From the daily archives: Thursday, March 11, 2010
I recently had the pleasure of watching Marc Forster’s film, Stranger Than Fiction, which I found to be a delightfully charming, intelligent comedy written by first-time screenwriter Zach Helm. I give it two guitars up. Way up. (Platonically speaking of course).
It’s about an uptight IRS agent, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), who realizes that his mundane life is being narrated by the voice of a chain-smoking novelist played by Emma Thompson. The novelist is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because she can’t decide the ending to her story.
Going mad with the constant narration in his head that accurately predicts his every move, Crick solicits the help of a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) to help find his voice. To his utter shock and dismay, Crick learns that the voice of his narrator belongs to this eccentric author that writes tragedies in which her heroes are killed off.
But Crick does not want to die! For the first time in his life he is discovering who he really is and what his true passions are. He sets out to meet the author with the determination to alter his fate. And upon meeting, the two worlds collide. The author is petrified to see that her main character has come to life and that he is very real indeed.
I can certainly relate to this movie as a writer working on my first inspirational novel. The movie raises some intriguing questions: What does it mean to be real? To find one’s voice? To express one’s voice? Who is narrating our story? Can fate be altered? Where do the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction collide?
I certainly don’t pretend to know the answers. I can only share my perspective as a writer. One of the challenges writers face is to know their characters inside and out and to have a complete understanding of the world they have created so that everything magically comes to life. As the story-writing guru, Robert McKee, likes to say, “Not a sparrow should fall in the world of a writer that he wouldn’t know.”
I believe in a sense that we are all writers. We are writers of our own play. In The Hero Soul (http://www.HeroSoul.com), I close the last chapter of my book with a quote from Shakespeare:
”All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
The world is a stage upon which we perform. Each age consisting of the acts and scenes of the play. But it’s our play. We choose how we act in each scene moment by moment. What type of play do you want to write? What type of a life do you want to live?
Realizing that he is going to be killed off, Harold Crick asks the literary professor for advice. The professor gives him a deceptively simple answer, “Go live your life! Do what you love to do!”
At first, Crick is offended by the professor’s triteness; but he realizes later that he has no control over his mortality and decides to do just that: live his life. He’s always wanted to play the guitar but never really had the time. For the first time in his life he walks into a guitar shop and sees this wicked turquoise guitar starring back at him. He picks up the guitar and begins strumming. In that moment his life is transformed from a tragedy into a divine comedy.
What have we been denying ourselves? What type of play do we want to have a starring role in? Sometimes we act in an “If Only” play with a bit part in shoulding all over ourselves until we are mired deep in our own pile of dung. I should write a novel. I should exercise. I should be a painter. I should start my own business. I should go on a dream vacation. If only I was younger. If only I was older. If only I had the money. If only I had the time.
In the professional world of writing there is a clause known as the “kill fee.” The kill fee is a fee paid by the editor to the writer for an assigned piece of writing that is killed off and never published. It’s usually a percentage of the total amount that was originally agreed upon between the editor and writer. Although there can be many reasons for rejecting a piece, the kill fee is often executed because the writing simply isn’t up to par.
When we’re not being our best selves, when we’re not expressing our unique voice, when we’re not being true to ourselves and not doing what we love to do, something inside of us dies. Life then pays us a kill fee: something less than what we truly deserve.
Are we living a life that’s worthy of being published, or will we live a life of mediocrity and accept the kill fee that’s assigned to us?
Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@herosoul.com) is a freelance writer, inspirational keynote speaker, and author of the leadership bestseller, “Psychology of the Hero Soul.” He also publishes his success blog at http://www.sharifkhan.blogspot.com. To contact Sharif, call 416-417-1259.
Eyeglasses of all types can be divided into two groups according to the function of their lenses. One main group is prescription eyeglasses, which are equipped with lenses with a power or certain powers. The other basic group is non-prescription eyeglasses. It is absolutely true that there are many ways to categorize the numerous spectacles produced by different manufacturers in the world. But lens power is one of the simplest approaches to such a classification. Eyeglasses in old days were all prescription ones because those wearers resorted to these devices solely for vision correction. Non-prescription eyeglasses are now available and popular in modern days. The emergence of non-prescription spectacles suggests that there are urgent needs from certain individuals to decorate their eyes. This is best testified by the prevalence of fashionable sunglasses. While non-prescription glasses are being enjoyed by more and more people who never need vision correction, prescription eyeglasses are still indispensible for those with defected eyesight.
