Comments on: The Big Three

By: Michelle Bottorff

Michelle Bottorff — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:15:18 +0000

Mary, I can’t help wondering if you’d ever consider trying to write the story *before* you name the characters. If naming your characters takes so much out of you that it kills the story dead, it might be worth attempting. I write stories with characters who have yet to be named all the time, although I’ve had other writers tell me that such a thing is abso-freaking-lutely impossible.

The other thing I’d like to ask, is if your characters have any goals or ambitions? If not… why don’t they? If they do, then it seems to me the obvious thing to do with them, is to start putting some barriers in the way of them accomplishing those goals, and see what they do about it.

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:05:05 +0000

Sarah – I’ve been writing pretty steadily all along, but my books keep being published in different genres. Which means they end up in different sections of the bookstore. The Lyra books were all published as genre SF/F, so they were in the adult science fiction section; the Enchanted Forest Chronicles usually end up in the YA section; the Star Wars books end up in the special Star Wars section; the Kate and Cecy books are under “Teen” reading instead of YA, and so on.

Mary – There are a ton of “name your baby” books and web sites that are good sources for names; there are also a bunch of programs that will generate random names with whatever kind of “feel” you want (science fiction, fantasy, D&D, whatever). But really, it sounds as if you’re having trouble partly because you are spending most of your story-development time on relatively inessential parts of character (i.e., what people are called and what they look like). This leaves out 2/3 of the “big three” – no time on plot or backstory/setting – and also leaves you not actually knowing what your character is like. Most of the time, I find that it is much more important to know things like: does this character wake up grumpy or is he/she a morning person? Do they like to read? Are they on bad terms with their family (or with one or two specific members of their family)? What is their favorite food? Do they have a temper? Are they impulsive?

Those kinds of things are usually what affects how a character acts…and most stories are not about what people look like, they’re about what people do. (What they look like is still important, especially if you are a very visual writer.)

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:13:03 +0000

My trouble is I spend too much time just over character looks until I’ve got that part half-planned out. But names are my worst. I could spend an hour and a half trying to find a name that is *just* right. Any animal or fantastical creature’s name doesn’t take much time, but human names seem impossible. Then if I ever manage to get that out,I don’t know what to do with the story.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:26:29 +0000

I’m very glad to hear that, and I am SO glad you put your website up. For a very long time I was convinced you had stopped writing professionally, or had decided not to write anymore at all, even though I remember reading about a piece you had done about worldbuilding a long time ago.

Even as an adult reader, I still love to read good, well written young adult novels.

Take care!

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:08:32 +0000

Sarah – I do still have those books in my to-do queue, but I don’t know when I’ll get back to them. They are kind of an odd project – not exactly YA, but not exactly adult, either – and I’m not sure what we’d end up doing with them.

Green_knight – I suppose it depends on whether one is used to thinking of characters/people as static, or as changing over time in general (inside or outside the story). Also on what one notices when one is reading a story – sometimes, character change is subtle, and if it’s not the sort of thing one is sensitive to as a reader, it can be easy to miss.

By: green_knight

green_knight — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:50:41 +0000

I always read ‘deepen’ as ‘uncover more.’ It took me a while to work out that the character needs to *change* in response to the plot/the world he encounters. Maybe that’s just me.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:07:09 +0000

Hello Ms. Wrede, I’ve been wondering if you were continuing writing on a project I read about years ago, probably around 2004, on a website about you and Caroline Stevermer – a triptych about a world of shapeshifters. The news was around March of 2000, so it’s rather old, but it sounded like a very wonderful project, and I’d love to have any news about that. I hope to get my hands on your new book soon, and I also hope you have a wonderful day! Take care!

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:20:13 +0000

Alex – I find it particularly useful during revision, too, especially if I have a scene that doesn’t seem to be quite there. I can check for which of the Big Three Things is missing and see if I can add it, which always seems to improve the scene (which is, of course, the whole point).

Green_knight – That’s why the advice isn’t “plot, characterization, background/setting”; it’s “advance the plot, deepen the characterization, explore/expand the background/setting.” I think the assumption is that for most of the scenes in a story, the writer already has some plot, characterization, etc. in play, and the point is to move it toward the next level with every scene (or at least, with as many scenes as possible).

By: green_knight

green_knight — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:00:18 +0000

I found that if I simply say ‘characterisation’ i keep uncovering layers of the onion. I need character _development_ – something new. And I need to give the reader the chance to discover it and to come to the conclusion themselves, so I’m looking for actions that show what the character is like rather than telling the reader.

But yes, the question has been one of the most valuable pieces of writing advice I’ve received.

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:20:50 +0000

Excellent point! I’m adding this to my list of questions to ask myself when I’m outlining and editing (when I’m doing the first draft I try not to control myself too much).