Writing Class: Day One, Two, and Three!

So!

As you can read on the descriptions to my videos over at my Youtube Channel, I had some major technical issues, so I have three videos from the last three days for you guys!

I have now solved the problem, and we are all caught up and back to normal!

                  Writing Class: Day One!:

                  Writing Class: Day Two!:

                  Writing Class: Day Three!:

So, I'll be posting one more Video later tonight, Day Four, which is actually what is SUPPOSED to happen!

So sorry about the huge dump of videos, and thank you guys so much for hanging in there!

Thanks for reading/watching!

Becoming a Murderer: The Four Step Guide to Killing Off Characters

I felt this topic was appropriate considering, in my own novel, I am currently having to kill of, not one, but two main characters.

I mean, granted, one of the characters is evil and you've been wanting him dead for a long time, but even with him it's a bittersweet thing, because, through my eyes, of course, he still had redeeming qualities and he had reason's for why he taunted and teased my main characters the way he did.

Alas, he's dead now, and next chapter I get to kill off a character that is actually likable.

Oh boy...

Killing off characters is really actually a hard thing. Not only in the sense that it's hard to say goodbye, but also because there is a certain balance with it that is very fragile and intimidating.

On the one hand you can't go killing off every single character in the book right and left. You need meaning and purpose--if a character has to die, make it have impact and emotion. And, on the other hand, you can't have an entire novel without someone getting hurt or dying or suffering, because then it would be a 'Disney Ending' where everyone is happy and healthy and blah blah blah.

Now, if you're writing a MG (Middle Grade) book, this might be acceptable, but still you have to have plenty of conflict and struggles for your characters, but right now I'm talking about when writing a YA (Young Adult) book.

The Four Steps to Killing Off Characters:

• Step One: Create your character.

          Perhaps this character is kind and friendly or brave and caring or witty and obnoxious. Whatever the case may be--create the character, and make the readers feel something for this character. You need to fall in love with them yourself. Make a character that is so incredibly likable, not even you will want them to die!

  TIP: Don't create a character already knowing they're going to die! And, if you create this character and already have the plans drawn up for their death scene, don't treat them any differently than you do the characters you know are going to live. Being in the mindset of 'well, they're going to die anyway!' is a horrible thing to do, and you won't do them justice!

• Step Two: Plan Properly

          This is the step were planning comes into play. You need to consider all of the options-- do you want a quiet, peaceful death, where the character has time to say goodbye, and all loose ends are already tied up? Or do you want an abrupt, violent death that leaves everything yet to be seen? There are about a million different reasons for death; For shock value, to bring another character in the story forwards (or backwards), a sacrifice for another, a suicide, an accident, an illness. I could go on and on!

    TIP: Of course, you also need to consider exactly HOW they are going to be killed of. With a sword? A gun? A car? Off a cliff? Killer Bunnies? Get creative with it! Another question you need to ask yourself is, if it's a purposeful death, who kills this character? Why? Figure out the motives behind the death, as well. Look at it from all angles.

• Step Three: Fetch the Tissues

          If you've done steps One and Two correctly, you're going to need them.

This is the part in the process where you actually KILL the character.

I've written MANY deaths scenes, all completely their own, but one thing they all had in common?

Each and every one broke my heart in some way.

Even if it's a villain you're killing, if you've rounded him/her out properly, there should still be some sadness in you when they die, because you know the secrets deep in their souls, and you know that they have a cause, a reason, no matter what terrible things they'd done.

One of my death scenes that I finished up yesterday consisted of someone getting stabbed in the stomach by a dagger. And, as odd as it sounds, I nearly cried writing it even though some part of me hated the guy. And, the death scene I will HOPEFULLY be writing tonight, consists of someone being shot in the chest.

Now, look at them closer.

One of the deaths is up close with the character who stabbed the boy--he can see the life in his eyes fading and his pale face and watches him crumple to the floor, blood around him. This scene is very emotional for the character who stabbed him, and rightly so, to. (But, shh, spoilers!)

