Is there a character in a book, movie, or stage play that you strongly identify with?
How about a TV show, web series, comic strip, or video game? Those are legitimate choices as well;
“wherever characters may be found” – that’s what I’m saying.
I’m willing to bet that if you want to have a heart-to-heart with that character, it’s because they have something you want, a trait that might be conferred via the medium of friendly advice. So to sit there and have a conversation with them, that’s a good exercise. “It builds character”, as many bloggers are likely to say today.
To be frank, I have nothing. Almost. The only characters I want to talk to are my own.
It’s National Novel Writing Month, more commonly referred to as NaNoWriMo. I’m trying to do it this year, but after 2,200 words I have lost my story and I can’t remember where I put it. My characters are stalling. I need an outline, but I haven’t gotten one knocked together yet.
If there was a show about bloggers trying to break into fiction – or publishing anything, I would watch that. I would probably like to chat with one of those characters from later in the series, after they’ve sold a book.
Better yet, I’d like to talk personally with my favorite podcasters: Dan, Brandon, Howard, and Mary from Writing Excuses. They’re all published authors of genre fiction, and that podcast has done a lot to help my writing.
So screw talking to characters. I want to talk to the people behind them.
Better yet, I have to get my own characters talking.
What do you think about all of that?
This post was prompted by today’s Daily Post prompt.
Related articles
- Character | The Magic Black Book
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | Basically Beyond Basic
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | Under the Monkey Tree
- Little Red and the Wolf | It’s a wonderful F’N life
- Interesting Character | Kansa Muse
- Fallen Tree: Up Close (Character) | photo potpourri
- Character From Art | The Ambitious Drifter
- The last gunslinger | dawnyhosking
- A Short Conversation With Two Characters | The Jittery Goat
- Miss Havisham | CombatBabe
- A Sign Of Life
- Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin | Bright Moments Catcher
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | Awl and Scribe
- Daily Prompt: Somewhere Over the… | One Starving Activist
- Favorite Character | Crow Arrow, Inc.
- Dear Heathcliff… | alienorajt
- Taming Insanity | Finale to an Entrance
- 210. Character Chat | Barely Right of Center
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character « Mama Bear Musings
- Better Person | crookedeyebrows
- Susan Pevensie | JC Bride ~
- Monday Momentary Mentors | Tommia’s Tablet
- Here’s A Tissue-You Might Need It | Momma Roars
- Daily Prompts: It builds Character | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
- I’m out of excuses! | Rob’s Surf Report
- Alice in Wonderland | A mom’s blog
- Goofy… | Haiku By Ku
- Here’s a Character … The Comic Shakespeare | Eyes to Heart
- The Little Man | Fruit Salad
- Daily Prompt: Why We Love Jane Eyre | The Library Lady and Rosie Bear
- WWJFD? | sayanything
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | My Atheist Blog
- Character | Flowers and Breezes
- “It Builds Character” | Relax
- Atticus Finch | Life is great
- Procrastinate: build character | Emotional Fitness
- Atticus | DGSIII
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character — Star Struck | SERENDIPITY
- Heart to heart with Don Drapper | Processing the life
- My Encounter With “Hannibal” At The Louvre | The Political and Social Chaos Blog
- To Arthur Dent | ExLibrisMachina
- Character study | I Didn’t Just Wake Up This Morning with a Craving
- The making of an awesome character | I Didn’t Just Wake Up This Morning with a Craving
- S. Thomas Summers | Monsters are the Most Interesting People
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | Photographs by James Collett
- fantasy pool | lemon lime follies
- Inbetween | Historiefortelling
- Meeting the Wicked Witch of the East for Coffee | The Flavored Word
- Cinderella…wake up and smell the damn roses already! | Life as a country bumpkin…not a city girl
- It Builds Character: If You Meet A Character On The Road – Shoot Him / Her!!! | Khana’s Web
- Daily Prompt: It Builds Character | Ramblings of a jerk
- Yoga in India | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
- Daily Post: Character | Destino
- an ideal dream date | Musings of a Random Mind
- Black and White | Little Stories
- Daily Prompt: Character | Chronicles of a Public Transit User
- NaBloPoMo November {4} – How I Met My Favorite Character |
Rob's Surf Report 
My favorite literary figures is Jane Eyre, probably because I hope I’d have her strength of character. A real person that I’d like to have a conversation with is Bryn Terfel my favorite Welsh opera singer. . . . who? . . you’re probably saying. He’s big in the opera world, and though I don’t really like Opera, I do like Bryn. I once sat through a 6 hour production of the ring Cycle just he was the lead.
