World Building

May 02

What's your kryptonite?

Every writer has her weaknesses. I recently read a post on Writer Unboxed, What I’ve Learned About Writing a Novel, where author Sarah Pekkanen discusses her struggles with writing a novel that was more than just a character novel. To achieve this, she had to learn about plot and how to make a story really flow. By overcoming her weakness, she has become a successful author. But to get to the point where you can write books that people want to read, you have to accept that no writer is perfect. Everyone has a weakness. But if you can figure out what your writing weakness is, you just might succeed in selling your novel.

It’s all in the Details

I figured out what my weakness was at a young age. I stink at description. And it’s no wonder since I usually skim through the descriptions in books, racing ahead to get to the good stuff, the plot. But, sadly, description is pretty important in books. You need it to set the scene. While I don’t like overly descriptive books, I also don’t enjoy books that are poorly described. And, truth-be-told, I probably read a lot more description than I mean to read.

In high school I came up with what I thought was a brilliant solution to this problem. I would just write plays. Then I could use barebones description and focus on fast-paced plot and dialogue and character building. There were two problems with this approach. 1 – this was the lazy way out. 2 – I’m not overly fond of actors. In fact, I only lasted about a year as a theater major.

Once I came back around to novel-writing, I realized that I wasted a lot of time taking the easy route. I could have been honing my description writing skills. Instead, I spent hours learning how to properly format a script. Useful if I decide to write a book with a playwright as the main character, but not so useful if I want that book to have any shred of description.

Practice, practice, practice – Exercising your creativity

How do you overcome your weaknesses? In writing, sadly, the only real way to do this is through practice. You have to exercise your creative mind. In the past I often skipped exercises in writing books that focused on description. Now I am forcing myself to work through them. And it is not always pretty. I am also forcing myself to read every word in the books I consume, description and all. I’ve learned to plot by being a voracious reader and seeing first hand what does and does not work. By focusing on description in published books, I am also starting to pick up on things that work and do not work.

I’m pretty sure I will always have to work on my description writing skills. Maybe it will become second nature to me one day. I hope it does, but I’m not going to count on it. Instead, I’m going to keep on exercising my creativity with the hopes that I can at least manage to fool readers into believing that I’m an expert writer with zero flaws

What’s your kryptonite? How do you confront your weaknesses?

Jul 02

Photo by: yukatafish (flickr username) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukatafish/

Writing with an authentic voice is a difficult thing to learn, but lately I’ve been honing in on writers who do it well in an attempt to understand what makes a good voice. The writer I’ve been spending a lot of time with lately (through his books, not in person) is Scott Westerfeld. His books are compelling not just because of his ability to emerse the reader in a wonderfully built world, but also because of his amazing use of voice (which contributes to the world building, but more on that later).

Voice in the Uglies series

In the Uglies series, the main character, Tally, goes through a series of transformations. In each book, the reader can feel these transformations because of Westerfeld’s use of voice. Although told in third person, Westerfeld uses words and thoughts that Tally would use/have. He utilizes slang from his world (e.g. “bubbly” and “icy”) but also gets into the heart of the story. And because the voice is so authentic, he seemlessly transports the reader into Tally’s world. His use of voice wraps around the world, snuggling the reader inside; it is completely devoid of influences from our own world which keeps the illusion from being shattered.

Not only does his use of voice help to make the world real, but he also does a great job portraying many of the things that teenagers and adults alike face – wanting to fit in, insecurities about one’s appearance, never being good enough, etc. While he does this through the plot, these internal struggles would not be nearly as successful without the addition of a believable voice.

Voice in the Leviathan series

The other series of Westerfeld’s I’ve been reading is the Leviathan series. In this series, Westerfeld switches POV between Alek, the properly raised aristocrat fleeing for his life, and Deryn, the spunky Englander pretending to be a boy so she can be an airman. Again told in third person, Westerfeld switches the voice between the chapters. The reader can tell without thinking which POV belongs to which chapter. As with the Uglies series, Westerfeld is successful not just because of word choice and his addition of slang, but he brings out the thoughts and internal struggles of each main character in a believable way.

