I know it’s my day to blog, but I’m struggling, guys. There’s a lot going on in my head and writing a blog post was a hill to climb. I’ll tell you more, I promise, but right now, I’m focusing on putting my writing energy into the next book, and when I know better what’s going on, I’ll share the rest.
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I read an article recently on book characters, and how unlikeable characters were becoming more acceptable. I'll confess to skimming it, for two reasons. 1) Characters need to have a reason to be likeable, even if they are unlikeable. 2) I've written unlikeable characters.
In past books, my unlikeable characters have been secondary characters - out of the spotlight. I had one that was SO unlikeable as to be highlighted by several readers about "why would the main character even be friends with her?" So I set out to write a book for that character to take the lead and introduce WHY she was unlikeable to create some sympathy for her. True story: she was based on a friend of mine who wasn't a very good friend, so there was that. When I redeemed the character, she was nothing like the original inspiration for her. Of course, she wasn't a true representation in the first book, either. This did lead me to having fun employing unlikeable characters in my books, however. People have nuanced personalities, and sometimes, if you understand WHY they are the way they are, that makes them more likeable.
Take for example, Jamie Fraser. I'm pretty sure a large portion of the population is familiar with him. He's a rogue, a cattle thief, and an outlaw. And completely loveable. He has a personality that is larger than life and several very endearing qualities. Is he an anti-hero? He does many heroic things throughout the course of the series, but he also does many not so heroic things. He's only human, after all. Is he likeable? Or unlikeable? The first time we meet him, he's in a vulnerable position, so he doesn't immediately project the unlikeable vibe, and that's part of the way to present unlikeable people - as vulnerable people who respond poorly to certain stimuli.
Characters will always have their Achilles Heel, things that make them act out and seem unlikeable even when they aren't so bad. The trick is in the presentation. Why are they behaving badly? Is it better to show them, like Jamie Fraser, vulnerable upon their introduction so you can garner sympathy for them before they act out? Or do you have them act out and then redeem them later? Obviously, the more successful approach is the former.
By contrast, you don't want your characters to be flawless, either. Saccharin, sticky sweet characters lack appeal, as well. It's the old "nobody's perfect" law. For me, if I read a perfect character, I lose interest pretty quickly. They are the most handsome guy ever, or the most beautiful woman ever, or some other paragon of virtue. I read a book recently where the hero had emerald green eyes that the author never let you forget about. NEVER. And a cutesy nickname. Okay, once or twice throughout the book, maybe, but EVERY TIME that character is addressed? If I was dating someone and they addressed me by a cutesy nickname (and I'm not referring to "honey" or "sweetie" or something along those lines) every time they saw me, I likely wouldn't be dating them much longer. It gets old. Fast. An example? I had a friend who called me "Special K." It was cute, but they didn't address me that way every time they saw me.
But I digress.
How long are you willing to stick with a character who comes across as unlikeable? I'm trying not to make my latest heroine so mean, but she keeps getting kicked when she's down... Here's hoping the hero will forgive her.
When "the pandemic" hit nearly five years ago now, writers were scrambling. Should they include it in their books? It affected everyone's lives. How could you write a contemporary novel without making some sort of reference to it? For the most part, I think authors shied away from it, much in the same way they shy away from natural disasters. Any reference to it can produce highly charged responses from a reader. There's also the stance that in the midst of it, we didn't have a resolution. Much like my blog post from last week, you can't write a happy ending to something you are still living through. For many people, the ending wasn't so happy. It was an ugly period in time.
The pandemic has become a part of our history. With some distance from the worst of it, I have made a reference to the pandemic in my latest work in progress. It is now a part of our past, and for those of us that came out alive, we can look back on the events that came along with it. Kind of like this generation's "where were you when... (insert moment in history)."
Society changes. The books I grew up with reflect different social values. Different ways of thinking. The ideas of what a family looked like were different. The contributions people made to society were different. I have a collection of books by a favorite author on my bookshelf that I go back to from my teen years -- old friends. The last time I pulled one down, I was actually shocked at how the heroine in that particular book responded to a negative situation. The message was if a man isn't paying enough attention to you, make him jealous. Talk about making a bad situation worse. Not all of her books are written that way, but this one is definitely one that will not be on my "read it again" list. Heck, when I wrote my first book 20+ years ago, there were some misogynistic messages in it. It's what we grew up with, what we were taught, what we knew. I have since updated my first book to reflect a more contemporary viewpoint.At the end of the day, current events don't remain current. There are constants that remain, and trends that change. As an author who hopes to withstand the test of time, better to stick to the constants than jump on a trend that can change tomorrow.
