Living the Fictional Dream

This post on novel writing on Y/A novelist Libba Bray’s Live Journal cracked me up. Maybe I’ll have to check out some of her books. I’ve seen them around at the bookstore. They have lovely covers. Of course, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but a lot of good books do also have pretty covers.

One of the things I really love about a writer is when their supporting characters have just as much spark, as much life as the main characters. Without good supporting cast to round out a story, the story can feel flat or limited.

I think really fleshing out the supporting cast is a skill that can take a while to master, too. I know when I’m writing, I get involved in the main plot and with the main characters. The other characters aren’t always a high priority.

But, let’s look at to examples that illustrate how important the supporting cast is. First, look at the Batman movies in the 80s and 90s. They were all about the comic book stereotypes and the flashy action. Big names, too. But character depth? Not so much. Especially for the supporting cast. With Keaton’s Batman, some. Jack’s Joker, too, a bit. But Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl? Why was she even there? Commissioner Gordon? I don’t even remember who played him, he was on screen so little. Harvy Dent was played by someone completely different than Two Face, and you had to really listen to even realize they were the same character.

Now, look at the new Batman movies — Batman Begins and the recently released Dark Knight. These movies know how to use all the characters to create a world that feels incredibly real. Part of it is the writing, that we get to know all of these characters. And part of it is the incredible acting that allows the characters to make the most of every small moment, every glance, every movement. Alfred, Lucius, Gordon, Dent… they were all amazing. The Joker, of course, was blow-away, but in some ways you knew he would be going in. The Joker is one of Batman’s biggest rivals, if not the biggest. He had to be great. But the awesome thing is, none of the characters in these movies are wasted.

Return to Me is a move that does the same thing (though light years away from the subject matter of Batman). Bonnie Hunt wrote an incredible love story between two unusual people, but what really makes the movies pop are the people the hero and heroine surround themselves with. The quartet of old guys playing poker in the back of the restaurant. The loyal, obnoxious, ladies’ man vet. The pseudo-sister, her husband, and their passel of kids. This movie could have been just another hum-drum romantic comedy, enjoyed and then forgotten, but the memorable cast of characters sets it apart from the pack and makes it something special.

So, that is the lesson that we must take to heart today. Don’t just use those supporting characters as plot points — give them personality, give them uniqueness, love them!

P.S. In other news, I want to give a quick shout out to Jens. Congrats on finishing that novel! Way to go!

If you haven’t seen this, you really need to. You really, really need to.

The world’s first super-villain musical. If you like the stories at A Thousand Faces, you’ll like this. If you like any of the shows in the Joss Whedon universe (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly), you’ll like this (Joss does great stuff with lyrics — just think of “Once More With Feeling”).

I think humor is the most difficult thing to write successfully, and Joss is great at it. And what always blows my mind, both as a writer and a fan, is how he can lace the humor through the drama and get this whole complete story, but with amazing layers.

So, musings on writing and a viewing recommendation in one blog entry. Bonus, huh? Enjoy!

Agent Kristen over at Pubrants has an interesting blog post out on titles. I will have to marshal my thoughts on the subject and post about titles at some point. I find writing a good title very challenging…

My writing group mate, Stephanie, has a new story out at The Cynic. Naked Confusion is the title, and its short and surreally funny. You should check it out!

The eternal question of a writer trying to get published, right?

The thing is, it’s so hard to tell. I doubt there’s any way to really answer that question. Perhaps if one knew an editor (publishing company, magazine, etc.)… Interviews, such as D.L. Snell’s, might give some clues, but even that is based on how the editor was feeling on that particular day.

I’ve been reading and listening to stories in more of the professional publications lately, and sometimes it’s hard to tell why those stories got accepted and mine didn’t. Now, some of the stories there are blow-away, and that’s obviously why they were picked. But others… not as much. And I’ve read stories that blew me away in smaller publications, too. “Junk Drawer” in the previous issue of Allegory (the issue before the one in which “The Widow and the Stranger” appeared) had me thinking about it for days. Some stories I’ve read at EDF have amazed me, too. So the professional publications don’t corner the market on the best fiction. Far from it!

In the end, I guess reading is just too subjective to quantify. And if my reading is that subjective, editors’ reading must be as well. My first writing prof (taught undergrad fiction writing) said that publishing was 10% the work of writing a finely crafted story and 90% the luck of getting that story on the right editor’s desk at the right time (i.e., when they were in the right mood for the story to appeal to them). I don’t remember the exact percentages, but it was something quite lopsided like that.

Of course, reading the stories or books published by a market will give you some insight into what the editors want. But the stories can vary so wildly in quality, style, subject, etc., that it really seems to become more of a crapshoot.

