Confession

While it's probably not a writerly thing to do, I want to make a confession. I say it's not very writerly because it's supposedly bad form to give people a potential bias against your work. However, I think examination is more valuable than preserving a reputation so I'm going for it.

I mean, it's not THAT bad...

Characters are not my favorite part of reading and it's my weakest part of writing.

No! I don't listen to gate-keepers!

Before you think I'm saying my characters suck and I should crawl off to a nice boring non-fiction, hear me out. I wouldn't say I'm bad at it. I love observing people and talking to people, but making characters is to my love of storytelling as social media is to actual human interaction. It can be thrilling, it can be emotional, but it just doesn't quite hit the same high feels of a real social interaction. It's the equivalent of a 'you had to be there' or trying to recall nostalgia in a photograph. It can be a great high, reading or writing something great but it's also not a substitute or better. Different, more like.

Story telling and world building is where I get my fix. I'm not going to pretend it's a unique concept. In fact, writers like Tolkien put most of us to shame. I'm not quite dedicated to the point of creating my own language or thousands of years of elfy, dwarfy history but I love the connections and I love the trees. I'm not obsessed with maps but I have a few crude sketches and know my elbow from my asshole.

Prove it? You don't see me trying to lick my asshole, do you?

The trees though... I love how things seemingly unrelated connect. I love seeing old branches spring forth with new buds. I even love when spiders tangle the hopeful new leaves with gossamer and choke them.

At some point, I realized I just don't bear the same confidence with characters. Not for lack of knowledge or authenticity or interest, but more because I kind of just winged it the first time I was able to write anything longer than a college thesis.

Yeah, I remember what my college thesis was about! It was about--

But I wondered if this was really that authentic. I'd over-written characters in the past and lost my way. Namely, I'd written them in so much detail that they just wouldn't fit the story anymore and I wasn't quite patient enough to set them aside and start a new one or edit them as I went. You're probably cringing at that. Edit the character to fit the story? Sacrilege! But yes, I believe that all elements are flexible, most especially the evolution of characters. In that sense, it shouldn't seem so horrible now. It's not unusual that writers claim their character 'misbehaves' or 'refuses to cooperate'. This is just the 'not a hipster' version of that.

Wait, hipster writers, I don't hate you! I'm just not into making disassociative identity disorders look cute and normal!

Removing the crutch of 'overplanning' seemed to be a breakthrough in gaining ground, but I began to wonder-- was it a crutch at all or if I just evolved as a writer without that being the factor? So, out of the blue, I've started a journey of back story, turning each character into their own little trees. Not like a profile or some formal neat arrangement; I just picked up a pen and started scribbling in a notebook. 

I know it's not a new discovery and it's not even new to me. With 'ambition for completion', I just temporarily lost a piece of the joy of just writing something for my stories that wouldn't be seen but still gives me a piece of confidence in my characters I wasn't so sure of with my winging-it approach. Okay, I still kind of wing it, but after I've written a bit about who they are, what they value, their past and their personality, I find it's a lot easier than going back on an edit AFTER I get to know them and constantly dealing with the aggravation of something that they wouldn't really say or do.

Another confession-- even though I did wing it with my first series a lot, I still enjoy the very robust characters throughout. They did go through some refinement in the many edits I did. They still hit all the right notes of being aggravating, beloved, frustrating, disgusting and/or flawed. I still see them as self-aware yet willful, people with demons and angels, some who get more chances than they deserve and some who die the first time they take a risk. I still see how they are trapped in their nature or struggling for discipline in a mind too free to choose who they are.

Starting this blog, I've always wanted it to be grounds for honest discussion. It's because I perceive making characters as my weakness that they might actually benefit from that criticism.  Given a chance, even with my love of the story, I'd still be inclined to talk about my characters in terms of how I would my friends. I'd see their ideals and aspirations at war with their actions and reactions, where their confidence falters and where they beam with their strengths. Sometimes a nicely formatted profile just makes them a nearly faceless job applicant to me. There's something oddly familiar about scribbling about them on paper with the frenzy of a diary entry. This feels like the right place to build that confidence.

In a way that a discovered diary is anything but.

He means the diaries. At least all the ones with hearts and your crushes' names in them.