Loaded topic.
When I started writing seriously, I was in a danger zone with my marriage. Little kids. Husband who worked in the middle of the night. Time on my hands while everyone else was sleeping, so I spent it at the keyboard. It should be noted that the writing and the danger zone were not intertwined, it was just coincidental. HOWEVER, the emotional roller coaster affected my writing. As the marriage unraveled, I couldn't clear my head enough to focus on writing.
There is a hypothesis that you can't write real emotion until you've been through deep emotion. I'm not sure how much I subscribe to that, but I can tell you that although I completed that first book, my marriage fell apart while I started working on Book 2 (because you can't sell just one book, right?). I had to prove to myself that I could write another one, that one book wasn't a fluke. Neither one got published during that tumultuous time, and I certainly had a ton of emotion to invest into my writing.
That first book wouldn't be released until life leveled off--two years later. It isn't uncommon for first books to take years to work through. Learning the process. Learning what to do with your final product. Perfecting the craft.
Returning to a clearer frame of mind.
I continued on with a third book, because I was still convinced a publisher would want more than one book, and probably a three-book deal. The time it took to write those three books was the longest stretch of time I ever spent between books, and a lot of it had to do with emotional roller coasters coupled with challenges at the day job. I took a promotion that, quite frankly, they expected I might fail at. (Spoiler alert. I met the challenge and did NOT, in fact, fail.)
So much emotion.
Certainly, I'd reached that hypothetical threshold of emotion required to compel readers to take a journey with me. Those were certainly some of the most emotional years I'd lived through. But something else happened. I found writing helped me work through some of the darkness and the challenges by virtue of taking me out of my everyday life and -- this is funny -- out of my head. Wait. Isn't that where the stories come from?
Writing had become a vacation.
I did write from some very dark places. I killed off a nightmare boss in one of my books (yes, that's really a thing). I escaped from overthinking by writing characters who had to overcome personal challenges. By comparison, my life seemed like small potatoes.
Here's another tidbit --writing about personal challenges in fiction is rarely a good idea. Unless you have a resolution to those challenges, you can't stick the landing. You (and your not-so-fictional character) are stuck without the happily ever after ending.
So is it a good idea to write when you're moody? When the world is crashing around you? Yes and no. Yes, because it gives you an escape from the world, but no if that crashing world sneaks into what you're writing.
As I've been writing this next book, I found myself sliding into sad, dark places. It happens. Lack of sunlight. Health issues. If you've lost people close to you, you miss them sometimes. The holidays often highlight that they're missing. The mood came through in my writing. My characters were unlikeable. After a swift kick in the backside, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps to remind myself what I have rather than what I've lost - a conscious mood shift, if you will. The result is more likeable characters. I'm still molding them and still working through the next story, but the mood adjustment was definitely needed in order to proceed with something someone else might actually want to read.
Moods can be tricky things. They aren't always easy to kick out of, especially when life "piles on." Writing can be cathartic, and it can take you away from the troubles--at least for a little while. As an author, the rule is to write, even if you're writing crap. You can always fix it later, which is what I'm doing with the story playing in my head.
Here we go again, starting over in a New Year. Like hitting the reset button, except not everything resets.
Not gonna lie. The weather here has been icky. Gray. Rainy. No sunshine. That makes it hard to keep a sunny disposition. It's too easy to fall into despair for so many reasons, but one thing I've learned over the years is to look on the bright side...
I have a trip coming up to warmer/sunnier climes with friends. Something to look forward to.
I have ideas percolating on a new book, but progress has been slow. Hoping that reset button gets me back in the groove. I've had lots of distractions -- too many -- but after spending many years juggling the day job and the writing, certainly I can manage the current state of affairs.
Lab results (yes, there have been health issues) came back with good outcomes. One of the things that reset? The insurance deductible. NOT a positive to have to start over, but with the positive outcome, hopefully I won't be rebuilding those out-of-pocket expenses.
Resolutions? Rather than "make" them, mine are ongoing. I've taken time to enjoy the holidays, and with those behind, I need to jump back into positive routines.
In order to overcome the gloom and doom it would be so easy to wallow in, I'd love to hear what bright spots you see in the coming year. What's your bright side for the new year?
