyone believes that I don't base my characters on myself, and that my secondary characters aren't based on people I know. When a non-writer friend of mine read my novel, Sinister Charms, she remarked that the love story was so sweet, it must have been based on the experiences I had when my husband and I were dating. I laughed; Derek couldn't be more different than my husband, and Gwyn's feelings toward him were completely unique to her. Nevertheless, I couldn't convince my friend that Gwyn and Derek's love story was their own.

More Perception

I used to let my mother read my work. This turned out to be a big mistake. In one of my first novels, a medieval romance, the mother of the heroine was depressed and suicidal. She was also bitter and vindictive and basically a wreck of a human being. My mother called me, upset that I'd portrayed her in such a negative way. I was baffled. I told her that I hadn't based the character on her at all! My mother is a cheerful and often silly person. I've only seen her cry at sad movies, and she's the least vindictive person I know. Although my mother believed me, she was still upset and wanted me to change the character. She was sure that whoever read the book would think I had based the mother of the story on her. It didn't matter that it wasn't true.

And to Contradict Myself Completely...

Now that I'm between novels, ideas rise to the surface and evaporate as quickly. I search for the balance between truth and fiction that makes a novel real. Maybe that girl who ate lunch alone, reading over sheet music for her violin solo later that week, maybe she used to be me, but she isn't anymore. Maybe I can draw on some of those experiences and create an entirely new character. If I write her story, my biggest challenge will be erasing my imprint from the tips of her fingers and letting her be a real person in her own right.

How much of yourself do you put into your characters? Is everything fair game, or do you have lines in the sand you just won't cross? Do friends and family who read your work ever "look" for themselves, you or others in your fiction?

~ ~ ~

Diana Paz is a web content writer and aspiring YA author. She was born in Costa Rica, grew up on Miami Beach, moved to Los Angeles in high school, and went to college in San Diego. Basically, she's a beach bum, but she did graduate from California State University, San Marcos with a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts. She loves old movies, epic fantasy, all kinds of music, and heading to the beach with a good book. Preferably sipping a caramel frappuccino. Find her at her blog: dianapazwrites.blogspot.com or on Twitter @dianapazwrites