It's Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!  If you're not, cool.  I had those years where my family was on the outs/grieving and it became voluntary time-and-a-half day at work. If the holidays have you down, don't do that. There is nothing about holidays that is mandatory and you're not a failure if you don't take pictures of food and friends.  I ate food with my family this year and it was delicious, but it's not an expectation or a requirement for me to have it either.  Sometimes, I take the cold and quiet and use it to belt out some serious creative work.  If you or someone you love is down, turn to a hobby-- make one up if the one or two you are already into aren't cutting it.

So, just an update but I have to make a video for my campaign this week.  A video of myself talking about my book, only a minute or two, but I have to say I'm completely dreading it.  I have never liked making videos or taking many pictures of myself. I've actively spent my life avoiding that kind of vanity, preferring to let my vanity come out in creative work that doesn't involve my face.  Don't get me wrong; I have a nice face. I've just never gotten the hang of fourth-wall videos. I would have been okay with it being just my voice and throwing up some slides, but my face had to be involved and I have no clue what sort of hideous transformations happen when I'm talking to a camera but it's not good. In any case, that is what I'm planning for the weekend-- one and done and then I can get my book campaign rolling. Hoping I can avoid this in the future once I secure an agent and publisher because the video craze with crowdfunding is a nightmare for the socially questionable AKA me.

Honestly, I'm really excited about getting the book going though. I have a lot of plans for this four book series with more ideas cropping up daily.  I can see the map grow and become solid, feel the squirming of characters kicking in my brain, watch the magic dance around behind my eyeballs. One thing I love about fantasy is the parallels between logic and possibility. How you can take things that don't exist in our world but build them to be possible. It's a place you can make rules and break them.

For those of you following my vanity project, the third book illustrations have officially been edited so they'll begin the coloring process. Once I get the third book in order, I'll start work editing for the text only compilation. I don't intend to rewrite them, but I did want to edit some of the rough edges I caught in the first book. I don't intend to change the content-- they aren't for everyone, but then readers aren't every genre's little clones. I started writing because it felt lazy to keep saying what I wanted to see in books. I've been writing short stories, poems and comics for so long that it was time I reached higher. It's insane to expect writers to write for me, so why not write what I wanted to read? My vanity project was one that I KNEW was going to be difficult to place which was why I wrote the entire thing before letting doubts skew the vision I had for it.

Right now, I'm debating where my writing time will go next. Since both Piscine and my Dreampunk Chronicles are warring for the spot, I might tinker between them unless one becomes more prominent. I'd love to get the Dreampunk Chronicles going since it's my only young adult/child friendly entry so my younger fans, AKA nephews and friends' kids, can enjoy my work too. I consider it a challenge, writing under a rating.  It's not even a sacrifice for me-- these books were based on a very PG rated dream I had and I'd honestly have to labor to make them adult. It's about two young women who try to find out how to fix an unraveling world. It's dangerous and intriguing but I don't see an abundance of sex or violence in this one.

What else have I got?  Ah, yes, let's talk about main characters (MCs). I've seen some debates in fantasy groups over the choices authors make concerning the sex/gender of their main characters. I'm going to tell you from my own experience that the sex of the main character is not something I particularly plan. Often the plots and ideas are the first to come and then I consider how I want them to move through the society.

Let's take a male-dominated society as an example.  Despite what you may think, this isn't the global norm, even in our world.  If you assume that is the case then you have a few ways to go right out of the gate:

1) The MC is a woman with a rebellious streak that directly butts head with the system. A Type A that seeks to either change the norm or just has no intention of letting it define her.

2) The MC is a woman that uses her sexuality and cleverness to manipulate or sway people since she knows it's better to go with the flow. A Type B personality that makes it a point to pick her battles.

*NOTE: it's possible to combine the two given a situation.  Whether she is dealing with men or women may change her tact, as well as whether she is dealing with a stereotype of society or a rebel. 

3) The MC is a man who used the perception of men in charge to coast through. If you don't want society to be a part of the problem, then this is the path of least resistance. Allows you to focus on other parts of plot.

4) The MC is a man who doesn't benefit from that society.  He may be a quiet sort that was burned by laws or women or other situations and does his best to avoid both perceived benefits and disadvantages. 

These are just a few generic examples but, using current world models, could you flip the genders and still make it believable? In these examples, yes.  I'm not using the biological advantages or disadvantages of men and women to define the characters, only their power level in society. In a female dominated society, are the women physically stronger or is their power dynamic based on their ability to wield a magical power that men do not have? What if your challenge offers a truly neutral society, one where perhaps gender definitions and pronouns are so redundant that there are no masculine or feminine assignments in the language itself? In my friend's sci-fi story, she touches on a planet of people where they refer to everyone neutrally and only with direct mention of genitalia are the separations ever made. There is no agenda behind this idea, just a curiosity in how people would interact were the emphasis just not important.

I know I wandered a bit deep here, but believe it or not, these are thought processes that only take a few minutes (and usually while I'm taking a walk) and are the key influencers on the choice of an MCs gender. It's a whole other rabbit-hole but I've chosen gender neutral characters on occasion too, not to make a point, but because the character decides for themselves whether they want it to be important or not.  To be honest, I don't try to write just to hide my own agendas or current trends. I write based on curiosity.  I am genuinely curious about problems I present and how I might maneuver a character through those problems. 

