The lure of the dark-side – anti-heroes and anti-heroines

I have to admit that I really enjoy a story with a well developed anti-hero. I’m not talking about the basically good guy who has had a string of bad luck or a tough life. I am talking about the true post-modernistic archetype: someone who can not easily be defined as a villain or hero. These are characters whose attraction hooks you and reels you in as strongly as they repulse you on some basic level. There is just something about these characters that fascinates me. Their complexity can lead a carefully crafted storyline down some totally unexpected twists and turns of the mind, but you have to admit – it can be an adventure. It is a character type that is well suited to both paranormal romance and stories dealing with espionage as well as sci-fi/fantasy literature: all genres that appeal to me as both a reader and a writer. In my own writing, I am finding myself including anti-heroes or rather heroines on a fairly regular basis, but something I discovered, which surprised me, was how difficult it is to create an anti-heroine.

These women characters exist. Consider Scarlett O’Hara, any number of roles that Angelina Jolie has played, and – my personal favorites – Nikita from the story La Femme Nikita and Murbella from Frank Herbert’s Dune series. The creation of an anti-heroine seems fraught with many of the same issues that confront women in real life, from business to social settings. A delicate balance must be struck between the characters “good” qualities and those that are less appealing.

So, how does one craft such a creature?

From my research into the female anti-hero, it appears that beauty or physical attractiveness alone is not enough to off-set the brutality, amoral behavior, or ruthlessness needed for a true anti-hero. It seems to take a combination of physical beauty, innate intelligence, and some sort of triggering event – but not the jaded, “world-weary” technique often seen in the male anti-hero – to set the stage for a believable, or rather acceptable, anti-heroine. If the balance isn’t achieved, one is left with a psychotic or clichéd character.

Whether or not I can create a true female anti-hero in my own writing remains to be seen, but I am going to have a lot of fun with the process.

Can you judge a book by its cover?

I was in the market for a bit of “mind candy” reading the other day and went to my local bookstore to see what might satisfy my literary sweet tooth. As I wandered through the different genre sections, I began to notice something about the books that actually made it into my small pile of “potential” purchases. Each and every one of them had fantastic cover art or photos. Convinced that I was being led astray by “glitz & glam” rather than a good story, I took a few moments to look beyond the book jacket or back cover teaser and read some pages from the first chapter as well as randomly selected pages from later portions of the books. Out of five possible purchases, only one book was returned to the shelf as a dud. For kicks and grins, since I had nowhere pressing to be, I picked up some books with really awful (as in boring) covers and checked out their teasers as well as random pages within. What I discovered was that book covers can provide some indication of what you can expect between the pages; with the exception of well-known, award-winning authors who can do anything they please in terms of covers and still expect a sale.

My grandmother was fond of the “you can’t judge a book by its cover” philosophy towards life but I think, noble sentiment that it is, it falls flat as a practice for a new author competing with the known for book sales. This is not to say that an intriguing book cover is about spending a huge amount of money on models, photo shoots, or buying art. It is about finding something that connects the reader instantly with the theme, and combined with the teaser draws them into a well written story. The three elements must balance because a slick cover and a “sexy” teaser may get the book to the cashier, but without a story to back it up, you won’t have anyone waiting for your next book.

Why is reading a “romance” considered a negative by some?

I took a break from reviewing and writing the other day to read a WWII thriller that a friend recommended. “It’s not a romance like ‘that stuff’ you’ve been reading lately,” she said, handing the book to me. (Yes, there was more than a hint of snootiness in her tone on the words “that stuff.”) Truth be known, I will read just about anything and were one to try to categorize my personality by the books that grace my shelves, one would conclude I am either extremely well rounded or suffering from some degree of multiple personality disorder. (Oh, and toss in some OCD since I tend to like them organized alphabetically by author’s last name.) But I digress.

Becoming engrossed in the novel, I discovered that the underlying story was, in fact, a very sweet but tragic love story; a love story about a romance that could never end in a happily ever after with a fairly graphic – as in bordering on erotic – scene between the lovers before they went their separate ways. It was a very good story and I enjoyed reading it. When I returned the book my friend made a remark to the effect that if I was ready for some more serious reading, she had other books by this author.

