A few thoughts on character...

We are constantly evaluating character - consciously and subconsciously judging people by their appearance first (a book by its cover) until we can gather more information from their behaviour, mannerisms and interactions. Our current western social habits, especially of plastering images of celebrities over every possible medium and scrutinising their skin, weight, fitness and clothing choice, only encourages our propensity for this type of judgement. Although I am not entirely sure which is the chicken and which the egg in this equation. Suffice to say we do it all the time, mostly without much thought to what we are doing. We gather data continually both in terms of individual appearance and follow up behaviour (those folk with facial piercings helped that old lady across the street - facial piercings are not a deal breaker. That person is wearing a suit and tie, is clean shaven and has a smart haircut and just told his kid he's an idiot - bullying is a deal breaker, suits don't make the man). Personal interactions are collated and measured against commonly held views. And we roll along, making judgements, expanding our knowledge and refining our decisions.

So when you create your key characters in your novel remember they will be judged by their appearance and their behaviour. Who are they and how do you want other characters in your book to perceive them and how should the reader judge them. In the end you cannot predict how individuals will see your characters - they will arrive with their own baggage. You cannot please all of the readers all of the time. And you cannot make them judge your characters how you hoped they would. All you can do is decide who your character is and provide information that supports that. The richer your character, the more they speak and interact with others and demonstrate the kind of values, skills and attitudes they possess the more chance your reader will 'see' your character as you have envisaged them. But that will never guarantee your reader feels the same way about your character that you do. Your experience of those kind thoughtful facially pierced folk, and neat suit and tie wearing bullies is unique to you. The reader's experiences will influence their judgement. Some readers cannot cope with a character making a mistake they would never make or allow themselves, or behaving in a way they disapprove of, even if it is an opportunity for growth. And some readers might never see past a character's appearance or background no matter how they behave. Just make sure your character is who you intended them to be - and then set them free to make their own friends in the world. If you brought them up right their friends will be genuine.

Defying Gravity...

Yeehah - Team NZ in action at the International Cheer Union World Comp. That's my girl looking extremely flexible and a bunch of other gravity defiers.

I am fascinated by the current trend of writers of adult fiction segueing into childrens fiction, for example John Grisham and Harlan Coben are the latest with YA books coming out. There are others as well. If writing for children is often seen as the poor relation why are writers for adults suddenly trying to marry into the family? I guess I am a little confused.

With the world shrinking as technology embraces the planet and becomes increasingly more versatile, writers, especially in geographically isolated countries like New Zealand are seeking to extend their search for publication overseas. As we do so the need to understand the rules of engagement in other countries becomes essential. Agent, publisher and author blogs provide a wealth of information and bloggers are generous with tips, advice and exemplars of how to proceed. Agents and editors justifiably hold unknown authors at arms length and we must impress them in a couple of succinct, pithy paragraphs (aka the query letter). Really this should be our strength. After all, good writing in any genre rests on the ability to say so much with so few well chosen words laid out in just the right way. What in theory should be so easy becomes mind blowingly hard. Its a few paragraphs to sell the agent/editor on something you have been slaving over for weeks, months or maybe years. The hours of toil, sweat, tears and frustration are now distilled into a page long (at the most) query letter that must capture the essence of your story wrapped in the voice and style you have employed in that work. Shesh. And there's something extra scarey about the fact that its about selling your product. I am not a salesperson. I doubt I could sell raincoats during a monsoon. Maureen Crisp has a lovely clip on her blog today of Nathan Bransford talking about how to pitch your novel. If I find writing query letters a tad tricky, pitching face-to-face has an extra degree or three of difficulty. I can talk the hind leg off a donkey when there is no pressure or scrutiny or judging. I can write a novel. But distill my manuscript down to its essence and then verbally sell it? Ha ha ha - no. The fact is I can't neglect this skill or avoid it cos it scares me. It has to be part of the modern (or is that post-modern or post, post-modern) writers toolkit. Fab writer Brian Falkner talks about the tag-line. If your book was a movie what would the single sentence on the promotional poster be (one of his examples being In space no one can hear you scream for the movie Alien). This is a great way to approach that distillation process (without the support of any other distilled product). Of course while this is an easy concept to grasp it becomes a little harder when you try and apply it to your own work. Those Hollywood folk have a bunch of experts to come up with their pitch to the world. One of my favourite ways to nut out a problem like this, especially about writing, is to talk about it. I'm talking about it here and I'll take it to my other writery friends and hash it out with them. No one else can do it for my books but me. I suppose its made things a little easier up till now not having to query or pitch like writers do overseas but of course now that makes me the complete newbie amongst a large crowd of people for whom it is the norm. If I discover any secret formulae or super insightful tips on queries and pitches (beyond what is already available out there on the blogosphere) I'll let you know. Right now I'm relying on rescue remedy.