Then we have the other death, which is from afar. The character is running to catch up to the others, and a bullet hits her from behind. The other characters, rather than running to her and dragging her out as they would have liked, are forced to leave her body behind because if they stayed there's a risk they, too, would be shot.

So one is up close and personal, and the other is from a distance, and each one gives off a different feel. One is real and rough and heart breaking, while the other one could be perceived as a dream, where the remaining characters are shocked at the abrupt bullet hitting their friend.

Figure out the tone of your death scene--It can be emotionally crushing, victorious, feeble, or even humorous! 

• Step Four: The Aftermath

          This is the most vital step, right after the character actually dying.

As you read above, there needs to be a reason for this characters death. They need to be important to someone in the story, and that someone (or multiple someone's), needs to feel whatever emotion that is proper, and you need to make sure to touch on that. The emotional part of every death, real or not real, is mostly in those surrounding the dying person, and not within the dying person themselves. Now, there are some cases where that is different, but the majority that I've seen are more tragic within those who knew them.

It's like Funerals. Funerals are not meant for the person who is dead (Because they're already dead.), but instead for those loved ones and family and friends who knew the person, and come to grieve over their lose. I've always believed that Funerals are pretty selfish things, meant for the people left behind and not as much for the person leaving.

Not that there's anything wrong with this--characters feel things just as real people do, and they need to be effected by the death of their friend, sibling, parent, ect.

Make it messy or clean, sweet or tragic, bloody or peaceful--make it however you want, make it your own, but the single golden rule is:

Make it have impact.

Impact on the story, on the surrounding cast of characters, on the reader, on you. Write something so sad and so touching you make yourself cry, or write something to horrible and shocking that even you have to gasp.

Surprise yourself and let what happens happens. Killing off characters is a very hard thing to do, but sometimes it simply must be done, and you are the only one brave enough to follow through.

Have YOU ever killed off a character? How did you make it carry impact? Do you have any strategies you'd like to share? 

Thank you for reading, and good luck on becoming a murderer!

The Dreaded Love-Triangles

Today I want to talk about, you guessed it:

The dreaded Love-Triangles!

*DUN DUN DUUUNNNN*

But wait, because what I'm going to talk about is really incredibly interesting.

Okay--so we've all been taught to hate Love-Triangles, right?

Taught by who, you ask?

By Authors who, most of the time, screw them up and make us all growl and want to rip out the pages of the book.

In your mind, what does a Love-Triangle mean to you?

It means where a character (Usually female because reasons), has the same feelings of love for two separate people., right?

But not all of them have to be that dramatic "Oh but I love him but OH I love him more and". No. Get that out of your head. 'Love-Triangles' are just like your characters or your setting or your plot--it is a part of the story that, if not done properly, will surely make you want to destroy everyone in your book.

Now, like it or not, over half of the things you watch and read today have at least ONE Love-Triangle involved.

Sorry to say, but it's the truth.

Of course there's Twilight (This is my least favorite Love-Triangle in anything. Ever.), but there are many more in places you wouldn't necessarily think to look. I'm going to list a few of the ones right off the top of my head, and if recognize any of them, feel free to ponder on it:

• Clary, Jace and Simon from City of Bones. This one was brief, and I thought it was incredibly crappy, but it's still there, none the less.

• Katniss, Peeta and Gale from the Hunger Games. Yes, as annoying as it is, there's a competition here.

• Una, Peter and Indy from StoryBound. This one was not exactly able to develop as other one's might, considering it was a MG book, but there were still technically two love interests involved. 

• Alina, Mal and the Darkling from the Grisha Trilogy. This one was very unique, and I think it was well done.

I know there are many, many more out there, but this is all I can list right now. Can you think of anymore?

Now--while all of these have the same idea of the Love-Triangle, each one is completely different from the last. I told you before--Love-Triangles is part of the story, too.

Though Love-Triangles involve three people (Obviously), that doesn't necessarily mean that both options, if you will, have to be equal in the competition for the girls love. From a person's point of view with no opinion on either competitor, sure, they both have a fair shot. But if you actually read the book, then like it or not you will root for one other the other. It's just the way it goes, and is why we choose "teams".