Character Profiling: UnNamed

In case the blog title and any previous posts haven't emphasized this enough, this little exercise in profiling my book characters will definitely prove unconventional. In case you think I go out of my way to be over-the-top on purpose, nah. 

I wrote UnNamed after making fun of myself for the millionth time that, while I never forget a face, I'm 95% likely to forget your name until I've known you for about six months. Even then if I don't see you after a few years, just as likely to forget. The main character survived an incident in his mid-teens that left him badly scarred and with a specific amnesia when it comes to names (and likely the circumstances of an emotional trauma prior to that made his brain trigger the conditions of that amnesia). He skips over any attempts for others to learn his name and he gives people nicknames that serve as mnemonic devices for himself, not always flattering or unoffensive.

For that reason, I cripple the reader a bit. You do not always learn their names but you attach his naming conventions at his level. He doesn't allow himself to be a sympathetic character but he's not an asshole just to be one, he just survives by understanding his limitations and emphasizing his strengths.

I'm already cutting a good picture of the first MC. Again, I'll labor to keep out spoilers for the ones looking to read it. It's worth the surprises.

The mercenary

Hair: dark

Eyes: dark

Distinguishing features? Four distinct scars

Unable to return to the city he was raised in, he is left with few choices in terms of survival and one almost gets him killed. Deciding mercenary work is the safer choice, he lives a dangerous life but one on his own terms. Not altruistic by nature, the discovery of an artifact leads him down a path that turns his unexceptional existence into one he never could have predicted.

The kid- Brat

Hair: ?? 

Eyes: ??

Distinguishing feature: androgyny

There are zero people that the mercenary trusts in Orendon, but Brat is the safest bet when the mercenary can't travel with the artifact. Brat is a street thief, their mother is a prostitute. The average pipsqueak kid who loves adventure but lacks courage, the mercenary only brings the kid into his mess because the kid is linked to the artifact. Despite their glaring differences, they are more compatible companions than either would ever admit.

The barmaid- Cherry

Hair: red

Eyes: blue

Distinguishing features: ??

Meets the mercenary when he gets blitzed in the bar she works at and accuses him of stealing from her. Discovering she is yet another link to his mystery, she tags along to find others like her. A generous yet shrewd woman, she is both fire and ice in nature but that flexibility makes her resourceful too. She doesn't balk at asking for help but is also capable of handling herself.

The socialite- Sunday

Hair: dark 

Eyes: dark

Distinguishing feature: vitiligo

A self-possessed woman, practical and adaptive, she doesn't bat an eye when her life takes a turn with the mercenary showing up. He calls her Sunday (he means Sundae) after the ice cream dessert because of the contrast of her skin. Unoffended since she can tell it isn't done in cruelty.

The living doll- Dolly

Hair: blonde

Eyes: blue

Distinguishing features: none

A nervous girl from a farming family and one that brings out people's protective instincts. Petite and youthful in appearance, her childlike personality makes people liken her to a doll. Joining this growing group, it is her first experience away from her family. She is curious and a bit naive, but still nervous about being away from home.

The giantess- Brute

Hair:

Eyes:

Distinguishing features: size,  blue tattoos

First seen working at a dock unloading crates. Despite her intimidating appearance, she has a generous sense of humor and a vulnerable side underneath it all. She is drawn to feminine women, everything she isn't, but until the group comes along, she lives a life of hard labor to blot out the complications of her past.

The mother- Reina

Hair:

Eyes:

Distinguishing features: mother

Toting around her children, she struggles to surpass the difficulties of being a single mother. Because she reminds the mercenary of a specific person, he gives her the actual name of that person. The only way to chill her warm personality is to threaten her children.

The guard captain- Amber

Hair:

Eyes: Amber

Distinguishing features: air of authority

A headstrong cautious woman who is driven by a sense of duty. When tragedy strikes, she leans on the discipline of her training rather than an emotional response.

The flower seller- Flower

Hair:black

Eyes:

Distinguishing features: 

A soft spoken sort, who is matter of fact but not blunt. 

The spy- Blayde

Hair:black

Eyes:

Distinguishing features:
Unlike her sister, she is brash, quick to act and sarcastic. Despite her rebellious nature, she is more virtuous than practical.