Even in the basic examples I gave, it's just the tip of the iceberg.  A woman born into a more prominent family might have far more sway than a peasant.  Then again, a peasant is far more likely to rebel against a norm. This is assuming that there is a hierarchy we are familiar with.  A lot of authors choose to model from government and classes that actually existed, but what if a male-dominated society is overseen by a goddess that is just jealous of other women?  Are all power-structures fair and logical or is there some gaping flaw that has room for chaos to ensue?  This is also the reason why I don't shy away from sex.  When it comes to humans, it tends to be a blindspot in choices they make as well as a deciding factor in their motivations. Is the character getting too much or not enough? Is the deplorable playboy really looking for someone to settle with or is the fedora-wearing 'nice guy' killing prostitutes that turn him down?

Disclaimer: I do not particularly hate fedoras, but they are not a magical piece of clothing that instantly makes you mysterious or cool.  At least outside of fantasy books. 

In any case, I hope I'm able to provide some insights into how I work. It's not like a writer can really give away all of their crucial secrets because the process isn't something any of us can really pinpoint. I do know, as a writer, I do love to pick people's brains, learn the basics of their processes. There's no right or wrong way, but sometimes a certain approach does make it easier to tackle those unique ideas. In a genre like fantasy, the devil is often in the details so any process that tightens up a character or plot into a manageable force is always a plus. So many people fall into a trap where they try to make their character be too much and you end up with pulp. It's realistic for a character to make big leaps when trauma is involved, but everyone has an essential make-up that doesn't alter.  Even someone who cracks up still retains pieces.  When you build an MC, how many of those pieces are essential? If their gender plays an important role in their perceptions, then make sure that is kept in mind.  Even if your story involves a gender swap or they aren't what they appear to be, what kind of an impact does that have?

As always, research is a great jumping point.  I've been in writing groups where people waste a lot of time asking about shit that you could find in two seconds on any Google search. However, if you're tackling something out of the ordinary, you may need to get creative. Let's assume you have a character like Valys on Game of Thrones (a eunuch). You can easily dig up historical accounts, medical records on complications, etc. to cover the facts, but consider the trauma of the character.  While some eunuchs, like slaves, didn't really act out because 'it was the norm' (lets not pretend eunuch and slave rebellions weren't a thing though), what circumstances might make it 'abnormal'? In Varys's case he vividly remembers the horror of being taken in by a sorceror who needed his male parts simply for some spell or experiment, that the sorceror had simply paralyzed him but he felt the pain in keen detail. Sometimes it's a writer's job to imagine the horrors of a situation that isn't normal.  Could you ask someone who had a limb removed in wartime without anesthetics? Sure, but what would be the impact of that being done to a reproductive organ? How would your character handle it?  Would it empower them or drive them to psychosis or even suicide?  

This is why some of the questions in writing groups are ones I find off-putting. Asking me how I would write your character seems as pointless as asking you to tell people how I think. Perhaps writing groups are a great place to ask people, after you've already written something, if what you've come up with makes sense.  It's a place where they can question things that might not be in the excerpt as a way to see if you've considered it for later in your story.  That twitch you mentioned in his face every time someone mentions cats. Does he hate cats or is he remembering something painful about them? 

I've seen a lot of mixed feelings concerning writing groups and how helpful they actually are.  A few rare souls seem to get a lot of valuable feedback, although that is questionable because I've never actually seen examples of this valuable feedback, just their word of mouth.  In most cases, I've seen hug boxes and destructive feedback and, holy hells, people who really want their hands held the whole time rather than do much thinking for themselves. Keep in mind, this even goes for fan fiction where you already have books of fucking canon to work with. 

Motivation is important, experience is important, but with anything, I would always keep in mind to step away from what feels right and really look at what it is actually helping you accomplish. Writers have to do this to edit and draft all the time, but I think many writers get damnably impatient and maybe even let their readers push them to release things way too soon. Hey, it's not always important either.  My vanity project is a lovable mess, but I also needed it published because I just don't trust ARCs and beta reading, etc. I've had friends tell me they've been burned by leaks and such and I just didn't want to deal with that.  I can't say I fault anyone for wanting to just get things out there.  It's why I made an exception to 'releasing things before they are ready.' I suppose some people scrap things after years of not being able to make them work.  I still found a lot of enjoyment in reading my books though, so at some point I just had to release them. There will be other books, so it was time. I don't treat every project the same. However, you will see writers making the same mistakes over and over and their hug boxes are clearly shitting on their progress. They want 'more', but the 'quality' is often sacrificed to rush to please people.

This is why I can't hate authors for waiting years between books. If they're anything like me, there's no way in hell it's just over one series either. You can't chain yourself to something until it's done. Sometimes you need a few pet projects or series to bounce your head around. Sometimes you just need a damn break, to let the series haunt you in vivid dreams before you can do it justice.  I'd rather wait a decade than end up with a disappointing tome of garbage. Think of it this way-- it's like that ridiculous fucking ten year plan I've mentioned interviewers bringing up.  Where will you be in ten years? Sure, we're impatient to jump in a time machine and see this place in time where we imagined we're awesome.  We're just as likely to stumble on ourselves in the throes of a raging heroin addiction. Impatience doesn't guarantee you'll have some smug sense of satisfaction at the end of it. Do other things. Live life without the impossible expectations of guarantees.  Once in a while, you might actually find some hidden gems.  Don't be in such a damn hurry that you're rushing past all of it.  Stop waiting for life to show up.

What the fuck am I doing?  I have leftover turkey to demolish.  Keep writing, people! Or whatever it is you do on holidays or any other day of the year...