I would not have classified this book as “serious reading” though. In terms of the caliber of the dialogue, depth of character development, craft of scene setting as well as action – it wasn’t any better than 85% of the romance novels I have read. Frankly, I have seen historical romances that were better researched and much more skillful in incorporating the language and flavor of the time period. So, why is it that this sort of story is deemed more “acceptable” reading or perceived as more “serious” for some than a romance?

My friend is by no means the only person in my circle of friends and family who is surprised, or even amused, by my love of a good romance novel and my having written one. I find this rather perplexing. Never mind that a significant percentage of book sales are of romance titles and the genre has exploded into a number of sub-genres since the 1980s. The romance genre includes authors considered part of the “classics” such as Jane Austen as well as virtual unknowns like – er, me. There literally is a sub-genre for everyone within this broad category. There are quite a few romance novelists who could be considered “cross-over” writers into a variety of other genres like J.R. Ward, whose Black Dagger Brotherhoodcan be found in some bookstores in the both the romance and sci-fi/fantasy aisle, or Christine Feehan’s Ghostwalkers series, which I have seen in the fiction/literature section as well as romance.

Reading, for me, is less about the story’s classification into a genre or style – it is about the sensorial experience. Granted, one has to rely on one’s imagination to conjure the sight, feel, scent, sound and taste of the settings, people, and action but isn’t that the beauty of imagination?
I wonder if people like my friend would be so quick to dismiss a romance, if they put aside their preconceived notions to actually read one. Maybe next time she asks me for a recommendation I will hand her J. R. Ward’s first novel and tell her it is something I picked up in the sci-fi/fantasy section.

How do you know when the storyline is done?

Some authors like to end their stories with all the threads thoroughly knotted and no loose ends to plague the reader with “what happened to…?” Other authors leave you hanging, not unlike season finale cliffhangers on television. Then there are the stories that can stand alone or provide the basis for furthering a series that will continue the story.

It seems to me that there is a real art to mastering this, because I am not sure a story is ever really done. Much like our own lives, the lives of our characters continue to develop unless we kill them off in our stories – and with a paranormal romance, even that is not necessarily a permanent thing. I really enjoy reading series. There is something about immersing myself in the world that an author has created that I find more appealing than a standalone story. The original Dune series is probably one of my favorites and when Frank Herbert passed away I was seriously depressed that the series was over. When his son decided to carry on with the prequels, I was ecstatic and have bought each new book as it has come out. A series lets the reader really get to know the characters and the culture from the different points of view in a way that is simply not possible in a standalone book.

Unfortunately, some authors do not seem to realize when the storyline is played out. As a novice writer, I’ve pondered how I can prevent cannibalizing my storylines or sucking the life out of them. When is it time to hit “save” and push away from the computer? The knee-jerk response is when the characters stop “talking” to you but even that isn’t a safe guideline to adhere to. As with your day to day interactions, not everyone talking is actually saying something of significance.

For now, I plan to trust my critique partners and my editor to help me strike that balance between giving just enough to keep my readers coming back for more.

Answering the question: “Why did you write a novel?”

I can’t speak for other authors, but this question comes up with (to me) alarming frequency and always gives me a moment of pause. Writing has always been a part of my life whether it is poetry, grocery lists, or correspondence. I have a file cabinet with several folders marked simply “writing” where I have stored pieces of paper, journals, legal pads and diskettes filled with my ideas. To me, the answer is obvious - “why wouldn’t I write a novel?”

My current novel (second one written, first to be published) was actually one of those scraps of paper in a file cabinet. During my pregnancy with my second child I had a series of very strange dreams and captured the impressions and concepts on paper only to toss them in the “writing” file for me to flesh out some day. And there the notes sat until a year later when my sister-in-law and I were having a sort of snark-fest about following one’s dreams versus the reality of needing a steady income and benefits. The particulars are not that interesting, and hardly flattering to either of us, but the end result was her tossing down the gauntlet for me to do something about my writing rather than dream about it. To further toss kerosene on the flames of our snit, she send me information about a writing contest on Gather.com and essentially dared me to (1) write the novel, and (2) enter it.

