Blooming Idea
I want to thank Elisa from Where’s My Pencil for passing on The Blooming of an Idea Award to me.
I’m not really sure what the rules are with this one so I thought I would just mention in passing the idea behind this blog and then pass the award on to some very interesting bloggers.
The idea of Cassandra Jade in the Realm is to share ideas about writing. Not just me sharing my ideas but to have the chance to hear from other writers and readers what they think about writing and to learn from that and to help pass those ideas on to others. I love being part of such a helpful online community and the blogs I visit regularly and the people who visit here regularly are always full of helpful and sometimes surprising information.
Thanks to everyone who contributes the excellent comments to this blog.
Okay, to pass the award along:
Alex Willging over on The Rhapsodist for his continuing look into sci-fi television and books. I always love hearing his thoughts on a range of interesting texts.
Lynn Rush for her positive and upbeat view on the world – and her great taste in movies and movie quotes.
And to Lua Fowles who always has something very interesting to say about words and writing.
And that’s all for today. Thanks again for the award.
What a character
I was recently visiting Nancy Kelly Allen’s blog and found some excellent advice on critiquing a manuscript. I must admit however, I was drawn to Nancy’s advice on the main character.
Is the main character active in carrying the plot forward? The main character should be responsible for solving the problem or reaching the goal. Uncle Hamm or an older brother should not step in and save the character that is experiencing the trouble.
This advice I have heard before. I don’t recall which blog I read it on but the author explained that the problem with book 6 or the Harry Potter series was that Harry was spending all of his time trying to win a sporting trophy rather than trying to solve any of his problems. In point of fact, Dumbledore deliberately kept Harry in the dark about what most of those problems were which meant that the reader was cheated out of a possibly more interesting story than the one we were delivered.
The fact that I’ve heard this advice before didn’t stop me from sitting and going ‘oh’. Mostly because it is one of thousands of things that when you think about it should be obvious but sometimes when you are looking at a draft completely eludes you until someone else points it out. It helps to be reminded, often, and it is a really important point.
Linking back to Harry Potter, one of my biggest problems with the series was that Harry was given the starring role in the first book but was almost the least interesting character in it. Hermione solved most of the problems while Ron randomly ran into things that may have helped and occasionally Harry would do something pretty stupid that turned out to be good. Harsh, but at the time that was how I saw it. The second book in the series was even worse as far as establishing Harry as the hero. Even in a coma Hermione was more useful than Harry turned out to be. She gave him the vital clue that made everything in the conclusion possible.
I actually do like the Harry Potter books and I’m not pulling them to pieces, just the main character who was always a little underwhelming to me.
Thanks Nancy for reminding us of this excellent advice.
What is the best advice you’ve been given about character recently?
One for the good guys
I love watching old movies. The good guys all wear white or at least tan and other pale colours and manage to keep their hair in perfect formation (maybe one strand will blow across their face) and they save the day with minimal loss and pain. Perfect feel good moment. I hate reading stories like this though.
Maybe it is because I look for different things from the movies I watch to the books I read. Movies can have a terrible story, bad acting, awful effects, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m being entertained. Yes, I prefer movies that actually have a story and good actors, the effects can go either way, but entertainment is all that is required. From books, I expect far more. I expect an intelligent and intriguing story and characters with depth that draw me in. I expect that the good guy won’t just be good because he’s (she’s) written that way but that they are actually given some sort of purpose and motivation.
My favourite protagonists when I read, have flaws. Massive and horrible character flaws usually. While I love reading David Eddings stories (the Elenium Trilogy is amazing) there is only one David Eddings character that ever made my list of favourite characters and that was Althalus. All of his other heroes are good because they are good and work together because it is the right thing to do. Althalus on the other hand was a thief and was coerced by a goddess disguised as a cat into saving the world. That appealed to me on a number of levels.
People in real life are never all good or all bad. And they aren’t the same in every situation and around different groups of people. I think characters in stories should reflect that to an extent.
