Elemental Characters

I’ve attended many writer workshops on characterization through the years and I now use the basics of astrology to create my characters in my stories.  Michael Hauge’s Story Mastery defines the character arc as the Emotional Journey from Identity to Essence. The identity is the layers of the onion that need to be peeled away. Each outer layer is a progressively stronger shield the character has built as protection for each emotional wound that is to be healed through the story, to reach the core (heart/soul) of the character essence.

In astrology, the essence is the Sun Sign, the identity is the Rising Sign, and the emotions are the flavor of the Moon.

All the zodiac signs relate to one of four basic elements – earth, air, fire, and water. So I create my cast of characters to each represent one of those elements. I write romance and both the heroine and hero are protagonist-antagonist to each other. But they both have a sidekick, mentor, family, and more.

For example; Heroine Elemental Essence & Career Choice = Air, Sidekick=Earth, Mentor=Fire, Family=Water. (Image the family dynamics of Air & Water like steam and tornadoes.)

Hero Elemental Essence & Career Choice = Water, Sidekick=Air, Mentor=Fire, Family=Earth. (He and his family make mud.)

The sun sign is the essence (soul) of your character. At the beginning of the story this character believes the essence of who they are is their greatest weakness. The essence has needed protection because it is the inner child and has been wounded. Think about who your character will be at the end of the trials, transformed by events of the story into their essence. This can be mirrored by the final setting where the character is when the true self has been revealed and embraced. The last scene of a romance is more than a kiss or vow, it’s where it happens too.

The rising sign in astrology is associated with the identity (ego), the public mask. Every sign of the zodiac rises every day so no matter the sun sign, the rising sign can be any of the other twelve zodiac signs. Choose one with a different elemental flavor so peeling away the layers of the identity is a noticeable change of personality. Flat characters are the ones that only resonate to one element. An Earth girl at the beginning to an Earth girl at the end will dilute the power of a visual transformation from identity to essence.

The emotional journey is associated with the moon. The moon travels through all twelve signs of the zodiac every month. This means no matter what the sun sign, or rising sign, the moon can still be any of the others. The moon represents how the character feels and reacts on an emotional level to every conflict. The moon adds depth to how the essence reacts when wounded in the past, and mirrors how the identity reacts as each scar is ripped open. Example: A wounded water child will weep, a wounded fire child will roar, a wounded air child will sulk, and a wounded earth child will hide.

In my novel Checkmate First Mate, the hero, Adam is a Scorpio with a Rising Sign in Sagittarius and a Taurus Moon.  My heroine, Melanie is a Gemini with a Leo Rising Sign and Cancer moon. Adam has some powerful and deep baggage and Melanie is really good at tap dancing around her issues. Both of their “Identities” relate to Fire so that’s the ego-mask in place when they first meet, she’s a bit arrogant and he’s a philosopher.

Using astrology to determine the flavor of the identity and the essence is a great way to keep your characters in character even as they transform.

Now stride forth through the zodiac and wound your characters from essence to identity keeping track of the age (child, puberty, adult, last week…) when that wound happened for your back-story. Then write your story as the journey to reverse the damage peeling off the onion layers, and give them a happily ever after where their souls belong.

Researchin’ the Books

I imagine, sometimes, what friends might think if they could see my Google search history, which looks something like this: “why do cats vomit so much?,” “symptoms of concussions,” “buttercream frosting recipe,” “ defensive driving techniques,” “list of carnivorous plants,” “best way to slit someone’s throat.” I imagine I sound like a spy, a deeply disturbed person… or a writer.

Every book I write requires some research. Sometimes it’s brief, like the carnivorous plant search (in Hunted Dreams, our hero, Reed compares one of the other characters to a pitcher plant). Occasionally, as in the book I recently finished writing, The Tithe, the research is much more involved. In the latter book, I researched different kinds of disabilities and spent hours collecting data on Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) Disorder, a neurological disorder I assigned to Josh, the novel’s shero. I hope it lends itself to a much more sympathetic, not to mention accurate, portrayal of those who have CMT.

