From Imagination to Reality

I am of the opinion that one of the most rewarding things about being an author is probably seeing people take your words and create something corporeal (I just happen to like the world corporeal right now). Seeing an idea made into something tangible is just amazing to me. And I may not be published, but I for one love seeing something I've written in a real life form.

For the purposes of this discussion, we're going to leave out the slightly murky waters of fanfiction (which I kind of love and can see it having it's place. But some authors think it's evil so we're just going to leave it alone. No! Back! We'll talk about you another time, Fanfiction. Go wait over there *points and waits as fanfiction grumbles away). Okay, now that we've established that, what the heck am I actually talking about?

Well fan art, for one thing. I mean, there are some spectacular artists out there. And some of them are fan girls who get giddy about things and draw their favorite scenes or characters from books (or movies I suppose, but movies are kind of outside the bringing to life dynamic I'm talking about here). And these people draw stuff like this:

Sweet James and Lily taking a rest from Harry. Who they love but who I'm sure was a handful. Hello, he had Sirius as a godfather (credit to julvett on DeviantArt.com)

Or this:

A stunning Hermione. Who looks both smart and beautiful. There's a reason she was my rolemodel as a kid. (credit to alicexz on DeviantArt.com)

Or even this:

Numair resting. Probably worn out from doing some impressive feat of magic. And some well-meaning child has lent him a teddy bear. Or that belongs to Sarralyn or Rikash. (credit to waterysilver on DeviantArt.com. Oh, and I want a Numair.)

Aren't these amazing? Wouldn't you absolutely love to be a writer and have someone take the people in your head and bring them to life? I know I do. That's why I always comb the NaNoWriMo boards with huge puppy eyes for people to draw my characters. Because when I draw them, it's not quite the same effect as this:

This is Isabelle, who is the main heroine in my trilogy. And this artist has made her beautiful, with a look like she's casing the room and yet a little nervous (at least that's what I see and what she's feeling at this scene in the novel. Which I need to be finishing. Damn. Credit to NaNoWriMo user Ankhesenamun)

These people are amazing. Fan art in general is just such a wonderful expansion of the creative power of books. Fan art says, "You have inspired me. In some small way you have encouraged my talents and I hope you are happy with the result." Isn't that freakin' amazing? And with the internet, you can create communities where you share these amazing things and then someone else is inspired and so on and so forth. It's a chain of creative encouragement.

And then there are the people who write music. Based on writing! Sometimes the lyrics are beautiful and poignant and encompass the feeling you get when you read the book. Like End of an Era by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls.

A beautiful song about how sad it is that Harry Potter is ending, but the fans will never forget how it changed them. (By the way, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls is just a fantastic group. The lyrics are beautiful in this song and Open at the Close (which you should only listen to if you want to cry. It focuses on the Forest Scene in Deathly Hallows))

Or the song Sun's Lament by Mitch Hansen Band

Yes, the song is Twilight related. That doesn't make it any less of a great song. It's sad and wonderful. Besides, I like Twilight under the conditions of treating it as brain cotton candy.

And then you have the songs on the more amusing end of things.

(Why no, this isn't an excuse to post more VlogBrothers. Why would you think that? :)) Still love this song. And he predicted Hedwig's death!

An entire genre of music popped up around Harry Potter: Wrock. How amazing would that be? To have your idea so loved that people create music about it? That there seems like it would be a reward beyond your dreams.

And then you have just the fun fan project of when you make up foods in your book and then people go out and create these foods. My biggest example is again Harry Potter. There is an actual Harry Potter Cookbook, with recipes for Pumpkin Pasties (which I can actually make and not screw up! (well, as long as I don't try to make my own pastry dough)) and Treacle Tart. And people have created recipes for Butterbeer! I like this one. It sounds delicious.

I know a lot of this was Harry Potter, but that's because the fandom exploded so much it made it easy to find Harry Potter stuff. There is definitely a lot of other fandoms with art and projects and amazing out there. So go and google your favorite fandom. You make be surprised what you come up with.

Getting Into Character

Did you know that apparently the odds of getting on the New York Times Bestseller List are 1 in 220? Doesn't that seem kind of insane? But it does give hope to aspiring writers such as myself. It tells us that our chances of getting published, while not amazing, are not as dire as some might have us believe. I have 244 Facebook friends who are not writers I've friended. Which means that odds are, out of those people, one of us will someday be on the New York Times Bestseller List.

This fact maybe why I was catapulted into finishing a scene and conversation I've been having trouble with writing for a while. Now, I am going to let you in on a secret that may or may not make you think I'm crazy. Just know that I am not alone. The way I write is I can hear the voices of the characters in my head.

They talk to me, dictate what the story sounds like (especially in the first draft). For the most part, in that first run through, I let them control the story. They tell me what they know and where the story goes. I've tried to fight them on things before and I only win about half the time. And sometimes they pout and won't tell me their story for a while.

Some characters have a better idea of who they are than others. Some will throw hidden talents or emotional crisis at you from absolutely nowhere. And some simply say "Hey, we don't know how it happened, but we hated each other and then liked each other and then stuff happened. Good luck with that". Then I have to wheedle the story out of them (because they always know far more than they let on).

Authors commune with their characters in a variety of ways. Sometimes they get lucky with someone who desperately just wants to spill their story and the writer just has to try and keep up with the thoughts being provided. Others build complex character profiles, answering questions as the character to get a feel for their voice and thought process (this is especially helpful with first person narratives so you can hear what the voice sounds like before you start writing in it).

One tactic that many readers know of but don't know the reasoning for is writing with a playlist. You may think that this is just because the writer wants some sound while writing. And sometimes the music matches the story. Well the truth is that music is like booze for the people in your head. It loosens them up, mellows them out, and makes them a right bit more forthcoming about the vital plot points you're missing.

Not every tactic works for everyone. Personally if I'm having trouble concentrating on writing music is just distracting unless it is very very quiet. I'm sure my subconscious loves playing around with it when it's too low for me to actually hear. And I ask questions, but sometimes all that greets me is a cricket filled silence.

One of the best ways for me to pry the story out of my character is actually embodying them. This is actually how my trilogy began. The first book began just as me telling myself a story to try and get to sleep at night since I often have trouble drifting off. So I would play each character, have a basic template and then let them take me wherever they wanted.

I have terrible problems with confrontation (arguments, talking to strangers, etc.) which means conflict can be difficult for me to write. But I love acting, even if I just do it for myself. So when I get stuck there I sometimes actually get up and play the scene out, take the positions of both characters and embody the mood, talking through what they feel and how they act, even using dialogue. It's actually great for visualizing what's happening.

These are just a couple of things that help me when writing. Anyone have others? Oh and remember, if you know 220 unpublished people, any one of you could be a published author.