Character Stories: A Way to Track Subplots

I found this cat today on Pinterest.
I think he may look like Rab

     I am trying a new trick with BB. In BB, I have multiple characters that affect the story. I needed a way to see all my strands separately as well as being able to weave them all together in the plot. So I am writing their separate stories.
     Earlier this week, I wrote the story for the Duke of Northumber. He is about 50 years old in my story, but, to understand him, I had to go back to his childhood. My writing of his story was fairly dry (no poetry) as I quickly summarized the highlights of his life from birth to death. It's a little less than 1400 words.
      Now I can feel like I know about his life, and I understand him better. Some of those things from his life may not ever make it into my BB story -- they may not matter to it. But some of them will. Now that I know what an influential person his mother was in his life before she died, I know he may reference her in the story. Now that I know how he has reacted to successes and failures in his life before, I have a better idea of how he will react now. And, as I am weaving the Duke into my story, I have this background story that I can utilize if I need more material on him.
       Not all of my characters will have their own story piece. I don't think I will need them for any of the Tatums...or for Ronald...and certainly not for Mr. Barnes. But for all of the characters that are in the forefront of the story -- the characters that I need to know more about -- I am going to write a little summary of their lives.

Comments

A Hard Goodbye

"You're more poet than anything." I folded my arms and glared at Ian. He sat perched on the edge of the roof, dressed like an adventurer. I coveted every part of his outfit -- the breezy shirt made of course cloth, the sturdy breeches, the leather boots that laced up to his calves, the dagger on his hip. Tomorrow he would set sail to a life I craved more than anything. But did he appreciate his opportunities? No. And I hated him for it. "Do you despise poets, Ingrid?" His voice was sad, but a grin twisted at the corners of his mouth as he finished his question. Those blue eyes of his cut in my direction with a teasing flash. "They don't DO anything." My thoughts and emotions ran in torrents, but I could see his flowing smoothly and quietly. Even in his uneasiness about the morrow, his face was a peaceful as a child falling asleep in his own bed. ...

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days. Do you know what that means? Barely over a week. Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story? What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain? What was it that you liked about your premise? As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene? And are you glad you wrote it down? Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it? Will you market it elsewhere? Or will you lock it away in a drawer?

Goodbye and God Be With You

It's rather fitting that some things come to a close on this day -- the last day of the year. I submitted my last entry into the Rooglewood contest this morning. I can hardly believe it took me until the day of the deadline to send it in because I'm usually earlier than that. And, even with the extra time I took, I still felt a little bit like maybe I could have done better if I had more time. But there was no feeling of regret when I hit "send." Mostly it was just a prayer that Rooglewood would hear the heart of the message when they read it and that maybe, if I win, they could help me bring the full potential out of my little story. And there was also a feeling, after working on these stories for more than six months, that it felt good to close that chapter and move on to the next one. I did it. I wrote them. And I'm really proud of them. Last year, the act of hitting "send" on my contest entry catapulted me into an anticipatory state....

The Pen of a Ready Writer

Search This Blog