Imaginary Friends

I saw this great shirt in a catalogue yesterday that made me laugh so hard. Because it's so true. The quote: "Writer's block: when your imaginary friends stop talking to you." I don't know about you planners out there, but I have had characters hijack my stories so often it's ceased to be a quirk. It's the way I write. I think the story's going on direction and then BAM! Someone informs me that they're pregnant or gay or have a dead brother that they want to bring back from the dead.

There were two major ones with Savior (that I remember) that made me want to smack my characters. The first was that, after three years of working on this story, my protagonist pops up and says that his name wasn't really Trick, after all. It was Araeli, but he had changed it at some point to honor his brother's death, and wanted me to include that fact if I could. So I did, when I rewrote the entire manuscript. Then, this past spring when I was reworking the first hundred pages or so, Kel informs me that he had a cat that really ought to still be living with his brother and could be an important plot point. I tried my darndest to work that stupid cat in; I tore my hair out over it. In the end, I couldn't make it work. I don't think poor Vysni even got a mention, though I do have some fun ideas including her for shorts or prequels, if I ever make it that far.

Then there are the brilliant times when you're walking around (downtown, at work, around the house, at a writer's conference), talking to these insane beings that live in your head. Out loud. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does that. When they spring a plot point on you in the middle of the shower and you scream something incomprehensible at them because it either solves all the things you've been struggling with for the past year or creates even more chaos, and then your mother races up the stairs to make sure you didn't accidentally cut your arm off with the razor, is a particularly fun time. Especially explaining to her afterwards what really happened.

Non-writers just don't seem to understand the insanity that happens when working with characters who are supposed to be so real and believable. Part of being a good writer is creating these believable people to act in our stories; so why do we get incredulous looks and insane name tags when we bring up the fact that these characters really control the story, not us, the authors? Is it really so difficult to fathom?

Hello. My name is Emerson and my characters boss me around.

Distraction!

You know of what I have far too many? (We’re going to ignore that awkward sentence structure in light of it being grammatically correct.) Distractions. You know what I love but really should hate with the passion of a thousand dying stars? Distractions.

My favorite distraction? Text-based role-playing. It’s addictive for the writing-influenced mind, I swear. I suppose it could be compared to World of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons (I’ll admit to playing the latter, but I’ve never tried the former), except it’s all done with words. It’s all written out. There are no dice to throw or graphics to load, just a good, old-fashioned story to write with your partner(s). It's so helpful for throwing ideas around and a bit of world-building on occasion, definitely character development. What better way to get to know your characters than by sticking them in random situations with someone else's character, after all? 

But there's an inherent problem here. Well, two, really. 1) It's addicting and time consuming. 2) It's a distraction. There have been several times when I wander around thinking about a story and realizing I'm plotting out my characters' next moves in a role play when I should be working on something like figuring out how long it takes to get from one country to another in my actual story, especially without falling into the "Horse as Motorcycle" syndrome. Don't get me wrong, everyone needs a break from their work now and again. But this gets ridiculous. And, I'll admit, there have been times when I'm so sucked into a particular plot line with someone else that I neglect my book(s) for weeks at a time. I tell myself I'm still writing, so it's okay. 

Except that it's not okay. Yes, the role plays are fun and helpful on occasion, but they're not helping me get my book written. (With the sole exception of the one plot my friend and I are attempting to turn into an actual book eventually.) So here's my confession: My name is Emerson and I'm addicted to distractions. 

That's step one in recovery, isn't it? What's step two? I have no idea. For this, it's probably turning the internet off for a while every day and forcing myself to actually work. Otherwise this is going to be a very long, very slow, very painful process. 

What about you guys, all three of my readers? What are your worst distractions and how do you overcome them? 

Quite Possibly the Maddest Thing I've Ever Done

Almost exactly a month ago, I started a new piece. It's super duper different from Savior, as I'm attempting to make it an adult epic fantasy, for the hell of it. I wrote a bit about my inspiration for it over here. The original idea was to write the minstrel character from the song I linked to, going to war and all that fun stuff. Then I added magic and craziness, to make it an actual fantasy piece (and because I love magic). I had a vague idea of the cause for this epic war, but nothing solid.

Then I came home from the conference last Sunday with this desire to add two more point of view characters, just to play with it. I've been wanting to attempt a story with multiple points of view for a while now, why  not try it with this one? So I did. Neither of them are as developed as the main PoV character at the moment, because I just started them, but they've already given me the cause for the war, the main antagonist, and an insight into the initially 'evil' country that started the war.

Only problem is now this story is going to be huge. And it no longer follows the inspirational song basically at all. That makes me a little sad, but oh well. The story's got plot now! That's kind of important. And I've always wanted to write something that included both sides of a conflict as 'good guys.'

So let's hope this experiment works! Anyone else had a story veer sharply from the original intent after a single decision like this? Or is that a pantser thing?

What I learned at the RMFW 2011 Conference

Because I like lists and this feels like it ought to be in list format, here we go! In no particular order, some of the things I learned at the conference last weekend. The bold ones are really important things that everyone should know.

Conference Roundup

This year's Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's (RMFW) conference was so much fun! I somehow found the guts to not only pitch but to sit at a table full of agents and editors one night, gather a fantastic group of people together for a critique group (if any of you guys are reading this, you're awesome!), and just put myself out there more than I normally do. Not to mention I learned so much from the fantastic workshops all weekend long; everything from how to write a good pitch, to how to use archetypes in a story, to different communication styles believable characters can use, to bartitsu--a Victorian fighting style that ought to be used more in steampunk.

It was fabulous to see so many faces I recognized from last year! And absolutely wonderful to meet so many amazing new people. We all need more writer friends, right? Or is that just me?

As soon as I catch up on the sleep I lost this weekend, I hope to post some of the more interesting or important things I learned this weekend. For now, though, I think I'm going to go attempt to figure out which characters want to be my secondary viewpoints for the new piece that I decided ought to have alternating points of view this morning, take a nap, and hope that I'm more coherent when I return!

RMFW Conference

Two more days before the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's conference. This will be my second year in attendance and I'm totally looking forward to it! This post is lucky to exist, as I'm taking a break from finishing up the critiques for the critique session on Friday to write it. 

Why am I so excited for this conference? It's really the only one I can afford to get to at the moment, for one. But the opportunities a conference includes are absolutely fantastic. This time, for example, I signed up for a critique session with Jennifer Unter (and I'm psyched that the lovely Jess of Falling Leaflets is in my group! Yay!), have a pitch session with an agent (I won't know who until I check in), and I've promised myself to sit at an agent or editor table during dinner one night to rub elbows. All this on top of the fantastic workshops and panels and lectures and the ability to just mingle with like-minded crazies. I say that with the utmost respect. I'm of the firm opinion that all writers have to be a bit of good crazy, after all. At least, they are if they're serious about their craft. 

Needless to say, the Saturday post will again be missing this week, as I will be eyeball-deep in overwhelmingly fantastic information in a hotel across town. Maybe I ought to choose a different day to update!