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My Thoughts

Calm After the Storm

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It’s been a few days and my biography is out for the world to read.  I admit that the last few weeks have been very difficult emotionally.  It became hard to concentrate on anything else except the book.  Now that it is out, I feel a sense of relief, but also a little bit of fear.

How will the book be received?  Writing it for a small number of close people is scary, because there is a closeness to those people and having them learn a deep dark secret can jeopardize that closeness; but releasing it to the world can bring out different opinions.  It can bring out additional support which is always welcomed, but it can bring out those who read the book for a different reason and the reason ties to feelings that are tough to hear.

Some may read the book and while empathetic, some readers may view me and my choices in a way that makes me out to be a self abuser.  Others may simply look at the acts and feel “entertained.”  Both are fine with me to a point, but the anticipation of getting these comments has me in all too familiar territory… scared and curled up in the corner.

While the fear is there, the one thing that has dominated the last few days since the books release is a great sense of calm and satisfaction… and inspiration.  My close friends and I have talked frequently about moving my writing to a more “conventional” genre.  I have played with the idea of writing a more traditional romance, or suspense novel.  Following my familiar steps of putting ideas down on paper, I realized the ideas, seemed dull without a mysterious twist of gender bending.    The idea of having a hero or anti-hero that has “her” own internal struggles added to the plot and for me made the storyline more relatable.

The one thing I wanted to try and move away from – at least a little bit – was the focus on the sex.  I tried this with my latest fiction novel “My Perfect Partner” and the three short story bundle “Handle with Care.”  I added more to the plot and gave the characters more substance, but used the transgender aspects as leverage in the stories.  What I learned is that I think I found the style of writing that was not only exciting but well received.

While I would enjoy more feedback, I have come to realize that it just isn’t going to come.  What I can draw off of are the unit sales and page turns of KDP and now my web site.

So, now I find myself excited about the future of my writing.  Will I continue to write erotic tales? YOU BET!  Will I step out a bit further and try something more traditional or conventional? Sure.  I hope you will come along for the ride and find my writing enjoyable… and if not, close the book and pick up a different one.

 

My Thoughts

Inspire and Motivate Me… What would you like to read?

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I always write what I have experienced or what I have researched.

I have a number of working titles that I am building stories around, but always enjoy hearing from other authors and readers… and ESPECIALLY MY FANS!

 

My Thoughts

Developing Characters – A Response to @VStilesErotica

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I was taking a break from writing this week after spending a lot of time on the update of my autobiography. I needed to decompress a bit and spent a little more time reading than writing. I came across Veronica Stiles, another writer and while reading a couple of blog posts, I saw one that caught my eye about character development – https://veronicastiles.com/developing-characters/.

As I read through her blog post, I formulated a few opinions… WHAT? OPINIONS?… Yes, I have them.  While I will agree character development is important in the telling of a longer story, I also think it is important in the short one’s as well… BUT… I don’t necessarily agree that a character should be introduced and a “bio” of sorts should be told at the time the character is introduced.  The feelings drawn from the reader should be based on what they perceive of the character.  Give them too little and they dismiss them, give them too much and the opinions of the characters can convince the reader to put the book down.

Veronica is right, there are exceptions and character development is not based on a set of rules.  In fact, I would argue that a writer develops his or her own rules when writing.  It really depends on the story they want to tell.  Sometimes, too much characterization can be detrimental to a story.  It can make the story predictable and sometimes boring. I tend to look at characterization in my stories as part of the entire story.  Dropping pieces of the characters along the way.  It adds an ire of mystery and suspense to the story and in erotic stories can take the story in a different direction sexually.

For me, character development and dialog is major part of my stories.  I spend a great deal of time thinking about the characters.  Not only the aspects of their personality, likes, dislikes and quirks, but I especially think about how characters would interact with each other… this helps make the stories a bit more believable.  When the shock factor is appropriate for any part of a story, that means that the initial introduction of the character is short and mysterious, but as the build up continues there are hints dropped – either by the characters actions or another character’s viewpoints.  This allows me the creativity to take the story in almost any direction.

The one thing that works best for me when I develop characters is my ability to visualize the character.  I will often search the web for pictures establishing a face to the characters I write about.  As I develop the characteristics, I will look at the photo and determine if the characteristic fits the person I am looking at.  I don’t however choose character names based on the visual representation.  This is done more from actually seeing the name on paper.

Again, everyone is different and my way of looking at names is different from Veronica’s.  Not better… just different.

I have also written novels that are made up of short stories – the progression of the story also lends itself to the progression of the character development, but the one thing I try not to do is focus on the character’s physical appearance from a build stand point.  Clothing, hair color, eye color… sure, these are always part of the story, but height and weight are not usually part of the story unless it is necessary.  It allows me to be part of the story as an observer and puts me at their “eye-level.”  By not expressing the physical dimensions, I can let the reader develop the character in their own mind and if the story is well written, they can insert themselves into the character based on the reader’s own physical characteristics.

I do agree with the character mapping and linkage.  It is important to show how the characters, meet, what their opinions are of the other characters and how they will progress throughout the story.  Especially in a story that teaches a lesson.

When it is all said and done, characters are an extension of the storyteller.  The characters are the story in most cases and their development is part of the story, but should never be the entire story or the story is not worth reading.

Thanks Veronica.