I am a Taurus on the cusp of Aries with Leo overhead at the moment of my birth. If you know anything about astrology, you can imagine what my response was. The end result was the first draft of “A Love Out of Time.” The story had some technical issues, POV shifts that gave a number of readers whiplash, way too much back-story, and not nearly enough dialogue but for a first novel written in 30 days it finished in the top third of the first round. (At the bottom of the top third to be precise, but still a respectable finish in my humble opinion given the speed under which it was written.)

The hard work began after the first round of the contest was over. It was at this point that “A Love Out of Time” became something more than a “so there” to my sister-in-law. The feedback I received made me realize that I might have something worth working on and so began a year of critical review and edits. I edited my novel because I found a voice within that would not be silenced. The characters became as familiar to me as my family. I wrote because I could not imagine going back to the place where I jotted down my thoughts and filed them away for a “some day” that might never happen.

Since “A Love Out of Time” was born, I have gone back to my file cabinet and taken out a number of my old ideas to see what else is speaking to me. I found a legal thriller that I wrote under a different name that I am knocking the dust off of. Sandwiched between some really awful poetry, I found the outline and first scene of what is going to be the second novel in a series I am tentatively calling “The Time Walkers” with “A Love Out of Time” being the first book in the series.

Now when people ask, “Why did you write a novel?” I say, because it is what I do.

When Constructive Criticism Isn’t…

The writing group I belong to was recently swapping stories about critiques we’ve received as well as given. What became very obvious in the discussion were the varying interpretations of the term “constructive criticism” and what specifically differentiates constructive from destructive comments.

I think that perhaps the real questions should be:
Why did you choose a particular person to read your work and offer comments?
What do you hope to gain from their critique?
Why are you writing in the first place?

There may be a variety of reasons you chose someone to read your manuscript. I am just going to focus on the most obvious – whether or not the reader likes the book. Since you are looking for a general opinion on the book’s appeal, then wouldn’t it make sense to inquire whether the genre is something that person would buy in the first place? One can argue that good writing is good writing regardless of the genre but I think that also assumes a certain amount of sophistication in the average reader that may not exist. I have a dear friend who has no interest in reading paranormal romances (the genre of my soon to be published novel) so asking her to read my novel and provide a critique is unlikely to provide me with any insight on whether to story would interest my target market. She is an excellent business and technical writer so perhaps asking her to serve as an editor would be better but if she can’t stand the genre then there is a risk of her not being as focused or engaged in the process as I need her to be.

Perhaps my viewpoint is more business oriented than creative but in essence you are performing market/consumer research when you ask people to review your work. If you aren’t taking the samples from a population of your targeted consumers, then the information has little use in determining whether your book will have market appeal.

Critiques, constructive or otherwise, are valuable to an author. Even a comment like “this sucks, try again” conveys insight on your work. No, it doesn’t mean toss the manuscript in the nearest shredder or drop the reviewer from your Christmas card list. What this statement means is that the reader did not like the book and you should either follow-up with the person to determine why – if possible – or widen your sample population to see if this comment is an outlier or indicative of a problem you may be too close to see.

I like to have someone read my story to find the technical problems (grammar, punctuation, typos, etc.) and a different person to read for the creative aspects. Can one person do both? Sure, they are called professional editors. Your friends, family, and other writers might be able to do that for you but it may be more effective to split the purposes.

The last question, why you write in the first place, will also help you determine who to ask for critiques. If you write to entertain others then your focus for critiques will be different than if you write to educate or to enlighten. Writing to entertain is more or less writing for others even though you may also be writing to quiet those pesky voices within. (See last blog entry.) Thus, your focus should be more on what is going to appeal to your readers. Writing to entertain does not require quite the level of technical finesse and wordsmithing as say a piece geared towards a peer-reviewed journal. There are a number of very popular authors whose grasp of the basics in sentence structure and punctuation leaves much to be desired but their readers either don’t mind or don’t notice because they enjoy the stories.

So, when does constructive criticism cross the line into an attack on your story or your craft? When you let it - until then it is simply feedback.

Silencing the voices within - aka character development

Sounds like a rant on multiple personality disorder doesn't it? Some of my other writing pals and I were discussing the way that characters can take on a life of their own within the recesses of your mind. My husband's take on the whole situation was, "Don't they have medication for that?" Very funny sweatheart, now why don't you go take a nap? [evil grin and manical laughter as I contemplate his knife roll.]

