Optimism (Survivng NaNoWriMo #4)

Hello all! You might have noticed that I have hit the 50k goal for NaNoWriMo, which makes me very happy. Expect a celebratory post at the end of the month/whenever I actually finish this rough draft. 50k and going strong for maybe 5k more!

Anyway, tonight I'm feeling a bit down and I find the best thing to do when I'm a little sad is to encourage other people. There's nothing better. :)

Some Much Needed Positivity

I am an optimist. Truly. I believe in hoping for the best, and I am something of an idealist. However, sometimes I get burnt out. For instance, a few days ago I sat across the table from my mom at a local Pizza Hut and proposed that instead of going to college I would like to buy an airstream and move out into the middle of the woods with nothing but a cat, a laptop, some clothes, and some food. My optimism failed a little there, overwhelmed by the options and obstacles that seem so insurmountable.

I do the same with my writing. I am a person who easily will give up on things, less so now than I used to be, but still prone to lapse back into the "I'm done" mindset. Some days, this .gif sums up my life.

As I have said before, at heart, I am Bilbo Baggins.

I digress. A few days ago I stumbled upon some lovely Pinterest posts tagged "Writer Positivity". These little gems are what they advertise themselves as: little pieces of sunshine for struggling writers. They truly brightened my day, and inspired me. I want to pass a little bit of that inspiration on to you.

One day you're going to be someone's favorite author.

When they're listing off people who have made a difference in their life, you'll be one of the first names to come up.

Someone out there will list you as their inspiration.

Someone out there will clutch your book as close to their heart as they can. Someone will hold it tight and never let it go because you know what?

They know now that someone understands them.

They open those pages and they realize that they are not alone. They lose themselves in your story because that's the one place they feel they are found. 

Some of them will rave to others about your book, saying "You simply have to read this book!"

Some of them will say nothing at all, but your book will always sit on their nightstand, waiting for them if they ever can't sleep at night because they feel unloved.

People will shed tears over your book. People will go on Tumblr and type angry rants because they love your book so much.

Someone will squeal just thinking about the next book you're going to write.

One day someone is going to email you, telling you just what that book you wrote means to them.

"You changed my life."

"You inspired me to write."

"You gave me hope."

You'll email back, unable to believe that your story, the story you nearly gave up on, could touch someone's heart so deeply.

When they see your name in the email inbox, their hands will begin to shake with excitement.

Because you will mean so much to that person.

One day you'll be signing books. 

You'll be tired and your hand will hurt from gripping a pen. Maybe you'll be on your phone checking the weather. Maybe you'll be about to go for lunch.

Someone will walk up to your table, holding your book and smiling at the ground.

"Hello."

They'll nod in reply, trying to speak but unable. They may stammer something about how much they love your book.

"Who's your favorite character?" you'll ask.

They'll answer, still barely able to speak because you have become such a legend to them.

You'll shake your head, remembering the manuscript that no publisher would accept.

Someone will always carry your story in their heart.

Maybe it's just one line.

It will stick with them and they will keep it. They will hold it. They will carry it always.

They will share it with others.

Your story will change lives.

Your story matters.

Your story will shake someone's world.

However, this will only happen if you write it.

And you can.

You can write it. You can finish it. You can revise it and you can make it something to be proud of.

You can change someone's life with your story.

So tell it.

Don't worry, it's a happy tear.

Hello, I'm Your New Character (Surviving NaNoWriMo #3)

Hello all!
I hit 40k today. It seems blogging when I hit a milestone has become a tradition. Today I want to talk about something that, if you're not a writer, will probably make you think I am completely, 100% out of my mind.
This post is all about how I meet characters.

Meeting Characters?

That's an interesting way to phrase it, isn't it? Authors create characters, right?

Well, yes. At least at first.

Or at least that's how it went for me. At first I would think and create a character, who would gradually evolve into something more amazing and more lifelike than I first imagined. Think Transformers. Yup, you've got the visual.

Now, when I meet a character, it's more like this.