In general, eyeglass users can buy a pair of prescription eyeglasses only when he or she has gained a valid prescription of the eyes. Such kind of eyeglass prescriptions can be determined by an eye doctor, either an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. An eye optician only has the right to provide eyeglasses according to a prescription given by an eye doctor. This is a strict requirement which is aimed to ensure eye safety for those wearers. In a serious case, an improper or out-of-date prescription may impair the wearer’s eyes. Prescription eyeglasses will help the eyes refocus the entering eyes appropriately, which is called “correction” in brief. But a basis point is that such kind of correction can be precise only when the eyeglass lenses have the right power according to the wearer’s eye condition. In a traditional way, most people trust eye doctors or practitioners when they want to buy prescription eyeglasses due to security concerns. In fact, other sources especially online eyewear stores can also provide safe prescription glasses. They can offer spectacles with vision correction exactly according to the prescriptions submitted by customers.
Dissimilar to prescription eyeglasses, non-prescription spectacles are designed to meet the needs for fashion. Many ordinary individuals and celebrities choose to wear designer sunglasses in summer days. Modern types of non-prescription eyeglasses usually incorporate the cut-edge fashionable tastes. Semi-frame and frameless eyeglasses are both stylish. In addition to special frame styles, non-prescription eyeglasses can also take use of unusual colored lenses. In some cases, those slightly tinted lenses can create an attractive effect. In a word, stylish elements are the key contributor to non-prescription glasses.
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If your readers don’t care about your characters, you’re sunk. Readers don’t necessarily have to like all of your characters, but they have to care about what happens to your main character, or there’s no reason for them to keep reading.
Which means you have to care about your characters, and you have to know them, maybe even better than you know yourself. To create characters that live and breathe on the page, you must first create characters that live in breathe in your psyche. This is why you need to know much more about them than you’ll ever have to include in your completed story.
One way to achieve this authentic character history is to put your main character(s) in as many real-life situations as possible. And because thinking is only the first stage and can only get you so far, write these situations out, considering all sorts of details.
When you can imagine your character in different places and with different people, beyond people and places your story requires, you make your fictional people exponentially more realistic within the confines of your own story.
Start by deciding on the basics: your main character’s date of birth and favorite things (such as food, color, activity, place, song, movie, book, friend, family member, possession, game, animal/pet, amusement park ride, season). Remember: these are details you’ll want to work out, even though they may never need to be discussed in your story.
The basics is great place to start, but to create the most vivid, memorable characters, you’ll need to stretch your imagination and go beyond the basics.
The following exercises will get you started in developing rich, believable, interesting characters. Choose the exercises you’re most drawn to, and really let yourself go—don’t worry about polished sentences or grammar or mechanics. (You can’t plumb the depths of your imagination when you’re worried about comma placement.)
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: List emotional, intellectual, and physical strengths and weaknesses for your character. Include any special talents or aptitudes. Get your hands on an IQ test and take it from your character’s perspective, not yours. (Tricky, but fun and worthwhile.)
DINNER AT OUR HOUSE: Imagine a family meal at your main character’s dinner table. Write a short descriptive scene revealing the average evening meal at your main character’s house.
Now revisit that meal scene and add tension. (After all, tension makes fiction go ’round.) Perhaps the school principal called Mom that afternoon and therefore Mom has some serious lecturing to do (or some serious disappointment to relate). Or maybe Dad lost his job that day and — over meatloaf and green beans — tells the family that they’ll have to be uprooted (again). Perhaps the teen daughter brings home a dinner date who only Mom (an undercover detective) recognizes as a convicted felon.
The point is: think of an emotionally-charged piece of information that will make this meal very different from the one above. Write this scene, paying attention to specifics.
WHAT WOULD S/HE DO? Imagine an ethical dilemma that your character finds himself/herself in. Maybe your character was offered a job promotion or a large bonus based on a task s/he didn’t carry out alone. Does s/he tell the truth and share the credit with the colleague or keep quiet about it and bask in the glory solo? Choose a moral quandary, plunk your character it in, and write a short, thorough, descriptive scene. Be sure to tap into your character’s thoughts, fears, conflicts, and ultimately how s/he arrived at the final decision.