What's difficult about profiling these characters is that their appearances were relatively short. I have one regret and it's that I tried too hard to keep this entry in the series short. In truth, it could have been fleshed out like I'm am doing with UnSung, easily making UnNamed also stretch more comfortably into three standard length books. I didn't realize what this series needed until I shed the limits of querying it. In fact, I probably hurt it in trying to fulfill that.

Live and learn. Maybe the richness of the ideas in store for this series will inspire translations into other media. It's always possible that I'll want to revamp these stories for a comic format. If I truly felt it was a lost cause I would jump ship. The idea of doing UnNamed based short stories stems from that need to paint a bigger picture from the source material. I want to explore the mercenarys's past as well as the Maidens. Now moving forward, I will be bringing in the history of the Sentinels so that was meant to stay vague through UnNamed. UnHeard and UnVeiled will actually pull in a lot more of the ancient history I've hinted at, although UnSung has done a bit of that too.

One thing I am certain of is that epic stories are best served by doing away with a word count. Write the story, exactly what it needs to be-- worry about parsing it later.

I'm no GRRM either. By that, I mean I'm not looking to clog with filler (one hell of a storyteller but I'm not saying anything he hasn't heard a million times).. If you're familiar with Dragon Age, it's more like that. There aren't rosters of meaningless deaths upping the page count, but the massive undertaking of the past, present and future of an entire world. Cultures, mythologies, intentional characters. The fact of the matter is that it's almost impossible to avoid 'telling' in epic fantasy if you try to fit huge ideas into compact counts.

Again, live and learn. In any case, this is precisely why I want to do some spin-off stories. It's still a complete novel but I want to visit it more leisurely.

I think sometimes a writer just wants to keep picking at scabs. Sometimes you want to go deeper or splash on the surface a bit more. I do have a love of short stories because of King's Dark Tower series shirt, Sisters of Eluria. It led me to read them (although it's still my favorite). While I find his novels hit or miss, I think he writes brilliant short stories. Perhaps it's the inspired burst in its  brevity that makes it so engaging but it really suits his pacing and style best.

Character Profiling: A World Reborn

Back for another round of character profiles, this time with the basic protagonists of the second trilogy. As some of you may know, I started out this series with the goal of simply writing a finished book. A series isn't always a planned thing. Once I resolved the main plot, each time I had more questions. Could I just write short stories to answer them? Perhaps, but each one seemed to bloom well beyond that word count, each needing a bigger problem to lead them to another resolution. How often in reality do we look at the big goal, seeing little more than a victory or a happily ever after, but even achieved, we see hills beyond it and more journeys ahead? I was tying up the end of the Heroes trilogy and I didn't see an ending. There were aspects of this growing world that made me wonder even further back into their history, even more into the mysterious people and cultures and pockets of the world only briefly explored.

A World Reborn begin where I planted the seed for continuity. Again, without getting too much into spoiler territory, it's just not the same world and with the passage of time, the truth is just not coming to light and people forget. It's a hard legacy to carry. So who's dragged into the party kicking and screaming this time?

EDEN

Hair: White

Eyes: Grey

Short Intro: From the time she was 4 years old, she came into a power that came with an awful cost, one that forced her family to look for answers, mostly getting none, and leading to a life growing up isolated and protected. She misses her mother and uncle and teenage impulses make her sure she can find what others cannot. Forced to flee her childhood home, she convinces her guardian to return to the north.

First appears: her home on the edge of the Ersenais kingdom

SOLIS

Hair: Black

Eyes: Golden Yellow

Short Intro: Crown prince of Abundance, his father mysteriously disappears and his mother becomes despondent until she takes her own life. When his double-edged gifts surface, he nearly kills his twin sisters. When the Council tries to detain him, he flees in terror. Not sure of where to go, he simply heads north, but the 'gifts' assure not only the farthest thing from a normal life, but also a path of destruction. When his mother's ex-lover, a man whispered to be an assassin, shows up, he thinks it's all over.

First appears: the Palace in Abundance

CONOR

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Short Intro: Conor and his twin sister are nearly inseparable, living their carefree lives in Skyloft, a city their parents founded. Having a Reishefolk parent, he and his sister were born with wings, but they never fully developed. Their uncle seemed obsessed with trying to find out why, but his quest is cut short when another problem arises.

