Striking The Right Chord

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When the wonderful folks at the Writer’s Retreat asked if I would like to do a guest blog here, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been a reader for a little while now and no matter which of them posts, or on what subject, I always come away with something that makes me think or stirs my imagination. I hope to continue this.

I am P.M.Rousseau, and I write in a variety of genres. Paranormal is my favorite, followed closely by science fiction, horror, and historical. That said, I am in the homestretch of completing the first draft of a contemporary novel that includes none of the above. Such is life, and those of us who are storytellers will understand when I say that we write the story that is in us waiting to get out. Some stories are pushier than others, and those necessarily get the most attention at any given point.

This one was very insistent and has taken up much of my time this year. It’s been very opinionated on what should happen within it, and what the characters are like. As for opinionated, the characters have been even more so. They know exactly who they are, what they want, and what they intend to do. My only hope is to type fast enough to keep up with them.

One area where their preferences have been the most pronounced is music. Each of them has distinct musical tastes and can get persnickety when I try to change their soundtrack. When I give in and cooperate, however, they will sing the story to me very willingly. Let me give you an idea. Here’s the list of current characters and what they like:

Jake: Stevie Nicks
Gabe: Southern rock all the way
Jackson: Trisha Yearwood
Lila: Sting
Austin: Clint Black, Garth Brooks
Lincoln: George Strait

See what I mean? Talk about a varied bunch! What’s even stranger is that the couple in this story apparently really likes 80’s funk such as Zapp & Roger, Shalamar, and Rick’s James’ slow stuff for sex scenes. So yes, my play list is a kaleidoscopic study in contrasts. Whatever it is, it gets the job done.

This got me thinking, however. I am as much a creature of musical moods as my characters. I bet you are too. How often do we put on something lively when cleaning, something relaxing when cooking, something more inspiring when a tough jobs needs doing? More often than not, I’m betting. A good beat can make any task go faster and seem like less work. When that endeavor is something creative, it seems to work even better. It stirs the imagination, moves it beyond the ordinary, allowing us to see more than we might otherwise see. It stretches, energizes and expands us. It takes us places we might not otherwise go.

I firmly believe that stretching one creative muscle helps strengthen the rest. My characters know this. Back in my professional dancing days, I knew this too. I’m glad to get back to it, to see the words and the ideas flow. Happy listening!

Inspiration

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I have been thinking about inspiration the last few days. What inspires us and why? Personally I am very susceptible to song lyrics (and even inflict plot-bunny-ish songs on my friends) although picture prompts, watching a family in a park – most any audio or visual will do.

Most recently, though, I find that I do not have a single source of inspiration for a story idea. It’s as though all the music I’ve heard, all the books I’ve read, all the movies I’ve been to and places I’ve seen just stew together until I need something. Then, like Dumbledore’s pensieve I dip my wand in and pull something out when I need it.

Ultimately the source of the inspiration is not as important as the fact that it strikes at all. But as I think about the Artist’s Way and opening the creative mind, it seems that understanding what inspires us can help us put ourselves in the path of things that spark the creative spirit in us.

So, what inspires you?

What’s in a pen name?

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Great title, isn’t it? I bet you’ve never seen anyone use a (modified) Shakespeare quote in normal language or in a blog/blog title before, have you?

Ain’t I clever?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: pen names.

This is something that I’ve been contemplating for awhile, now, especially after joining the Artist’s Retreat.

I chose to be called “Lucius Antony” on that site (and, ultimately, here) because I liked the name and it has been something that I’ve used in reference to myself for a few years in various (albeit limited) capacity.

But, the question is, do I really want to “brand myself” with that name? I have no problem with my real name, and would actually like to see my name in print.

However, “Lucius Antony” might stand out better than my real name and I will always know that “Lucius Antony” is me. And, as a journalist, I’ll see my name in print often enough. It might actually help in that aspect, should a journalist be known as a fiction writer, as well? I’m sure more than a few have.

However, I’ve already been creating something of a “brand name” around Lucius Antony, just by posting on this blog (read by Heaven knows how many people) and at the Artist’s Retreat.

I suppose it’s all a start.

Artist’s Way

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It’s official, I’m actually embarking on a type of self-help program. Me. I never expected this in a million years. I’ve tended to just shake my head at a friend of mine constantly reading therapeutic advice. Peak in her magazine rack and you’ll find all sorts of periodicals and books on raising children, improving marital relations, organizing the home, you name it.

Her computer monitor is decorated with a plethora of motivational stickers. Mine has pictures of sexy men, all my self improvement directed toward writing smut. Honestly, I have yet to see any of her allegedly life-changing endeavors have any lasting impact, giving me no reason to change my opinion.

So why am I trying Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”? My chief reason is the same explanation for what I’m doing right now – blogging. The gifted folks of this Writer’s Retreat have inspired me to try many unexpected things. When some from this group and The Evanston Writers Workshop banded together for the months long program, my enthusiasm piqued.

Anything that opens my creative mind can only be good. And the testimonies I have been personally given inspire me to keep an open mind. Who knows? Like anything worthwhile, this will take time and commitment. Maybe I’ll be touting this to my pal three months from now. I’ll keep you updated. And in the meantime, I hope you’re finding the spirit of creation in whatever you do!

My characters don’t “say”, they proclaim…

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Okay, it’s a silly title for a blog post. My quandary is rather comically illustrated, though, for I take issue with repetitive language. A past crusade was against the word “was”. This indicative can so easily become a crutch, I think. An early original series of mine received a serious purge, then I subsequently encountered “was” so many times on the first few pages of a book that I refused to read this popular author’s entire series!

Later, a friend kindly pointed another tendency I had to overuse “had”. Yikes. Thanks, Nikki! The kind pointers from artists like you and other dear colleagues really help my craft and improve my tales.

Now, as you’ve surely guessed, I’ve moved onto dialogue tags. The ideal goal is to not need to blatantly indicate the speaker. An author should aspire toward the reader determining who is talking without such aids. Other times, we unavoidably need them, especially when inserting a descriptive paragraph in the middle of the exchange. In those instances, I’ve become obsessed with avoiding “says” or “said”.

A big part of this is just me being picky. And yet I listened to a book on tape that would have been pure pleasure except for the constant “he said” or “she said” sprinkled liberally throughout. The phrase actually came to annoy me and my captive spouse during the long car ride. Whether or not “said” blended into the written page, I physically flinched as time went on.

Considering this, let’s agree that my beef against the word is somewhat founded. Still, I face a quandary. How often am I harming my stories by using a fancier alternative? Apparently my proclivity is not rare among this generation’s new storytellers. In my Oxford American thesaurus for writers I discovered a warning that the creative ways we folks avoid repetition makes the tags jump off the page. That’s not good, either. These little verbs should blend in behind the all-important character exchange except when portraying something specific regarding the speaker, the listener, or their situation.

The best solution is to just keep writing. Eventually, I’ll come up with a satisfactory balance. So I have to ask, what do you have to say? Is my obsession founded or is it flotsam?

Just Breathe

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In…and out…and in….and out…

Whew.

I did it.

I think.

I have actually created an online presence under the name I plan to use for writing, Nicole Gordon. Nicole Gordon now has a gmail address (nicolegordonfiction@gmail.com), a blog (http://nicolegordonfiction.blogspot.com), and a facebook account.

(and in…. and out….and in… and out…)

I have hemmed and haahed about this like you would not believe, and I still feel a little ridiculous since I don’t have anything even close to being ready to submit, but it just seemed time to take as step forward.

So now I’m going to take one more deep breath, open a bottle of wine, and see if I can work on the actual fiction part of Nicole Gordon Fiction.