Other examples of good use of voice

If you are looking for other good examples of voice, Suzanne Collins’ the Hunger Games series uses great voice and is told in first person. In Ally Condie’s Matched, as in the Ugly series, the voice changes as the main character evolves. M.T. Anderson’s Feed, like Westerfeld’s books, incorporates rich dialog into the narration to aid the voice. Another book I recently read is Megan McCafferty’s Bumped, which, like the Leviathan series, uses two POVs. It’s not done to the same degree as what Westerfeld has done, but it’s still a good example of using two narrators within one book.

Do you have any other examples of authors/books that make good use of voice? What other skills can we learn from reading works by other authors?

Mar 27

Ask yourself: does your scene require the super zoom lens or will a wide-angle do the trick?

I’m still on the subject of description, mostly because my WIP needs more of it to really come alive. Description is particularly important for my WIP because the main character has been sent to a new world. Everything is new and so she is really taking in her surroundings, trying to get a grasp on this new world and how she fits into it. But how do you determine when you need more description vs. when less is more?

To describe or not to describe…

I read a great post on kidlit.com the other day about mimetic writing. In her post, Mary looks at situations where lots of description are necessary and situations when excessive descriptions are less appropriate. Basically, if there is a situation where the characters would be likely to notice things, then by all means, throw in some description. But if they are in a high action scene, description would not only get in the way of the flow of the prose, but it would be out of character. Who stops in the middle of running for their life to notice the different types of trees or the chipped paint on a fence? Not many people.

The line that really caught my attention in her post was “If your character is paying really careful attention to someone or something, vague description just isn’t going to cut it.” This could not have described my MCs situation more. And that is when it hit me that I really needed to pump up the description to make the story more real, especially since it’s told in 1st person.

Now, there will be times when high action scenes could call for more description, just as their could be times when detail may be less relevant in a scene where a character is paying close attention to things. For example, if a character is running for their life, they may be paying attention to their surroundings to try to find a place to hide. Or if they are in a fight, they may be watching the movements of their advesary very carefully. Likewise, a character who is paying close attention to someone they are interested in may not be interested in describing everything the person is wearing. If it is the hair or eyes or hands that have attracted the person, they would not necessarily care about the type of shoes the person was wearing, or the smells in the cafetaria. Description for the sake of description is never a good call.

Description can add a lot to a story, but writers have to use common sense when adding it and ask: is this description necessary? Will it add to the story? Will it take away from the flow of the prose? Does it make sense? If your character is from the slums, would they recognize a designer handbag? Would the stuck up socialite care about the color of the bums hair? Not only can description help create your world, but if used smartly, it can also provide insight into your characters. Description can be a powerful tool when used correctly.

Mar 06

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Maze Runner begins with main character Thomas waking up in an elevator. He can remember nothing about his life, except his name. When the elevator opens, he finds himself in a world filled with about 60 teen boys. These boys have created a society in their world, sustaining on agriculture and supplies that show up weekly from the elevator. As Thomas starts to integrate himself into the society, he becomes frustrated by the secrets surrounding this world, and by the fact that some boys claim to recognize Thomas. When the first girl arrives only a week after Thomas’ arrival, the rest of the boys grow suspicious of Thomas, and it is up to Thomas to figure out what is going on and how they can escape the nightmare that has become their lives.

I tried reading this book a while ago and had a hard time getting into it. But I decided to give it another go. If for nothing else, I love trilogies and really wanted to find a new one I could get behind. And I’m glad I gave this book a second chance.

Dashner not only creates an engaging, different world, but he also creates a new, believable language. The voice of the characters is authentic and, once you get used to it, engaging. And the plot contains just the right mixture of mystery, action, and friendships to keep the reader wanting to know what will happen.