First appears: Skyloft

CALYRA

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Short Intro: Fraternal twin sister of Conor. When her and her brother come into their powers, they feel an urgency to leave, looking for a lead their uncle had started on. On the insistence of their father, the blacksmith Arred is asked to go with them, a move that Calyra and her mother are not happy with.

First appears: Skyloft

ARRED

Hair: Sandy brown

Eyes: Spring Green

Short Intro: A young and talented blacksmith, a gorgeous beast of a man that seemed to be shorted on brains, but is unfailingly loyal to the 'Boss', the twins' father. He and Conor are thick as thieves, but everything about him seems to irritate Calyra, a fact that doesn't seem to deter his friendliness and loyalty towards her. One thing is certain, this guy doesn't believe in giving up.

First appears: Skyloft

TREMBLE

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Short Intro: a mysterious kid that seems to know Rienna, Eden's mother, and is anxious to find others like him and warn them to reach a meeting place. He appears to be forgetful, socially awkward and simple, but haste and responsibility doesn't leave too much room for pleasantries either.

First appears: outside of Skyloft

HOPE

Hair: White

Eyes: Red-Violet

Short Intro: A young Bryfolk girl born mute but bright and determined to correct this hurdle. After inventing a voice box, she begs her parents to let her go to an Inventor's Expo, which they agree to do as long as her older brother Reese chaperones. When separated, she discovered her own ill-timed powers and flees in a panic.

First appears: South of Ersenais in her parent's home

REESE

Hair: Sandy

Eyes: Golden Brown

Short Intro: The older brother to Hope and triplet brothers, he is a combination of responsibility and inexperience. After being separated from his sister, he hurries home to tell his parents he is going after her. When 'Tia' makes it clear she can help him find her, he begrudgingly takes her along.

First appears: In his parents family home south of Ersenais

GALATEA

Hair: Fiery red

Eyes: brown-violet

Short Intro: A slightly bratty teenager who keeps her powers secret; a power that leads her to anything her heart desires. When a family friend goes missing, she leaps at the challenge to put it to use, even though her overprotective father isn't wild about sending her off with his friend's handsome teenage son.

First appears: South of Ersenais

REYLON

Hair: Black

Eyes: Yellow

Short Intro: A panther Felisfolk (cat hybrid) who spends his days hunting, learning how to hold his breath underwater and chasing after the tribal chief's daughter. When he wanders too far and gets attacked by two lion Felisfolk. In an attempt to hide, he ends up being caught by fishermen and dragged off to the main continent.

First appears: in his tribal territory on Wheryf

FENEC

Hair: orange and white

Eyes: Blue

Short Intro: After the disappearance of his overachieving twin brother Cerdec, the warrior-trained Kitfolk (fox hybrid) Fenec declines into a life of drunken debauchery and thievery. On one shady mission, he is caught by slavers that ship him off to Ogre Island. In his terror, his powers awaken and he breaks his bonds and flees to the main continent, a place his isolated existence has never prepared him for.

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Pretty sure that covers the basic protagonists; again, there are other pivotal characters, but they seem to branch out from the main set here. It would probably be more accurate to think of them as character trees. There are sort of cameo appearances of characters from the last trilogy, but it's not campy or super emphasized.

I'm scheduling the next character profiling post for some time later since those books aren't yet released and I'm leery of accidentally spoiling anything for the early adopters. It's also a bit more difficult for me to pick the basic protagonists in that one since there are different factions that pop up along the way. I think I'll stick to the first ones introduced to avoid spoiling the importance of that discovery.

Big casts of characters have always fascinated me, how you could keep track of them more naturally when it's organic to how we build relationships in real life yet at the bird's eye view of a narrator that swoops in and out of different perspectives. On the surface, a lot of characters seemed like a dilution of depth, but it's quite the opposite. Interactions aren't exactly more shallow in a larger social setting. At parties, you probably do a good mix of joining group conversations or wandering off with a friend for a one-on-one all throughout the evening. The rarity of adult get-togethers in the busy reality of life often compacts and enhances the value of those moments. The same goes for the development of characters in a series. Rather than figuring out how to stretch out the adventures of a couple of people, it becomes a matter of prioritizing their appearance and not overstaying their welcome.