That said, just going entirely the opposite direction and having an anti-hero can feel a bit old as well.
Who is your favourite good guy and why?
Twitter me this
Okay – so the links are coming thick and fast, but probably because there are so many brilliant bloggers out there sharing their stuff. Here are the links I’ve found and posted on twitter over the last week.
My picks for the week – and there is a few of them because everyone has been writing awesome posts this week:
Talli Roland on blogging: http://talliroland.blogspot.com/2010/07/ten-for-tuesday-of-blogs-and-bloggery.html
Elspeth Antonelli – 10 lessons for writers: http://elspeth-itsamystery.blogspot.com/2010/07/10-lessons-for-writers.html
Words of advice from fantasy authors: http://io9.com/5579212/words-to-live-by-advice-from-34-science-fictionfantasy-authors
Just Jemi – printing out the MS: http://jemifraser.blogspot.com/2010/07/printing-epiphany.html
Lua shares her writing story: http://likeabowloforanges.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/getting-aligned-or-the-dilemma-of-being/
Check out Sybil’s collection of book trailers – yes, mine’s been added:
Trailer for Death’s Daughter been added to Sybil’s collection of book trailers: http://www.sybilnelson.com/
Other great links this week:
My top 5 songs to get me ready to write – what are yours? https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/top-5-writing-songs/
Miss Rosemary’s scattered thoughts on writing: http://disgruntledwriterscircle.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/scattered-thoughts/
Yona Wiseman – Rave rejections: http://daylightprocrastinator.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/rave-rejections/
Hema P – The writing bug: http://hemapen.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/the-writing-bug/
Cheryl Angst – Twitter chats for writers: http://cherylangst.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/twitter-chats/
To Conquer a Mountain – Creating a universe: http://shoutitfromamountain.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/creating-a-universe-and-a-reality/
Casey Lybrand – time management for writers: http://blog.caseylybrand.com/2010/07/19/writing-time-management-and-blogging/
Holly Ruggiero – Playing with Words: http://scribblessplashes.blogspot.com/2010/07/playing-with-words.html
New blog post – Bringing fantasy to life: https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/bringing-fantasy-to-life/
Talli Roland – chick lit is dead: http://talliroland.blogspot.com/2010/07/chick-lit-is-dead-long-live-er-womens.html
Elizabeth Spann Craig – About being a writer: http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2010/07/8-things-no-one-told-me-about-being.html
Jemi Fraser looks at getting an e-reader: http://jemifraser.blogspot.com/2010/07/e-reader-help.html
Carol Kilgore – using your sixth sense as a writer: http://underthetikihut.blogspot.com/2010/07/that-tickle-on-back-of-your-neck.html
New blog post – My writing goals: https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/writing-goal/
Mason Canyon reviews Nowhere to Hide: http://masoncanyon.blogspot.com/2010/07/nowhere-to-hide-by-terry-odell.html
RT @bubblecow A Four Parargraph Approach To Cover Letters http://bit.ly/b17YA0
Cat Woods – Seven deadly sins for writers: Pride – http://catwoods.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/seven-writing-sins-pride/
Terry Odell guest posts on Mystery Writing Is Murder: http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2010/07/homework-time-by-terry-odell.html
Criminal Brief – why writers need an editor: http://criminalbrief.com/
Margot Kinberg – Straight Shooters http://margotkinberg.blogspot.com/2010/07/straight-shooters.html
Terry Spear – The closet muse: http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-closet-muse.html
Stephen Tremp – the 30 second blurb: http://stephentremp.blogspot.com/2010/07/30-second-elevator-blurb.html
New blog post – Query Letter: https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/query/
Novel Journey – on dialogue: http://www.noveljourney.blogspot.com/
Twitter Links
I haven’t done a review of writer links in awhile – I used to do them weekly but now find myself just not having the time to put them all together. Here is a recap of some of the links I’ve been sharing on Twitter recently. Sorry if some of the links don’t work – I tried to test most of them and they seem to be up and functioning.
