Ode to Joss Whedon

I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. Like one step below stalking him.

I was late to the Joss party—I didn’t even know he existed until Once More With Feeling. For those of you who aren’t Whedonites—Joss is the creator of Buffy, and Once More With Feeling is a musical episode that is so incredibly fantastic that I know all the song by heart. And yes, I own the CD.

I’m not saying that everything that Joss Whedon creates is gold. Dollhouse—meh. Fantablous idea, but—meh.

But some of his characters resonate so deeply with me that I can have complete conversations with them in my head. And sometimes I do.

Why?

Because they are unpredictable. The cute little blonde (or brunette) who walks alone down a dark alley only to kill the big, scary monster that attacks her. The quirky, funny sidekick who is unendingly positive right up to when she decides to destroy the world. The faithless and disheartened captain who is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way but risks his life for a better world.

So often characters are predictable. We ask ourselves—is this action “in character”? What would my character do? Are these actions “realistic”?

I don’t want to read about characters who always act “in character”. I want to read about characters who do something that completely shocks me. Something that makes me wonder if I ever really knew them at all.

I understand that in written fiction the audience has to buy our character’s actions—that as writers, we need to make it believable that Sandra will tell the genie that she doesn’t want three wishes because getting what she desires makes her miserable. But I think we often go too far in setting up a character’s choices based on their personality. I want to be surprised. And I want my readers to question and be frustrated by a character’s choices—not because they aren’t believable, but because they aren’t expected.

Now if I can only figure out how to pull that off….

Responsibility to...Characters?

Sometimes the process of writing amazes me. It starts with a few characters who won’t leave me alone. I keep seeing them, over and over, doing something simple. For my first novel, I saw two characters driving down Highway 34. For my second it was a long, lanky boy smoking a cigarette while leaning against his car. These simple images grow in my head and become part of a larger story. And then, after they have been with me long enough, I realize that I have a responsibility to them. I have to tell their story.

It doesn’t matter if their stories are never published. It is my goal to be published, not theirs. Even if is just my critique partners who share in these character’s stories, my responsibility to them is completed when their story exists on paper.

Don’t get me wrong—I will still rewrite, edit, re-edit and query—but it’s okay if they are never sold. The characters are happy with just existing. And I am happy to have known them.

Paranormalcy Contest!

I recently finished reading Paranormalcy, a fabuluso novel by Kiersten White. I highly recommend it.

As if being a good read isn't enough, check out what Paranormalcy also did for me the other day:

Yes, Paranormalcy is weeding for me! After the weeding, Paranormalcy even took my son and dog for a walk:

Can you ask for more from a novel? If you are having trouble finding time to write, I suggest you run out and get your own copy of Paranormalcy. In fact, get two. I wish I did.

The (Deferred) Dream

Having goals is supposed to be a good thing…right? As I add yet another novel to my WIP list, I am beginning to rethink the idea of “goals” and writing.

I want to finish every project that I begin, but that doesn’t mean that I will finish it.

At what point do you say good-bye to a WIP?

Occasionally, I grow bored with an idea. Often another project seduces me with new characters and thoughtful themes.

I usually pinball back and forth between different WIPs because I enjoy writing different voices on different days. I don’t want to give up playing with a variety of voices, but I am beginning to wonder if I will ever finish writing anything longer than a short story. Yes, I have drafts of novels completed, but nothing polished. I used to tell myself that if I just keep working on my WIPs, I will eventually finish a novel. But after adding yet another WIP today, I wonder if I will just keep creating new starts and preventing myself from getting into the difficult business of rewriting and editing.

How do you finish a novel? Do you ever force yourself to work on a specific text?