DEAR DIARY: Write three diary/journal entries from your main character’s point of view, fully in his/her voice and in his/her head. Make the entries occur on different days and have them deal with different events and emotions. Try to include a whole range of feelings — joy, sorrow, rage, uncertainty, anxiety, to name a few.
DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Write up your character’s last physical exam report, as it would be written by the family physician. Include all relevant details, along with any physical complaints the character might mention.
Then write up some clinical notes from a psychologist who has been seeing your character in therapy. Perhaps your character has discussed his/her worst fear with the doctor. Reveal as much background to that fear as you can: when and why it began, how it’s manifested, how your character struggles to cope with it.
DEAR AUTHOR: Your character writes you (the author) a letter, instructing you quite specifically in how s/he wants to be portrayed in the book. Make your character’s personality come through loud and clear in this letter. Try to set yourself aside as you write it.
JOB APPLICATION: Get your hands on a job application (or create one of your own), and fill it out from your character’s point of view. Include work history, schooling, references, as well as the character’s statement explaining why s/he would be perfect for the job.
Always remember to have fun with these. The minute you’re not having fun, stop. The looser and more relaxed you are when you try these exercises, the more you’ll get from them. You’ll discover things about your character you never thought you knew, which translates to a more fully realized, believable person alive in your story.
To discover additional ways to make your writing habit more enjoyable, satisfying and productive, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for “Write Through It,” the FREE monthly e-newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom.
Lucia Zimmitti, a writing coach and independent editor, is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various national literary journals, and she has taught writing at the high school and college levels.
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It can be on any time period in the history of the world! I’d rather something in more recent times if possible so that I could relate to my characters more. If you could please give some sort of story line that would be great!
i can’t chage history!
Also, I’d rather not write about something sad and/or gorry. I know that that’s what life is all about, but I’d rather avoid such a story. Something more optimistic with a good conflict. Thanks!
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Writing expertise is certainly not a prerequisite for producing content for websites and article marketing. However, in the age of PLR and ‘speed writing’, the challenge may well be in writing quality content without sacrificing productivity.
Is this really necessary?
To some extent, the answer to that question depends on your own standards. But given that the nature of search results will bring up a number of easily accessible documents all on the same subject, it becomes important if you care about making a good impression with your visitors. Think about how a visitor will feel if she reads page after page with the same information written in different ways. That is the real danger with PLR material, but it is also a danger for other material if it is researched poorly.
Poor research shows in a number of ways. On one level, writers who clearly don’t understand their subject often resort to restating things in different ways throughout the same article. Or they use a lot of filler words to ‘pad out’ content. It’s the reading equivalent of eating a twinkie – minus the sugar rush.
Poor research can take more insidious forms, however. An article may have a lot of great information, but it turns out to be a composite of the top 3 search results for a given term, right down to the assumptions about a subject, and the type of information included and excluded. Whilst some people may appreciate having it all in one place, it does nothing to distinguish the writer as an expert in the mind of his reader.
If you have a good knowledge about a topic, you can at least look at the information online with a more critical eye. This can in fact result in a truly original article – original in its’ perspective, and by extension, with additional original facts. If you aren’t truly an expert on your subject yet, you can at least look a little further afield to find material for your websites.
One excellent place to look is magazines. I buy a lot of magazines every month. Whilst storage of them becomes something of a problem, they give me great ideas, and are a handy reference when I need some extra facts. More than that, they provide an insight into the type of things that consumers in my niches are interested in. That insight can, over time, solidify into your own expertise.
Books are another of my favorites. It probably helps that I am something of a collector of books anyway. But I always keep an eye out on the sale bins in bookstores. I’ve found some great volumes on topics that others may consider a bit odd, but were exactly related to niches I had, or was planning to develop.
The beauty of good research is that as you collect this information, your mind will try to make sense of it, order it. By engaging this process more consciously, you can develop a really unique perspective, one that will then inform future writing on the subject. Ask yourself questions about the topic as you read. Jot them down. Look for contrasting viewpoints.
Using these techniques, your PLR and web content will not only satisfy the search engines, but your visitors as well. And a little time spent doing some research will mean a faster writing output later on.
Rebecca presents more article writing tips here. Or read about using content to generate internet website traffic here.
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