My Links:
- Finding your plot: https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/
- Trailer for fantasy novel Death’s Daughter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZJYfO64Yg
- Have you been given a writing suggestion recently? https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/writers-annoyed/
- Add to the list of character mannerisms: https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/mannerism/
- Interview about Death’s Daughter: http://walterrhein.blogspot.com/2010/06/words-with-cassandra-jade-author-of.html
- How do you find blogs to read? https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/5-reasons-blog/
- The Photocopy Saga – https://cassandrajade.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/the-photocopy-saga/
Excellent and interesting writing links:
- Clarissa Draper shares 36 different plot lines: http://clarissadraper.blogspot.com/
- Helen Ginger – Books to movies – some interesting facts: http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com/2010/06/books-to-movies.html
- Raquel Byrnes – Creating time for writing: http://nitewriter6.blogspot.com/2010/06/writing-in-space-and-time.html
- Careann’s Musings – Something to give all the writers out there a smile: http://careann.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/weekend-addictions/
- Serial Distractions shares some links for writers: http://serialdistractions.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/blog-posts/
- Winded Words – Apes and Art http://windedwords.blogspot.com/2010/06/apes-and-art.html
- Author Interview: Gary William Murning http://networkedblogs.com/4Kbdz – Thanks Talli for sharing.
- Welcome back to Crystal Clear Proofing and her weird word for the week: http://crystalclearproofing.blogspot.com/2010/06/vocabulary.html
- Ryan Lynch – The power of silence: http://lynchian.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/writing-in-general-–-the-power-of-silence/
- Brown Eyed Mystic – Pitching in a sentence: http://browneyedmystic.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/pitching-in-a-sentence/
- Milk Fever – What book would you take? http://milkfever.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/if-you-were-stranded-on-a-desert-island/
- Cat Woods – Fear and writing: http://catwoods.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/strap-on-your-writing-helmet/
- Doggonedmysteries – Toss out those adverbs: http://doggonedmysteries.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/toss-out-those-adverbs/
- Elspeth Antonelli – Decisions Decisions (very fun read) http://elspeth-itsamystery.blogspot.com/2010/06/decisions-decisions.html
- Terribly Wirte – Some interesting errors on the internet: http://terriblywrite.wordpress.com/
- Elizabeth Spann Craig – fast paced books http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2010/06/fast-paced-books.html
- via Elizabeth Spann Craig – Authors Take Note: Yet Another “How Not to Get Published” Story: http://dld.bz/fXJZ
- Careann’s Musings – Tackling revisions (and weeding) http://careann.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/methods-of-revising-and-weeding/
- Creative Barbwire – My Commandments (very positive) http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/my-commandments/
- Type M For Murder – on being a pro – http://typem4murder.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-being-pro.html
- The League of Extraordinary Writers – How do you prefer to read about setting? http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-question.html
The Day the Tweets Died
August 2, 2010 at 5:40 am (Author Info, Weekly Review) (blog, books, comments, internet, links, movies, post, tags, twitter, write, writer, writing)
Not really. As I mentioned in a comment last week, I managed to finally hit my download limit – all legal of course. That means ridiculously slow internet until the next period which is still about a week away. Which means that twitter is just not working for me at the moment. I can see the top couple of frames, and then it times out an dies. This is also a problem for some of you with really big blogs that have a lot of stars and bells and whistles. Love them usually, at the moment, I can’t actually view them.
What it all really boils down to is I can’t do my coming to a usual round up of tweets concerning excellent blogs I’ve read, not because I haven’t read some excellent blogs, but because without the twitter list telling me where I’ve been, I don’t actually have all the links.
In lieu of having some great links, I thought I would share a few random facts about my blog.
What did I learn from this?
If you don’t post, people don’t visit. If you don’t tell people you have posted, they won’t visit. If you don’t visit others, they won’t visit. And it really is worth using the tags and categories because sometimes really random google searches find your site.
Sorry for the lack of links, a couple of weeks and they will be back.
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