A lot of Love-Triangles have reasons and motive and, no, the book couldn't be what it is without it.

One of the references for this is the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare.

Sure, there's a bit of uncertainty with Tessa between Will and Jem, but I believe the Love-Triangle in this book was done beautifully, and it is actually what changed my view on hating Love-Triangles as a whole. I learned that they are more than just a random part of the story to get average teenage girls interested.

While most YA Love-Triangles are  petty and annoying, what with the one 'kind-hearted blonde guy' and the 'dark haired rogue', and ultimately I just what to stab my eyes with a fork, but some Authors have the ability to do them properly.

Love-Triangles are not for everyone to write, I'll tell you that. They're very easy to make too dramatic, or go overboard, or screw up, or. You get the point. But if you feel that you can serve it justice and balance the emotions? Go ahead and try it. You might like it!

In my opinion--if the Love-Triangle doesn't make the book better, and bring something that will lift, not tear down, the novel, it is unnecessary and should not even be there.

So--while Love-Triangles are complicated and risky, they're very realistic because, in real life, we don't meet one guy and think 'he's the one'. At first you're not sure about anything. It takes time to understand what love feels like, so I think, if you're going to have a Love-Triangle, don't drag it out through the entire book--or worse, the entire series. Oh gods, PLEASE don't do that.

If you spend that much time going back and forwards between two guys, you would figure out that you enjoy spending time with one over the other, thus letting you understand you actually love one more than the other. It's unrealistic and impossible to be THAT torn to carry on through an entire series--there comes a time to just say enough, alright?

I have a love/hate relationship with Love-Triangles, truthfully.

What about you? Have you ever written a Love-Triangle? Have you ever read about one?

Thanks for reading!

(And thanks, my sister, for pondering and studying Love-Triangles with me last night. Biscuit!)

How to Make Ideas Your Own/What You Wore Today

Let's talk about Writing for a minute.

I'm going to real quick cover a Topic that is haunting me today, and I can always seem to get over things if I write them down.

Comparing your book to other books

I can't be the only one who does this every once in a while, right?

I've gotten better at not comparing my words, my stories, my characters, ect, to other authors I love, because I tell myself they have edited/revised that books so many times to make it as beautiful as it is, so don't compare your first draft to someone else's fifteenth.

But, truthfully, it's sometimes a good thing to--no, not compare--but to make sure you're not straight up copying or stealing from someone else's work.

With each of my stories, sometimes even just parts in the story if it's long enough, I can tell exactly what book I was reading at the time I was writing it, what TV show I was watching. I can pin-point exactly where I got that inspiration from, and this is what troubled me.

But this is a normal thing. You can't create something fully on your own--not really. You have to have a basis to start from, something has to inspire you!

My first idea that comes from a TV show/book/ect, is truthfully a lot like the idea it originated from, BUT that's why I choose the second idea, and work hard to make it my own.

I have this fear that someone will read my book one day, and say 'She totally stole that from ----!', and I will feel as if I had failed to create my own thing. I think a lot of Authors fear this.

So, how do we get inspiration from other writers works without stealing, and forever being known as 'the next Harry Potter'?

Let's say you get an idea from the Hunger Games, but instead of fighting to the death, it's slightly changed in one way or another, but still close enough to recognize the source you took it from.

What then?

You disguise it, of course.

You add elements of your own. What if weapons are banned? What if the point wasn't to kill each other, but to join together? What if the whole thing is actually a test of teamwork, but the world always follows their instinctive reaction and thinks it's to destroy each other? (I know, these may be pretty bad references, but you get the point.)

The WHAT IF method saves lives, and that's exactly what I just got finished doing, to turn an idea from 'that one idea I got from the one book', to 'my own idea'.

Like words, like stories, you make ideas your own, and yours alone.

Writer-Blog Question for today:

What You Wore Today

Uhm, Pajamas?  Frosty the Snowman pants and my Camp NaNoWriMo T-shirt, of course! I may also be snuggling my Panda Pillow Pet, but that's totally irrelevant.

What are you wearing today? Do you have any methods for making ideas your own? Feel free to share!

Thanks for Reading!