I’m a college instructor, and I teach a class on research methodologies. You’re all lucky, I tell my students, shaking my finger like all those professors I remember from my days as an undergrad, to live in today’s world. (I want to say something like, “Back in my day, we used abacuses to calculate statistics and had to walk uphill in the snow in flip-flops to reach the local library,” but I figure they get the idea.) The thing is, they are lucky, and so am I. My students research papers without ever setting foot in a library; likewise, I sit on my well-padded derriere in front of my own computer, researching everything from the components of overpass bridges (“abutment” just sounds naughty, amiright?) to how long it takes a person with a gut wound to bleed out.

For Hunted Dreams, I tried to keep my research to a minimum, since, as they say, we should write about what we know. But since every novel can’t be about a boring college instructor and ex-animal rescuer who pens poetry in her spare time and because most paranormal romances involve a good fight or two, I did have to research a few violent things. Mostly, I found out fighting is more incapacitating than media lead us to believe; luckily, my characters are superhuman, so I can bypass petty concerns like biological limits.

Between you and me, I most often use the Internet to check on my grammar and punctuation. You have no idea – No. Idea. – how often I skip to, for example, dictionary.com to make sure I’m using “abrogate” correctly, visit Grammar Girl to ensure I know the difference between compose and comprise, for example, or ask the Google gods whether, as I did in the first paragraph of this post, a list of quotes involving a question should include the comma inside or outside the quotes after the question mark.

“Put comma inside quotation marks after a question mark?” Wow. I guess people reading my search history might not be so impressed after all. I promise my novels are much more exciting than my research process.

More Second Act Wisdom

When I started the Second Acts series on my blog, I intended to gather enough posts for the two months leading up to the launch of Between Land and Sea. But I found I couldn’t just end the series. There are too many inspiring reinvention stories out there.

Pearls of wisdom from eight amazing women…

As we make our transitions, whether by choice or by necessity, we need to keep in mind that we are in charge of our own “happily ever afters,” and happiness involves growing and changing. Enjoy the journey. Beth Carpenter

My best advice for anyone in this situation is, know you are not alone and there is a way out. Listen to your gut, it doesn’t lie to you. The road is not easy, but the escape is possible. The courage to take back your life lies within you, just reach for it, grab hold, and start pulling yourself out. It will be the sweetest freedom you’ve ever tasted. J.J. Devine

Most of us are truly unaware of how much difference we make when we act on our beliefs. Doors open and dreams do become reality. Always be mindful of what is taking place in your life. Grab hold of opportunities. Make the most of each moment and every encounter. You never know where it will take you. Marcy Field

My advice for others is to never give up on your dreams. Life might get in the way, but keep your love for art always at arm’s length. No matter what heartaches life threw at me, I always believed in family values and following my dreams. JoAnne Myers

I certainly haven’t been an overnight success; it took years and many rejections before I was published. If success is judged by dollars, I would have been far better off concentrating on a career in accounting. But I know I wouldn’t be as happy or as fulfilled. These days I consider myself a full-time writer, though I still work a part-time casual job in accounting. I’m still honing my craft, pushing myself to write a better book with each new project. Jana Richards

This comes from my training as an engineer: Every problem has a solution. I find this applicable on the social level too, if one looks hard enough and is willing to step out of the box circumstances and/or society imposed. Lilas Taha

During my thirteen year hiatus I never stopped writing. I just stopped submitting for publication. Until I ran across a call for submissions from Pelican Book Group. I read over it, and read over it again, and within the hour, The Rising was on its way to Pelican. It’s a story involving forgiveness, redemption, and second chances. It was a perfect fit, for us both. Lynn Chandler Willis

My advice for anyone contemplating a second act is what inspired me to do it – “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we are afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long make.” I don’t want regrets. Susan Peterson Wisnewski

CRITIQUE PARTNERS-ANGELS OR DEMONS?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Having written my first book, Highlander’s Hope, without any critique partners, I know from experience just how invaluable they are. I’m convinced I would have had much less rewriting and editing if I’d had a few comrades in writing dissecting my manuscript. I can hear my editor saying, “Amen!”