No, it is all good, but in all seriousness - as crazy as this sounds, sometimes a character just won't shut up and leave you alone. As they "talk" to you, the process becomes much akin to meeting a new friend. (or not depending on the character who is doing the talking.)

Maybe this is a struggle for the newbie as a writer and the authors who have a number of best-sellers under their belts just breeze through the process. I don't know - I would love to find out! (translation - hope my book sells, a lot of copies.) In my case, the process goes something like this: initially I sketch out what the character looks like in very rough dimensions, gender, coloring, height, hair and eye color; then I start filling in the specifics and checking facts like geography, time period, etc.; finally, I work on their backstory - most of which may never make it into the story but it helps me listen to what the character "tells" me with the right context.

After this somewhat logical approach, things take a less than rational turn. Night-time is the worst. As I snuggle up to sleep, scenes unfold, dialogue develops and I know its time to forget about shut eye. I have a laptop and my husband bought me a substantial bed rest pillow when I was carrying our second child so I am good to go until my muse decides to give it a rest. (Or my normally tolerant husband points out that being sleep deprived and handling knives isn't so good for retaining his digits.)

Some writers keep a pen and notepad by the bed, others use the mini-recorder devices but I think the main point is that the voices won't let you rest until you listen. And take notes.

The challenges of finding time to write

As a wife, mother of two young sons, full-time career-woman, and in charge of stemming the tide of disarray in our home, finding a little bit of "me" time - much less an hour to let my muse out for a run - is a challenge. I had thought that perhaps it was a function of the age of my kids (toddler and kindergarten age) but in conversations with other authors at Second Wind Publishing, age doesn't appear to be the factor. In fact, my children being in the age group that naps means I actually have at least one hour more than most do! (Sadly, it also means that sometimes I am the one who really needs the nap.)

Lucky for me that I find inspiration for new stories or plot developments from my dreams.

Carving out time to write involves a bit of creativity, an ability to multi-task, and a laptop. Weekends are typically the best time for me to get some serious writing or editing in. I frequently wake up before the guys and will take my laptop and a carafe of coffee onto our back porch to write until the family wakes. If the day is pleasant, I can get the kids dressed and turn them loose in the yard while I stay on the porch writing. If the day is rainy or otherwise unpleasant, the kids play inside or watch their shows on Noggin. As long as no one is bleeding I can typically tune out the vapid songs on the TV or the sounds of two children under the age of 6 working out their sharing and caring issues.

Weeknights are a totally different issue. With a 40+ hour work-week, I carry a fair amount of "mommy guilt" about spending family time doing anything but family activities. So, from the time we get home from daycare/after school care until the children go down for the night, it is all about them. As luck would have it, sometimes that is also when my muse or my characters start clamoring for my attention as well. After the kids are down, it is my husband's turn to have my mostly undivided attention. Finally, around 10 or so, I can sit down to write, answer e-mails or IM with friends, and pursue my interests. That pesky need for sleep impacts how long I can spend writing. I bought a book light that allows me to write without disturbing hubby's sleep too much but depending on how long my nails have gotten, the clicking of fingernails on the keyboard tends to make him a bit grumpy. (Of course, it also means that I can go get a mani-pedi without any flak from him about watching the kids!)

Next to the laptop, the invention of the jump or flash drive is perhaps the best thing for my ability to finish a chapter, no less a book! During my day job, I can carve out a lunch hour at least 3 days a week to write or edit. My advice to anyone struggling to find time to write is invest in a laptop, an extra battery, and a flash drive. Then, get really creative about carving out the time.

The dream is within sight!

It seems hard to believe that by the end of this year my first novel will be out through Second Wind Publishing. (Shameless plug to follow -check out the website at www.secondwindpublishing.com.) I finally have a cover for the novel that works and if I can just stop "tweaking" the manuscript and get it to Mike at Second Wind, it will be available that much sooner.

When do you know that you are "done" with a manuscript? That is probably the biggest challenge for me and one that is not unlike what I will be facing this week as my oldest child starts kindergarten. I see a number of parallels between parenting and writing a novel but more on that another time. There are moments when I fear that I will never be completely satisfied with the story because these characters have become similar to my kids and I don't want to let them go even though it is time to "step away from the keyboard" and let the story stand or fall on its own.