I suppose there is no secret to this (though if you’ve found it, please share in the comments!). The best thing to do is to focus on honing one’s craft and making each story the best it can possibly be, then sifting through the multitude of markets out there and submitting repeatedly until you find one that sticks.

A flash piece that I wrote a while back was rejected today. Ah, the sadness! This market actually includes a bit of feedback in the rejection letter, which is really nice. So, the feedback on this piece was that it was good and the characters were interesting, but there wasn’t enough detail in the setting. I believe the exact phrasing was that it was like the characters were talking in a void.

I went back and looked at the piece, and it was true. I had an idea of the setting in my head, but it wasn’t there on the page. So, I went back and revised the piece to get some of that in. And what happens? I end up about 150 words over the 1,000 maximum for the story to be considered flash.

Then I had to decide… edit it back down to flash length or give it a spin as-is. Part of me thinks that if you’re within spitting distance of being flash you should go for it. Missing it by 500 words is OK, but missing it by a hundred feels like I didn’t try hard enough to edit.

Then again, after rereading what I wrote, I like the additions. I think they get rid of that talking in a void thing and make the piece better. So maybe it’s better to leave it in and not worry about the arbitrary cut-off. Just let the story be the length it wants/needs to be.

In the end, I decided to give the story a shot at the longer length and emailed it out to a new market. The market I chose is hard to get into, so who knows what will happen. If I try it a few places at the longer length and get no bites, maybe I’ll try to get it back into the flash category. We’ll see.

What about you writers out there? Do you let your story length come about organically, or do you try to make it fit a certain word count (drabble, flash, short, etc.)?

It’s time for another random installment of my links posts. I’ve been doing a lot of reading this summer, so I thought I would post links to some of the really good stories I’ve discovered lately. If you’re in the mood for some quality short fiction give one of these a read (or a listen, if it’s a podcast):

• “Directions,” by Caleb Wilson — a quirky flash piece with great atmosphere. Talk about visuals! In retrospect, perhaps the twist at the end should have been obvious, but I was so caught up in the scenery that I didn’t see it coming.
• “Giant” by Stephanie Burgis — A flash piece that looks at a subset of fairy tales (princess-stealing giants) from the giant’s point of view.
• For Fear of Dragons,” by Carrie Vaughn — There’s a virgin and a sacrifice, but if you think you know where this story is going, you don’t. Not until the very end!
• “The Other Magic,” by Gere McClellan — A sweet fantasy romance. My favorite part was the interpretation of the “job” of sorcery.
• “In Lieu of a Thank You,” by Gwynne Garfinkle — I didn’t know what I would get when I clicked on this story, but after I read the first line I couldn’t stop. The old fashioned voice of the narrator was compelling and I was immediately hooked and wanted to know what had happened.
• “Looking for Friendship, Maybe More” by Corie Ralston — Don’t let the title stop you. This story is hilarious. I also enjoyed its use of email/message board format, complete with fonts and font colors.
• “Ghosts and Simulations” by Ruthanna Emrys — This story uses speculative fiction to look at death, dying, and what people will do to keep their loved ones in their life.
• “Rain” by B. Teuscher — I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this flash piece. The beginning was all about description and atmosphere. But as the story continued, I got invested in the main character, and the ending almost made me cry.
• “If We Were Briar Roses” by Brian Dolton — This story starts out like a love poem, and then, suddenly, the plot is made clear and you look at the poetry again with new eyes.
• “The Mixture” by K.C. Ball — A flash story that begins quietly, but has a surprising heroine.
• “Mail” by Kevin Shamel — Mail carriers and time travel… need I say more?

Lately, I’ve been fighting the excuse monster — that insiduous little voice inside my head that whispers excuses for not writing. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I have no ideas. The list goes on and on.

Now, there is a difference between a reason and an excuse. Sometimes, you really do have writer’s block or you just worked a ton of overtime and are brain-fried. But, other times, you’re just giving into the excuse monster.

I guess it’s the same for any aspect of your life. You have to put time into something to get something out of it or to get to the next level. If I don’t spend time writing stories and honing my craft, I’m won’t have stories to submit or ever improve in my craft. Both of those mean that this writing thing is never going to be any more than a hobby for me.

Writing as a hobby isn’t a bad thing. Tons of people do it. But I want something more. And if I want that something more, then I have to banish the excuse monster and his whispers about laundry, returning phone calls, and surfing the Internet, and get writing.

Of course, even still, the odds are against me. There are way more aspiring authors/novelists out there than those that get published every year. But, to quote one of my favorite movies, “Your odds go up when you file an application.”

What about you guys? Career or hobby? What do you think? And what do you think will help you achieve your goal?

In other news, I had a literary flash piece accepted today, so yay! Two acceptances in one week is a very good week.