I have no idea where they come from. One day, they just show up. Perhaps I'm watching television, reading a book, watching a movie, or just thinking about one of my friends. Then all of the sudden there's a new character in my mind. Now, think transporter from Star Trek. There you go!

Out of nowhere there's a new character. Normally all I know is gender and impression, maybe a bit of backstory.

This happened a few days ago thanks to two things. One was NaNoWriMo, and the other was my recent Les Miserables kick.

I was thinking about my NaNo story and just chilling out. I was thinking about my favorite character from Les Mis (Enjolras, in case you didn't know) and about what made him so amazing; why I liked him so much.

Hello, awesome.

I came to some interesting conclusions. I was simply minding my own business; enjoying a productive session of thought-time.

That was when I heard a 'knock at the door'.

There's no better way to describe it. I can tell a new character is about to enter my imagination.

"Don't!" I always chide myself. "Don't do it, you don't need another character. He'll want his own story and you have enough already. Do not open that door!"

Here is where Alice speaks to me on a personal level.

Of course I was going to open the door for that poor, lost character in need of someone to breathe life into them. How could I say no?

I opened the door and there stood a young man. He didn't look to be any more than 24 years of age. He had a group of friends. He was a rebel, but for a good cause. He was leader.

"Hello," he said. "I'm your missing piece."

And that he was. It was as if a wizard had marked my door to send him along at just the right time.

Of course, I knew very little about him. He wasn't one of the easy characters who willingly spills there entire life story for me the moment the door is opened.

He came in quietly. And he intrigued me.

Over the next several days, I tried several times to get him to disclose some more information about himself. He refused.

I wrote him into my outline; although he was still nameless. He would often tease me, as if he were just about to reveal something more about himself, but then change his mind.

It was infuriating.

One afternoon, I was fed up. I sat down with a piece of paper, and I interviewed him.

I would write what I said, and then his response.

All of the sudden, he was willing to speak to me.

Finally, he seemed to say. Finally you're curious enough.

And so we talked.

Ah. Yes. I understand. That does sound odd. But if it works, it works.

I carried on interviewing him. I learned many new things, such as his hair and eye color (black hair, brown eyes) and some of the things he stood for. Every moment I found myself falling more and more in love with him.

Still, I worried. Sometimes when a character is inspired by another character, there is the worry of the two characters becoming more similar. I found myself trying to force him to be different from Enjolras, which he really didn't appreciate it. So, I mentioned it to him.

He was not worried. "Was he a good leader?" he asked.

"The best."

"Perhaps I, too, am a good leader. Perhaps we are similar because we have that in common."

Yes, fictional character. Thank you again for dropping massively profound thoughts on me out of nowhere.

Our conversation continued, but another thing began to bother me.

"I don't know your name."

"I know. I haven't told you."

Thus began a guessing game, which I failed horribly at. He gave me a hint. The letter J.

I couldn't seem to come up with a name.

Therefore, I took desperate measures.

I annoyed him.

He and I had a recurring joke where I would simply insist he looked like George Blagden. Somehow it was stuck in my mind that it simply had to be him. He would hear nothing of it.

My questions is why he was so upset.
I mean, come on.
George Blagden.

I insisted. I even called him George.

He became more and more irritated until he commanded I stop, or he would cease speaking to me.

My response?

"Sure. Whatever, Jacob."

It was as if a light had come on.

Jacob.

The mysterious character had a name.

I continued to talk with him and learned more and more about him. He only became more and more interesting by the moment.

Eventually I decided I had learned enough to put the paper away for a while. It was an amazing experience, and I learned much about my new character.

This was several days ago. Since then, I have been thinking about and looking into his character more and more. Today was the day I introduced him into my story, and as I wrote this blog post I realized I did not yet have a picture of him. I browsed my "New Characters" board on Pinterest and found a picture that at least resembled him.

Meet Jacob Lawrence.

Thanks for reading this post! I'd love to know how all of you end up discovering your characters, and if you think I'm completely and utterly mad yet.