I’m blessed with several amazing critique (crit) partners now, though, there have also been a few that have come and gone. I know other authors who have horror stories regarding crit partners (usually former ones), authors who are frustrated with their current partners, and then there are the authors like me who adore their partners and don’t know how they can possible write without their input. *Hugs*

The absolute best critique partners don’t try to “fix” your style. They embrace it and wholeheartedly want to help your writing improve.

That got me to thinking about what makes a good critique partner, and when might it be time to move on. These ‘rules’ are purely my own thoughts and, trust me, I am not an authority on the subject by any stretch of the imagination.

So, with that disclaimer, here goes:

The Basic Rules to Critique Partner Heaven
&
The Sure Path to Hell

1. Write or reads the same genre-
This is by no means a hard and fast rule, but it can be difficult for someone who doesn’t write or read the same genre to understand context, content, verbiage, and so on, if they don’t regularly read or write the same genre.

However, if your partner is a whiz at grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation (you fill in the blank) and you value that expertise more than genre/subject knowledge, then by all means, glue that treasure to your side.

2. Writing & publishing experience-
I’ve heard it advised that authors should stick to crit partners with relatively the same level of writing experience. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say … not so much, at least not always.

Think about it. When you started writing, didn’t you appreciate someone with more knowledge taking the time and effort to help you grow? The flip side of that is newer authors, perhaps someone, as yet unpublished, who are an expert on a subject or simply fabulous with sentence structure or comma usage.

The key here is you agree to expectations beforehand.

I have an eclectic group of crit partners. Some are agented and multi-published with big houses, others just starting out with an Indie book or two on the market, and a few who are still waiting for their call. Each of them is invaluable to me because of their insight and expertise.

3. Trust, trust, trust-
It’s freaking hard enough to put a completed, polished book out there for readers and reviewers to rip to shreds, but doing so with a work in progress (WIP) makes you sooooo vulnerable.

Certainly, when you first start interacting with a new partner, there’s a bit of hesitancy. Will she like my work? Hate it? Can I trust her to be honest without filleting me?

Not only do you need to protect and keep confident your crit partners’ work (think copyright laws) you want to help them create their very best book; just like you want them to help you do the same.

And, if you betray that trust, it can ruin your reputation as an author. We authors talk!

4. Helpful or hateful?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

You must be honest with your crits.

Notice, I said honest, not brutal. Don’t just point out what’s not working; comment on what is. Ask yourself is this a personal preference, or is it a glaring error. And, get thick-skinned. I know that sometimes my comments come off way more brusque than I intend them, simply because I’m in a hurry to jot my thoughts down. When I introduce myself to a new partner, I mention that.

Remember, you don’t have to take all the advice your partner recommends, and shouldn’t expect them to take all of yours. Well, unless it’s something like using peek for peak or basing your entire story on a plot point that’s unfeasible.

Or trying to put hummingbirds in England and skunks in Scotland like I did, but one of my amazing partners knew neither creature was indigenous to the area. Had I done more research, I’d have discovered this, so shame on me, but cheers for her!

Do assume your partner had done their research, but feel free to question anything, as long as you do it respectfully.

5. Turnaround time-
This is something that should be clearly established in the beginning of your partnership. Remember, you might be a full-time writer, but your partner has a full-time job, is a mother, volunteers at the local food bank… You get the idea.

Let her know upfront how much time you can commit to critiquing and find out the same from her. It’s very frustrating to have a partner that takes weeks, or months even, to return a two-three chapter crit to you. Yes, I realize things come up, but be courteous and let your partner know you won’t be able to get to it right away.

I try very hard to get mine done in 2-4 days, unless I know I’m swamped with something else, and then I’ll let them know it might be longer.

6. Depth of critique
Also discuss the level of critiquing you will provide and see what they are willing to do.

Are you going to do a line edit pointing out everything you find, or are you going to focus on plot points, inaccuracies in the plot, areas that are confusing, etc.?

I’m a teacher, so it’s nearly impossible for me not to do a grammar and spelling edit along with the others.

Oh, I just thought of this.

Do not expect your partner to find everything that might need editing. One partner may catch one thing and another zoom in on something else, or truthfully, they may all miss the omitted word in a sentence. It happens.