Stay tuned for the next one!

Character Profiling: The Truth about Heroes

In the interest of sharing, I remembered the character profiles I originally made for my first series and decided it might make for a good niche post, both for writers to evaluate and fans to enjoy. I'll try to avoid the spoiler type things and stick to the aesthetics and a basic introduction. I'll stick to the basic characters, since they already comprise a sizeable roster.

RIENNA

Hair: Chestnut

Eyes: Smokey Grey

Short Intro: Mother died when she was very young, father is the Commander of the Royal Army of Merschenez in Ersenais. She's a headstrong, sometimes confrontational, young woman that deals with the stigma of wanting to prove herself capable despite the odds. Despite a rather sheltered upbringing, she's not wholly unprepared to deal with the world nor too trusting and naive. She is driven by a single-minded revenge at first, but finds salvation in self-belief and friendship.

First appears: Merschenez Castle in Ersenais

KROSE
Hair: Violet Brown
Eyes: Forest Green

Short Intro: The younger brother of Seije (Captain of the Guard under Rienna's father) grew up in the Hargreaves Orphanage with his brother. When his brother joined the Royal Army, he had taken to sneaking out causing mischief, leading to a life of thievery, a direct contrast to his responsible older brother. Nevertheless, they maintain contact, however brief and distant. His best friend is Dinsch and when Rienna meets him, he desperately needs to bail his friend out of a bad situation.

First appears: Haveshing Mark, a tavern in Neibelung City

DINSCH

Hair: White

Eyes: Red

Short Intro: A rabbit-human hybrid (called the Bryfolk), borrowing his features from albinism in rabbits. He's self-conscious of his large feet and appears cheerful, nervous and impulsive, wearing his heart of his sleeve. Like most Bryfolk, he's not shy in the slightest, either in terms of personality or body confidence. He has a sentimental side that can be charming. Claims he isn't very smart, but he's more clever than he seems.

First appears: Scryshaw Caverns

ASHE

Hair: White

Eyes: Blue

Short Intro: A young man with a wicked scar on his head and tattoos on his body with no memory of how he got either, although it points to his link with the destroyed Suleika tribe. When he gets a letter from an unknown source claiming to know of his past, he leaves his happy-go-lucky existence to uncover a brutal past that was better off forgotten. He is intuitive and optimistic. He fights using curved swords attached to silk scarves, a fighting form that is both rare and of unknown origin.

First appears: Guileford, where his best friend works

NIGHT

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue-violet

Short Intro: Something of a notorious playboy, he was a foundling raised by a traveling circus, who first draws Ashe's attention by using the same sword skills he possesses but for the purpose of entertainment. He has a somber and conflicted side that dark forces seem to weaken in him. He is protective of Freesia, another 'foundling' with a disjointed past.

First appears: Harmonea, an entertainment city

FREESIA

Hair: Auburn

Eyes: Violet

Short Intro: When she is found after barely surviving a brutal attack, the ringmaster's wife puts Night in charge of her welfare, a move that stuns him. Freesia has no wish to just tag along, even if that just means selling tickets, but she shows an interest and a talent for tightrope dancing. Having finally shedding her reservations about belonging, an attack on the city they are performing in leaves her untethered once more, only Night's jests giving her the ability to mask the vulnerabilities she doesn't want to show.

First appears: Harmonea

FINN 

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Short Intro: One of the Reishefolk, a bird-human hybrid (his being a blue falcon), he starts on a drunken quest sparked by the Bryfolk's Summer Festival that ends rather badly on a desperate flight to get away with his life. When he meet up with Rienna, Dinsch, and Krose again, he decides they're probably better company than he's used to. He also has a complicated past involving the prostitute mother that sold him and the sympathetic mob boss that sends him to live with a foster family.

