Just a Little Fun

Working slowly on WMRR. I had a great burst of motivation over the summer, but now writing has slowed down as I am focusing mostly on getting a full time job. I really need to be working or learning constantly or I fall into periods of incredible boredom. Thankfully I've had my video work to keep me preoccupied.

Anyway, I came up with a random exercise the other night (partially out of boredom and partially because I was having trouble sleeping) and I thought I'd share it. Give your characters a random situation and try and come up with the way they would respond or act in that situation. It'll tell you a lot about those character's personalities and how developed they are in a story. The longer it took me to come up with an answer, the less developed I decided that character was. It was a good indicator for me to see which characters I needed to work on, even if they didn't have primary roles. Here's the simple random scenario I came up with:


The WMRR characters are each placed alone inside a room containing a single, red button for a period of time. There is one locked door and no windows. What do they do?

Ash immediately presses the button.

Dedrad patiently waits, ignoring the button, for someone to retrieve him from the room.

Dan walks the perimeter of the room, checks the door, checks the walls, scans the floor, then, finally, presses the button.

Myra searches the room, tries the door, attempts to look under the door and waits next to the button without
pressing it.

Grypt attempts to dismantle the button to see how it works and what its function might be.

Jason is suspicious of the button, tries to break down the door and eventually breaks the button in defiance.

Virgil attempts to study the effect of the button, listening for noises when it is pressed, testing the ease of pressing, pressing it softly, forcefully, repetitively, with pauses and then makes mental notes (as he has no notebook) of the results.

Samille ignores the button and meditates in one of the corners of the room.

Navar seeks to use the button to further his needs (at that point, leaving the room) or to influence anyone that may be beyond the door.

Colonel Card knocks on the door, calls out to anyone that may be listening and threatens them in case the pushing of the button should result in adverse effects.

Jarvis thinks of ways to make money off the button, but is ultimately suspicious of it. He cannot decide
whether to press it or leave it be.

Jackie becomes frustrated with the button after she cannot figure out how to get out of the room or what the
button might do. She ultimately stomps on it.

Deena rapidly hammers the button after attempting to make conversation with anyone outside the door.

Kelly becomes bored in the room and begins her workout, completely ignoring the button.

Then Your Body's Like FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Finally have some time to breathe...and to write.

My what a crazy year this has been. I'm not even sure where I'd begin if I were to talk about it. Two major papers are out of the way at least. I went real theoretical on one of them for a portion of it. I hope that it does all right because I'm not sure I even understand what I wrote. Regardless, I have resumed work on WMRR after months of doing the bare minimum. I'm closing in on the 80,000 word mark. I have a lot of work to do in terms of revising, but I've been putting a lot of thought into the characterization, the plot and the tension. Those aspects really needed a lot of development, and I think I'm finally ready to write Jason's chapter properly. I wasn't too sure where to go with his character, because up until this point, he had been the hub of antagonism so far. I don't know if I like the fact that he takes 12 chapters/70,000 words to appear. I try to make most of my characters mean something, have a central effect...well at least the ones I name. If they can all play a key role, no matter how small, that would make me happy. Jason plays a huge role...and I suppose at this point he appears near the "half-way point," but that may not be enough.

I also came up with a new segment...which I've actually written, but it will need extensive revision and maybe even a re-write. I'm not sure whether I should use the first person for it or not. The story IS being told by a character, but it contrasts so much with the style and doesn't leave enough room for the details.

As for the summer, I'm glad I won't be finished school. A massive trip this year simply would not have worked, especially in light of recent events. This opens up an entirely new wing in the castle as I can try to apply for manuscript writing again. I've put a lot of thought into it, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the work stories idea. I'd like to write a series of stories about the jobs people do...perhaps in a place like Calgary, and link them together to construct a single narrative with reoccuring and intersecting characters. I think it could be fun and it's certainly a better idea than my last year's proposal.

I'm also planning on engaging in all sorts of entertaining activities this summer...though I'm pushing for a week-long vacation to Disney World. I really want to go to Disney World. Throw me on a few rollercoasters and I'm one happy camper. Just nothing spinny unless you want the upholstry ruined.

My Wall is a Storyboard

I have converted the section of my wall that is above my bed into a giant sticky note infested plot line. I find this is the best way to make sure I don't lose my mind in the writing process. I will take a picture of it and post here when it is finished, because it's pretty epic (in my opinion).

In the meantime...characters! My favourite part of writing is creating characters, their personalities and how they interact. What I lack in the skills to easily make plots, I make up for in characterization (and dialogue but that's another discussion). I can't wait to completely flesh out each character in my book. Some of my favourite quirks and personalities are included in WMRR, so this should be tons of fun. Here is a good website to use when coming up with characters:

http://www.charlottedillon.com/CharacterChart.html

I found it one day after we discussed these types of lists in class. I thought it was a neat little site to use.