7. How long should the submitted material be?
This is something you and your partner(s) want to clarify in the beginning. If you’re only submitting a single 10-page chapter of about 2000 words each time, and she regularly sends along three chapters or 5000 words, you might need to discuss expectations.

I usually send two-three chapters at time, and my crit partners do the same.

If you belong to a critique group, you are not expected to critique every single thing that is posted in the group, though you’d better do a few if others are generous enough to take a peek at yours.

8. How many partners are enough or too many?
I have a core group of 3 partners that look at everything I submit, and few more that critique as they are able.

Make sure you don’t over-commit yourself so that you spend all your time critiquing and don’t get any writing done.

Time for the hells…

1. Used and abused-
Do not ask for critique partners and use them to edit your work, then when you no longer need them, discard them like dirty dish water. I actually had this happen once. I couldn’t figure out why I suddenly had been cut off when we’d been corresponding regularly for a few months. She didn’t need me anymore. The contest deadline had come and gone.
Also, if you ask for your work to be critiqued and never reciprocate, you’re being incredibly selfish. Don’t be surprised if those partners stop critiquing your stuff.

Authors are crazy busy. It’s a sacrifice to take the time to review someone’s WIP and give them thoughtful input. Show you’re appreciation by doing the same for them.

Sometimes a crit partner can’t look at your current WIP, but they’ll offer to beta read for you. As long as that works for the two of you, great, but if it becomes habitual, then you need to reexamine your relationship.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

2. Over-zealous can mean jealous-
None of us likes to think it will happen to us, but the truth is, sometimes you run into a crit partner who deliberately destroys, criticizes, demeans, etc. your work, and jealousy is the reason. Chances are as slim as a snowflake on a campfire they’ll ever admit it, but you do need to be aware it happens.

Again, I know someone this happened to, and ironically when she’d just about given up on herself, she was offered a contract on the very work her partners said was rubbish.

3. The partner that steals your ideas-
Gasp! Say it isn’t so.

Sadly, it is, so, that’s why you really need to get to know your partner before you turn your “baby” over to them. If possible, check with other authors/writers that have partnered with them. And I always say, go with your gut. If something doesn’t feel right about starting a writing relationship with a new partner, then don’t do it.

Again, I know someone this happened to, and she refused to write anymore. It destroyed her faith in the profession.

4. Is once enough?
Another quick point here: Beware of the partner who asks you to look at the same material over and over and over after they’ve rewritten or tweaked it. That can get very time-consuming.

I don’t resubmit to my partners after I rewrite. It’s just my personal preference.

Well, that’s all I have. I’ll think of a bunch more after I post this, of course.

What I’d really like though, is a genuine discussion from you on what has worked in your crit partner relationships and what hasn’t. We can all learn from one another’s experiences.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Reading: It’s Good for Your Health

I recently read an article that suggested reading on a regular basis could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. It said that consistently exercising one’s brain with stimulating mental activities offered a number of health benefits, which included the above listed assertion. Needless to say, I found the idea fascinating.

While I have always enjoyed reading, especially mysteries and suspense thrillers, I am also drawn to the classics, the birthplace of modern literature. These stories are not only entertaining, but often enlightening. They allow us a glimpse into the past as seen through the eyes of those who lived there, giving us a different perspective on both the world and life in general.

The next time you find yourself with some free time, instead of searching the DVR for a good show, why not search the shelves for a good book? It may be just what the doctor ordered.

Rachel Sharpe

Cold Ambition, coming Summer 2014 from Soul Mate Publishing!

O.C.B.F.

(Obsessive Compulsive Blog Formatting)

A while ago, I posted about how it turns out, I’m introverted. Not such a bad thing, I’ve found, just tiring.

Lately I have also come to believe I am a tiny bit obsessive compulsive – at least when it comes to my blog.

I think I’ve changed the look of this thing ten times since getting word that Cursed be the Wicked was going to be published. 3 times in the past 2 weeks alone. I completely obsess over it. And when I cannot get into writing mode, I will spend an entire day searching Google for backgrounds.

Should I go simple and clean or flamboyant and fun?

I have no idea.