I hope you at least got to take a potty break during intermission! 😀
Hah, I hate to say it, but LOL.
Brain constipation, gotta love it! Eat prunes, your story will spill forth lol
I’d hate to have to clean up that mess! 😉
At least you’re honest 🙂 That’s something!
Right, and talking about it freed up a little bit of outline to go forward with, so that was a plus.
I admire your courage taking part in NaNoWriMo. I have often thought about it, but it stayed with the thought. Golden oldies like me just don’t have the energy any more. I prefer the shorter stuff, as I know I have time to finish it. Anyhow let me know if and when your book is available.
Hey thanks, I will! 🙂
Hey – another NaNoWriMo buddy!
Yay!
My first attempt – so, hang in there. Just keep writing – it’ll come to you. I don’t have an outline – just flying more or less by the seat of my pants – how “stupid crazy” is this? But it’s developing – into something – and I’m growing and learning with it.
Process Rob. It’s all about process.
Good luck and I’m here for support, any time you need it 🙂
Thanks Pat, same here. Just let me know if I can help you in any way.
Thanks 🙂
I’ll be making a post on my blog later in the week – and then I’ll have maybe(?) decided about sharing. But as always, your input, wherever it is – is always welcomed 🙂
I’m thinking, for my own work, if it’s going to be so long I might just work on it, do alpha and beta readers and then pitch it to some agents. If I decide it’s not worth it I will serialize. That’s just my plan for what it’s worth.
Thanks for sharing your plan. Sounds like a good one.
I *really* should have a plan – but for now, I’m just working on the process – and then, I’ll go from there.
Once again, the offer is there – whenever and however you wish – as I said to Iamfunny2 – if you would like comments – technical -plot related etc., I promise honesty – and gentle but constructive info./input.
I’d like to think all those years studying creative writing could help someone, including myself. Lol 😉
No need for gentle over here. As long as it’s constructive, “give it to us raw, and wriggling. >:)
Write … er …. right 😉
Good luck with NaNo. I’ve never done it.
My characters write my stories. In the early stages, that’s pretty messy, as you can see by things I post on my blog. There is no outline. I have no real direction. But, they do the writing, and I have to go back and say, “Really?? You want do to THAT???”
I’ve written some of my best scenes when I was stuck but I stuck my butt to the chair and kept going. It may not end up making sense, and you will surely rewrite, but amazing things come out of snags.
Yes, rewrites are inevitable, that’s why I have to force myself to write it once and move on, because I’ll get stuck editing the first five pages forever if I don’t just write the whole thing and then start staged revisions.
But I’ve never written a novel before, so I’m just saying that’s going to be my strategy!
You come up with multiple strategies before you’re through. 🙂
Wow, now I see there are at least two people as crazy as I am. I debated for a while but decided to attempt the NaNoWriMo myself. I figured why not, what’s the worst that could happen. Maybe not the best attitude but seeing that you and Pat are both going to be there with me gets me excited to see what we all can come up with. Good luck, If I can help in any way let me know.
Absolutely, same here! I wanted to do it last year but “never had the time”. Now that I’m in the writing habit, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is and at least give it a shot – the way I see it, worst case scenario is I get practice for the next time I want to write a novel. There’s no bad attitude if you’re giving it your best shot!
Hey that’s what I’m doing too, just giving NaNoWriMo a whirl. I was stuck too and as soon as I blogged about how stuck I was, I felt a bit better. And then I got some good, helpful and supportive comments and I felt better again. I try to sit down at the usual time I would blog and just write another part of the story but I don’t force it. This morning it just wasn’t coming so I got up and puttered around and then mid-lunch, all these lines started coming to mind. I just left my lunch till I was done writing 🙂 Also, I didn’t have a plan or outline but all these things for later in the story kept coming to me, so I jotted them down kind of in order – I guess that’s my outline now. Good luck!
Thanks, and good luck to you!
[…] Pingback: I’m out of excuses! | Rob's Surf Report […]