Character Qualities #2

My last post got me to thinking about character qualities, not just in my manuscripts but in real life. What makes a person the way they are? Can we tell someone’s personality by what they wear? Because I’m pondering these things I’m going to focus my blog posts this week on this topic.

Before I get too deeply into this I want to remind myself, if no one else, that Matthew 7:1 tells us Judge not, that ye be not judged. I am not in any way judging anyone with this post or any others like it.

As a writer I have simply found myself looking at things a bit differently. Seeing people in ways I didn’t used to. I also have to know my characters as well as I know myself. To do this it helps to notice how certain people act.

If I have a persnickety character, one that nitpicks about everything, complains about others, it helps if I can remember someone with that type of personality. My heroine in my work in progress is a strong woman whose fiancé refers to as a feisty handful, at best. She’s mouthy, she throws things when she’s angry, and she’s loyal to a fault.

Everyone has their traits that may be good or bad, usually both. Depending on who’s describing us we can come out as lovable and loyal or a pain in the backside that isn’t worth giving the time of day to. Hopefully, we get the first description a lot more than the second.

Now we are all guilty of judging others in one way or another at some time. It simply can’t be helped. We do it. Should we? No, but it happens. Writers are a bit different in this regard. We get to create whole people. Their past, their future, their everything is in our hands. Even whether they live or die.

I’m what’s known as a pantster in the writing world. I write as I go. I don’t plan my manuscripts. Occasionally I will ponder a few things for my work in progress, try to figure out if my character should or should not do something, but even then most times I wind up just typing and letting the story go where it wants. As a result my characters take shape as I work. They tell me who they are instead of me telling them.

But what makes them who they are? Can you tell what a person is like by watching them?

The Call

Today was the day.

For those of you entered in ACFW’s Genesis contest, you know what that means. For those that don’t…it was the day we found out who made the semi-finals. I started this day fine. No nerves. No worries. Just a calm acceptance that whatever happens, happens.

Then the phone rang.

And I jumped. My heart slammed into my throat. This was it. Only it wasn’t. My sister’s face greeted me when I picked up the phone. So much for calm and accepting. After I completed that call I went back to working on my work in progress, a bit more nervous than I had been.

A couple hours later the phone rang again. Same reaction. I jumped to answer it, my heart firmly lodged somewhere between my tonsils and my eyeballs. An unknown number greeted me this time. With a swipe of my thumb on the screen, I chunked my calm acceptance out the window.

The woman on the other end asked for me by name.

And I knew.

This really was it. It was what I’ve seen referred to as the call. Now I know why. My hands started shaking and my knees threatened to revolt. I heard the words I’ve been waiting months for. One of our manuscripts made the semi-finals.

Nine minutes later, I repeated the process. Two out of three manuscripts made it. Four more to go. But the phone refused to ring again. Then the official email with a link to the list of semi-finalists came through. No more need to jump when the phone rang.

We made it in two categories. The other four did not. Funny how a person can be excited and disappointed at the same time. Those four manuscripts were the ones I had pinned my hopes on. One of them was the original entry in the contest, and the instigator behind getting me in the whole thing. The other three were put in because we could, not because they were the ones we thought might make it. Yet, two of them did.

Now we get to play the waiting game again. Then will come the possibility for another call…or two. And in the meantime, I’ll go back to my work in progress. Keep clicking at the keys.

My most heartfelt congratulations to everyone that sat by the phone today and got the call. From one wanna-be-published author to another, I wish you the best of luck.

Counting the Days

           

            Twenty three. Two words that don’t seem like a lot when looked at from just about any angle. It’s the number at the bottom section of a calendar that marks the final days in a month. And it’s the number of days I must wait for the first round of the ACFW Genesis contest to be over.

            When I first heard about that contest back in November I determined to enter one manuscript. I put the first words on that blank sheet of digital paper after Thanksgiving and pushed hard to meet my first deadline in the writing world. There were times I had doubts I would make it. I pored over that story like nothing I’ve ever written before.

            I reworked it. I rewrote whole scenes. I agonized over the best way to write what I wanted to say and how to bring my characters to life. I shortened scenes as much as I could to get what I wanted to say in while giving myself the maximum impact in those allotted fifteen pages.

            Five weeks later I wrote my final word. Several rereads and two critiques later…it was done. With miniature outlaws setting off dynamite in my belly I filled out that form, attached my manuscript and hit the submit button.

            But I still had time and I had an opening line pounding at my head, just begging my fingers to put it on a digital paper. So I did. One line. A single sentence. I thought it was brilliant. My family smiled when I told them what it was. It was intriguing.

            I took that single sentence and added a second, then a third. With no idea of what the story line was or who my characters were I created another manuscript. My hero came to life before my eyes, as did my heroine. They took shape, developed personality, likes, dislikes, backstory. A few weeks later I completed that story and repeated the entry process.

            For two months, I wrote, never expecting to complete another story before the contest ended. On March 15, slots were closed. The deadline was over. And I had seven manuscripts entered.

            Now it’s April and I have twenty three days until they announce the semifinalists in the contest. I’ll be honest; I didn’t enter this contest to win. At the time I started writing that first manuscript for entry my sole purpose was to receive feedback. It is still my main purpose. Getting those comments from the judges is still my goal. But I have to admit the closer we come to the end of the first round the more fuses those outlaws light in my belly.

            And I count the days until I can find out just how heroic my heroes were. Did they fight the battle and gain me a favorable comment? Did they go beyond that and earn me a spot in the next round? Or did they give up in the first round?

            Whatever they accomplish, I am proud of them. Because they are my heroes. They fought the battle and made it into the running. For me, it is enough. Mostly.

            For all of you that are counting days with me. I wish you the best of luck. May we all learn from this experience and come through it as better writers.