I’ve always had creative tendencies, and you are supposed to sell “you” with your blog, I’ve read. You’re supposed to create a brand for yourself.  That’s a lot of pressure though, because my problem? I am not 100% sure what my “brand” is. Or maybe, I believe anyway, I don’t have one specific brand and therefore, it differs from day to day (or rather book to book). It hit me though, just this past week, why I obsess over the look of the blog so much.

It keeps my brain occupied.

I would have to be restrained somehow if I let myself think about the book release too much. The waiting for edits, the editing itself, the anticipation of release day, not mention, swag . . . I’m driving myself bonkers – this is my first novel that will go out into the entire world and I have no idea what to expect, therefore, I’m expecting everything.

It’s sometimes very difficult for me to pull myself out of the visually obsessed mode of trying to get my blog to represent me somehow – and into my writing mode. Which, let’s be honest, if I was there instead of the blog, I’d probably have book number two written by now.

I really need to find that path more often this year.

The problem: I’m still in the first half of book two, which I often find the most cumbersome to get through (finding, understanding and writing out those important plot points that get me past the gooey middle of character development). I’d clearly rather play with colors and fonts and banners (oh my) than to get over the hump that is my story arc.

Coincidentally, since getting final round edits sent back to Debby, I have stopped fiddling with the blog. For now – and I’m quite happy with it, too. For now.  So perhaps I can finally go concentrate on that new story again.

(Bradley Cooper in Limitless)

Do you find yourself subconsciously distracting your mind from your own book release (or other book related issues) or is it just me? Are you slightly obsessive compulsive too? What do you find yourself doing to busy your brain? More importantly, how do you get yourself out of whatever it is and into your writing?

Thanks so much for listening to the ramblings of an obsessive compulsive introverted writer today.

Come find me!

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads

Para . . . Normal?

Susan Muller, Christie Craig & Me at Montgomery County Book Festival

I had the honor this past weekend of speaking and signing books at the Montgomery County Book Festival in The Woodlands, Texas.  There were several authors there ranging from indie published to NYT Bestsellers, and several hundred attendees.  It was a fabulous event. 

I was, of course, on the Paranormal Authors panel called: From Angels to Vampires, as I write the Cupid Chronicles.  But I have a confession to make.  Actually, it’s one I’m finding myself making more often than not, the more speaking engagements I do.  Ready?

Paranormal Romance isn’t my genre of choice, nor did I set out to write one.

It found me.

You see, I was free writing one day and the prologue of Inked by an Angel rolled off my fingers when my hero, Jed, uttered those infamous words, “The Angel made me do it.”  I sat back and thought, “What?!”  I certainly hadn’t intended that.  Had no idea what to do with it.  But, after a while, I created an entire book, then an entire series from that one line of dialogue by creating Michael, my matchmaking angel.

But, when my books were first placed in the Paranormal category, I balked.  What?  I write Contemporary Romance.  So what if I happen to have angels thrown in there?  Well, OK, I get it.  And, I’ve even learned to embrace it.  But, I admit that my connotation with the term “Paranormal” was always the darker, edgier almost urban fantasy stuff.  Vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and the things that live in the night.  Not my sweet angels that are so loving and light, and definitely not with my touches of sass thrown in.  That couldn’t fit . . . right?  Well, where else would I go? 

Well, when I’m speaking on panels with people whose books are about girls with demonic dreams and “Terminator with dragons,” I’m not altogether sure my Cupids at AA meetings are a good match, but, hey, I’m still proud of them and my fans seem to love ‘em, and that’s what matters most. 

So, tell me, what do you think of genre expectations?   Love ‘em?  Hate ‘em?  Who cares, just write (or read) what you love? 

***

Shauna grew up an only child with two open and loving parents in Central Texas.  She’s married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother to three awesome teenagers.  She is the award-winning author of the Cupid Chronicles series, including the newly released Charlie’s Angel.  Shauna is also a freelance editor and personal assistant to two NYT Bestselling authors.  She loves all things sexy, sassy, and Gerard Butler.

Shauna would love for you to visit her at her website and blog at: www.shaunaallen.com/blog

(***Where she’s currently running a fantastic contest through the end of February where you can win an autographed copy of Inked by an Angel and other gifts.  Details on her blog!)

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