As a main character, Thomas is very likable. He worries that he has a dark past, but that doesn’t matter to the reader when we are shown his empathy towards others and his desire to help. Thomas is a true friend, despite whatever evil deeds might be lurking in the shadows of his unknown past. In addition to Thomas, the other characters are given dimension, each having a likable quality mixed with their own set of flaws.

The Maze Runner would serve as a nice companion book to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Whereas the society in Lord of the Flies disintegrates with the loss of adults, the boys in The Maze Runner show that society does not have to disintegrate and suggests that an ordered society may just be part of human nature. It could make for a very interesting discussion to read the two simultaneously.

And now for what you all want to know – should you read this book? Yes! I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Oct 15

I’ve decided to start doing a bi-weekly book review post. So every other Friday I will review one of the books I’ve read. This way you will know when to expect a book review and I will have time to read things. If you want more book reviews, you can always check me out on GoodReads.

Fire

Fire is the second book in Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms Series. If you follow me on GoodReads (not to over plug GoodReads here or anything), you will know that while I liked the concept behind her first book in the series, Graceling, I was not blown away. I found Fire to be much more inspiring.

While the world in Fire is connected to the world in Graceling, they are separated by an impassible mountain. Because of this, there are differences in the worlds. Think Madagascar or the Galapagos Islands, full of their strange creatures almost like ones you would see elsewhere, but slightly different. That’s what the world in Fire is like. Similar, but different. And personally, I liked the world in Fire better. It was more fantastical. I also found the characters to be more engaging.

The main character, Fire, is a human monster, but monsters in this land are not scary. They are beautiful and can capture your attention without a bit of effort. It is their hunting strategy, a survival mechanism. Fire, because of her monster status, has spent her life hidden away in the woods. When the King summons Fire to the capital city, she goes, eager to see the city in which she was born and to show both the world and the attractive and intriguing Prince Brigan that she is not evil, despite the sins of her father. The book deals with issues of identity, belonging, and choosing your own path in life.

What I liked about this book

The world building: As with the first book in the series, Cashore has created an engaging, complete world. When you start reading the book, you are instantly drawn into the world. I never once forgot where it was set.
The characters: I found her characters to be engaging. They were not as complex as what you would find in a Victor Hugo novel, but they had some depth. Even the goofy, lovesick Archer who initially seemed a bit 1-dimensional proved to have some depth by the end of the book.
The plot: The plot was engaging with a good amount of mystery. I thought her use of mystery was better than Graceling, showing her growth as a writer. There were still some things I figured before I was meant to, but the foreshadowing did not give too much away, which was my main complaint about Graceling.
The prose: Cashore’s writing style is engaging and consistent.

Sex in YA

And so now this brings me to a somewhat grey area. Sex in YA books. There was a lot of sex in this book. There weren’t any descriptive sex scenes, but I felt like every character in the book was having sex. Cashore did use some of the sex scenes to bring up how sex leads to pregnancy and can lead to a broken heart, but most of the sex was pretty casual. I’m not quite sure what my feelings are on having this much sex in a book for teenagers. Certainly teens know about sex and a lot of them are having sex, but I wonder about the author’s responsibility when it comes to incorporating sex in YA. Should authors be concerned with the influence they may be having on teenagers with regards to having sex? Should YA even include sex? I don’t want to go into a long thing about sex in books for teens in this post, and I’m not going to. That topic could take up several blog post, but I thought it was worth mentioning. And speaking of blog posts on sex in YA, there was a good post over at kidlit.com on this subject just the other day.

Final Thoughts

So, to sum up Kritstin Cashore’s Fire, would I recommend this book? Yes. It’s an easy, fun read with engaging characters and wonderful world building. And keep an eye out for the 3rd book in the series, Bitterblue, coming out 2011.

Understanding Your Weaknesses and Writing Past Them