Ok so last time I talked about flaws, this time I want to talk about something a little more uplifting. Awesomeness! I’m awesome, you are awesome, let’s have an awesome party! I want to know what you excel at when you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, I think I’m the only one around who still puts pen to paper)? What do you write that just makes you want to writer more? Fight scenes? Villains? Does your voice just rock socks off? And I’m not telling you to tell me what *other* people tell you that you are good at, I want to know what *you* think you are good at. Because I know you think you are amazing at something and I want to know what! What sets you apart?
Here is what I think I rock at.
Characters
Yeah, my characters bring all the boys to the yard and their like “They are better than ours!” damn right they are better than yours! I could teach you but I’d have to charge!
Ok silliness aside, I do think my characters rock. I have an ensembles cast, that have very little contact with people who are not of their group so I think it is very important to have very solid characters. Not to mention that most of my plot is character driven, they really kind of stumble on to the “real” plot by mistake. So yeah they rock, every single one of them. I feel that they are extremely real, and each one of them a little broken. They each have a different voice and motivations that to me are completely real and relatable, I don’t even think of my ‘bad guys’ as bad, they just have different world views then the ‘heroes’. And I pride myself on that. They are real people with favorite foods, colors, locations, books (for those who read), and they deserve to have their story told. So I work on my WIP for them mostly.
World
If I’m going to have bitchen characters then I fell it seems only fitting that I have a bitchen place for them to run around in. I think I have crafted a totally plausible dystopia, and I know they rules and laws of this land better than the rules and laws of the one I live in (hahaha, no seriously… its true) and I feel like I have woven my fantasy elements into it pretty damn seamlessly I feel.
Sure there are lots of things that I feel like I’m good at, or could be good at with a little more work. But those are the two things that I think set me apart. Sure I could be totally wrong, but I doubt that that is very likely.
Attitude, girl! Great attitude.
ReplyDeleteI will second that I think my characters are pretty friggin' awesome. I'd be leery of the author who thought their characters were "so-so". Why write about em' otherwise, right?
ReplyDeleteI also think my mythology is pretty bangin', however mythology tends to equal backstory which tends to equal overwriting. So, I guess one of my bits of awesome feeds directly into one of my flaws. Finding the balance hurts.
Your characters and world are pretty dang cool though, Alexis. I am privileged to know them. True fact.
True facts! And I yours love! Your characters are bangin' as well ^.^ and your mythology is solid. I feel like my mythology fits into more of the 'world' aspect then back-story. But I think that is the different in how we use our 'gods'.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you about why writer characters that are not super awesome. but I feel maybe someone out there has a really bitchen' plot and characters that just don't seem to fall into place or have not found their special something yet.