Characters: They're [Supposed to Be] People, Too

So here's another little something for the novice writers out there.

How many times have you read a novel and thought: okay, plot was great. Writing style--liked that. Characters? meh.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6407514-forest-born

That's actually what I thought while reading Shannon Hale's Forest Born this week. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE her books (5 stars for Goose Girl) and have since high school. It's just that syndrome where the first book is your all-time favorite and the other books don't get quite as much love, they just don't seem as great. Which is why I don't really like the idea of writing series, because I don't know if I could trust myself to undo such a dangerous thing as that.

Anyway, it's her last book, and I thought she sort of painted herself in a corner. She has Isi, Enna, Dasha, three powerful, fun, and witty female characters (think fun bantering and threats from Enna, I've got a sassy character like her). And then she has Rin, a character who's motif throughout the book is that she's someone else's shadow. Did I mention Rin is the main character?

I'm not trying to bash Hale's story, because when one reads the book, they do get a sense of wanting to become your best self and learn who you are and refine that image. That's all fine and dandy, but Rin sounded so depressing the whole book, wanting to sacrifice herself to dangerous events to protect others--basically telling herself others' lives are more valuable than her own. If the main character thinks that she isn't worth reading about, shouldn't that be a red flag? Main characters should never think like that!

I understand readers come into the ring w/ different backgrounds; I've been very fortunate to never have been in Rin's mindset, so a lot of her reasoning and doubts I couldn't sympathize with. I say that because I know every person has weaknesses, we can't all be the best all the time. But when you have a character that has growing moments and passes w/ flying colors--and then tear themselves up afterwards, it makes reading on that much more difficult.

It turns out that Rin holds herself back because she has this power that she thinks will hurt others--but Isi, Enna, and Dasha do, too and seem to handle themselves just fine. All the characters regret something they've done w/ their powers as well, but Rin holds herself back almost the entire novel while the others get over it and lead on interesting lives. Rin doesn't forgive herself when she's been multiple instances to do so, which again, maybe I don't understand. I honestly hope I don't ever have to understand. But it doesn't seem normal.

So I decided, that in many cases, instead of arguing or venting, why not just avoid this altogether? These are my personal feelings, so I invite anyone to let me know if I'm way off the mark:

1. I feel like, if you can't write about such things as guilt, shame, insecurity or things like that w/o appearing fake, maybe you shouldn't write about them. Some people have vivid stories to tell and they should tell them, and there are people out there that can tell happy stories, and we need those, too.
2. But if negative motifs belong in your story (c'mon, you can't have a war novel w/o things like guilt, shame, hate, ect) for Pete's sake do some research! I've got lots of injuries in my story like bashed heads, stabs, twisted ankles, and I've never broken a bone, but luckily I've got a dad who knows his stuff. There are plenty of sites out there that would have information on ailments both physical and mental. When making the non-existant look real, you can't have someone stumble out of a burning house fit as a fiddle doing cartwheels.
3. I'm mainly referring to the main character when I say: if they're going to have self-esteem issues, give them some sort of redeeming value that makes you at least sympathize. I don't know how many books that I've read where the main character says "oh, I'm horrible at singing, and dancing, and riding, and I don't look pretty, and I can't cook, I'm shy, I'm weak, I'm useless..." uh...why should I keep reading? Give your character something they're good at, heck, even something they know they're good at and enjoy doing. I admit, a character that thinks too highly of himself is borderline witty or annoying. But if their personality is bland and colorless, you could cripple the other elements of storytelling.
4. Have someone read your work/read it out-loud. Editing might reveal some cliche' wordings (it sure has for me!) and especially w/ someone else reading--I tell you, if someone is willing to read your stuff and critique it--worship the ground they walk upon and take that offer. If their perception of what's going on is what you intended more or less, that's a good sign. If they don't care and don't hit the emotional level a scene is supposed to have, touch it up.
5. If it helps, map out your character: make even a mini autobio. That's right, autobiography. Have them summarize themselves, their likes, dislikes, what makes them cringe, what embarasses them, you name it. If you can draw a circle around their personality, it makes it easier to capture their essence better on the page.
6. People-watch. It's stalking but research all at once. And it's entertaining!

I don't know, maybe someone should read the book and tell me if I'm off. But as my Creative Writing professor told us in her class: every rule in creative writing can be broken, just as long as it's on purpose and for a good reason. A bestseller reason.

I know that I'm not saying all this to complain, but as self-critiquing, too. With my first drafts, my main character was rather whiny and pathetic, which is kind of what I wanted: I wanted to write about a girl who goes from not lifting a finger to really being combative, powerful and fan-flippin'-tastic.

But I realized when editing, I needed to hook my readers from the get-go that this girl I invented is worth reading about, that she has problems to overcome, but she's special, she's unique, and worth their attention and affections and above all, she feels real.

So this isn't me being mean about someone else's work (I promise, I love Shannon Hale! Forgive me!)--this is me seeing what someone wrote and deciding for me & my work, it isn't my style, it isn't what I like to read, so I'm taking an alternative route.

Reason to Looove Poetry

“Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.” William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing)

So poetry gets a bad rap some reason for being...''out there'' because they're hard to interpret or something. I admit, studying English sometimes, I have to read and interpret poems where I'm thinking, "This is sooo ridiculous--this is only famous because so-and-so wrote this." But I think that if you come across a poem and you feel that it's above average, it's probably because without taking a ridiculous magnifying glass to it, you can find something special about it.

I took a look at this in my Creative Writing class and even though it might seem a bit graphic/violent, it's one of my absolute favorites.

Reason to Survive November
[Tony Hoagland]

November like a train wreck –
as if a locomotive made of cold
had hurtled out of Canada
and crashed into a million trees,
flaming the leaves, setting the woods on fire.

The sky is a thick, cold gauze –
but there’s a soup special at the Waffle House downtown,
and the Jack Parsons show is up at the museum,
full of luminous red barns.

– Or maybe I’ll visit beautiful Donna,
the kickboxing queen from Santa Fe,
and roll around in her foldout bed.

I know there are some people out there
who think I am supposed to end up
in a room by myself

with a gun and a bottle full of hate,
a locked door and my slack mouth open
like a disconnected phone.

But I hate those people back
from the core of my donkey soul
and the hatred makes me strong
and my survival is their failure,

and my happiness would kill them
so I shove joy like a knife
into my own heart over and over

and I force myself toward pleasure,
and I love this November life
where I run like a train
deeper and deeper
into the land of my enemies.

You don't have to totally see it the way I do, because that's the beauty of poems--there should never be a "memorized answer" that they teach you in high school. Anyway, I love, love, LOVE this poem, because for me, it's a description of a frame of mind I wish more people exhibited. Everyone stresses, everone suffers, and everyone has their giants to battle.

But for me, this poem seems to say that the best way to win, is to prove to your enemies, challenges, issues--that you're above being bitter and above feeling sorry for yourself. And sometimes it's tough! But our happiness, our victory equals defeat for those who want to see us suffer & fail. If you believe in Satan, you know what I mean. Proving to him that you're above temptation, or you can be forgiven for screw-ups and mishaps--it's our success and his failure.

I love Hoagland's language; it's bold, blunt and brave. I don't dabble too much in poetry, but it's poetry like this that makes me think that I want to try my hand at it and hopefully have some sort of impact on someone else.

What poetry do you like? Are you a poet?

If you want to find poems of all shapes and sizes, check out www.poetry.org.