First appears: The Burrows, a Bryfolk city

PIERAIT

Hair: Sky Blue

Eyes: Golden Yellow

Short Intro: Pierait is a strange young man; one of the Soulless, a human born with no elemental affinity and no magic but possesses a void and a terrible fate. His kind are imprinted with a Purpose, a goal they must achieve to reach true death. Failing to meet that Purpose comes with terrible consequences. Because of how dangerous that Purpose could be in the wrong hands, the Soulless are united under a shaman to receive a purer existence. Pierait is an exception, his own mother breaking the rules to send him on a quest to gain the impossible: a soul.

First appears: Morgaze, the Magic City

LYRIA

Hair: Deep Brown

Eyes: Green

Short Intro: A barmaid working in her stepfather's inn in Maharyjab, she wears gloves despite the desert heat. She has a secret that her mother traveled over two continents to protect her from but still ended up dying when it caught up to her. Content to spend her days living her simple, peaceful life, she is stunned when Pierait insists he needs her skills on his quest. He is able to discern she has the ability of Touch, reading minds on skin contact.

First appears: Maharyjab

VERITY

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Short Intro: It was her destiny to be a shaman of her village, heiress of the Mirage gifts. When she disappoints her people by not inheriting the power, they whisper it as an omen. However, like most girls with no exceptional destiny, she is betrothed to a young man who turns out to be a dream come true and they have two beautiful children and a fairy tale romance-- at least until the omen proves to come to pass, leaving her with nothing but the delayed and unwanted onset of the Mirage power. Only the will of this magic leads her to a life where salvation is possible.

First appears: Dreana, a lush city on the edge of the desert

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I avoided discussing any of their elemental affinities since that concept is muddy with some spoilers that might ruin the fun. I think I was able to nail some of their key past and present points without cutting too deep. Summarizing has never been my strong suit, but I work on it.

There are some more pivotal and interesting characters, but each of them stem from one of the base characters. It probably seems like an overwhelming cast, but I didn't linger much or do a lot of leading to get right to the story. I'm told that, at first, it's 'telling', but I intended for the intro to do that rather than poke around at the set-up. I needed to both set up the first character's structural back story and NOT draw it out.  You get her life in frantic clips of memory all centered around why she is there on the day her whole world changes. It's more of a prologue that I just didn't attach that sort of formal title to. It's not a pace that sets a tone for the entire book, let alone the trilogy or the series as a whole. I often experiment with pacing, story, character dialogue and interpersonal relationships. I would not have published if I didn't feel I did it sufficient justice.

Character building can be a lot of fun, but the length I went to for my first series is not one that I feel is the best method for every story. For my second series, discovery as I wrote was crucial. I definitely plotted the story with a stronger backbone but I gave up some of my control on the way the reader sees the characters. One thing I do consistently avoid is moral bias. I don't ever persuade you to see anything as good or bad, only what the characters did and some insight into that rationale. I always want to leave that judgement to the reader. My opinions have zero place in the story.

Revisiting character profiles in my other two trilogies is on the list, but I'll save that for a later post. Three in one day; I'm already overachieving. I'll probably end up getting to those posts within the week.

I'd like to note that this series doesn't establish my 'brand' of storytelling. Leave that to the bestsellers. It's always been my intention to just pound out a library true to my storytelling goals before any sort of demand could persuade me to pound out a 'brand.' It's a word I never quite took to in my graphic design discipline. In so many ways, I've seen brands as needy and generic rather than cohesive or even a reliable guarantee. I wouldn't say that it's never going to tempt me, but I also didn't want to rush past the chance to see what I can do on my own before any such collaborative or persuasive efforts are involved.

Hope you enjoyed a little more insight into what my series and my characters have to offer. I'd like to note once more that it IS an adult series. It's not whimsy and fairies and elves, but it's not pounding you with the ills of human nature constantly either. It does however take on some violent and sexual arcs. I didn't give much thought to people's sensibilities, but I promise it's not going to be dark web sort of 'I want to unsee this!' sort of shock jerk garbage either. There's only so far I will go before I see zero value in the 'authenticity' of a concept. I'm not sure I want the two people that actually like those things to feel the need to contact/stalk me. I'm already a bit of a magnet for misfortune and I'm not looking to make a habit of it. 

Hope you enjoyed the quick peek into the basic profiles. These are characters that still invade my dreams and may have more appearances yet. I still play with the idea of writing some prequels, but this won't be anytime soon. There are other stories demanding to be told more.