Confidence Pitfalls

My writer’s group gives out awards. In fact, on my first visit the hostess gathered us from the snack table in the kitchen and arranged the ten of us on the couch and floor in front of the fireplace. They even did one of those tongue-drum-rolls. I was fascinated. Sandwiched between an accountant and an aerobics instructor, I waited eagerly.

The hostess handed out cheap plastic leis and an onion that she’d spray-painted gold. Needless to say, I had to have them. You see they were silly prizes for really hard feats of accomplishments. The lei was given to whoever did the most submissions that month. Query letters, proposals, whatever…as long as you sent something in. The gold onion was for the person who’d received the most rejections. It’s easy to celebrate successes, they all knew that. What is hard is pressing on despite someone telling you, in black and white, that you’re not good enough.

Being a writer, at least one who cares if they’re published, is tough on the ego. I once received a rejection notice that wasn’t even on a whole piece of paper. Just a three-inch strip of paper with the words, “Thanks, but we’ll pass,” written on it. Ouch. The silly prizes at my critique group were symbols of encouragement to keep going, keep trying.

I like reading rejection stories from famous authors. I like watching Biography of how writers or directors kept coming up against people that told them to quit, and how their success is all the more sweet because they didn’t.

There are a lot of pitfalls in this profession, things like jealousy, discouragement, frustration, doubt. But surrounding yourself with a good support group is like balm to the wounds inflicted by the form letter rejection. Staying close to the Lord, reading the word, and remembering that you’re not really the captain of your ship anyway helps. I’ve trusted the Lord with my dream; I can’t take it back now.

Getting in Their Heads

Inside the Acting for Film & Television campus
Originally uploaded by vancouverfilmschool

My friend once asked me how I got into the heads of the characters I write. I usually use the first person, so the character is as close and personal as possible. I told her about my drama class in high school. We used to do these exercises that involved using props that we thought our characters might have. I fiddled with fake pipes and fedora hats pretending to be a noir detective for class. It was great fun.

What I didn’t realize was that these skills would help me to be a better writer. I find that some of the methods actors use to really understand the character they want to inhabit -- help me with the characters that inhabit my mind. I keep little pieces of detritus that might come from a desk, or a special music box. I had a character in a novel that travels the world stealing back high-technology. She kept coins and seashells from her travels in the book. In real life, I have some of those things from my own travels on the shelf next to my notes for that book.

I try to notice quirks, mannerisms, and personal habits of people and write them down. I have a friend that no matter where he is, he finds paper and folds it into origami animals. You can tell if he’s been in the room because there are tiny frogs on the table or staring at you from coffee mugs. A cop that I knew used to go through a couple of packs a gum a day. I remember him chewing, thinking, chewing, unwrapping…chewing some more. His speech patterns were punctuated with snaps of the gum in his mouth.

All of these methods that actors use are helpful in layering the characters in your own stories. A quirk can make a character memorable, endearing, or even intolerable. Although I only took the drama class for an easy ‘A’, and have no interest in acting, I believe I took away some useful tools from that class. I wonder what insights I might find in the other arts. Come to think of it, I’ve been eyeing a welding and metal art class at my local community college…

Networking

Coffee
Originally uploaded by SomeDriftwood

Okay, so here's the thing...I'm part of this critique group called the Sunday Morning Romance Writers. We get together every other Sunday and go over selections of our novels that we've traded and pre-read. I give my opinion on whether or not Lord Stunningly Handsome would realistically fall for Lady Shy-But-Gorgeous. I get to hear about why my characters are too prickly, or not prickly enough for their profession. Its all very motivating. Only thing is...there's just two of us that show up. Me and a woman that writes Regency Romance. I've learned a lot about corsets.

Our numbers are, as of yet, on the small side. Sitll, one great perk is that the eople watching is so great during this time. I can't tell you how many study groups, mommy groups, old people that read the newspaper and don’t talk groups, seem to keep our exact schedule. I’ve taken to jotting down the weird quirks for my characters. There’s a guy, who I think is learning to be a phlebotomist that smacks his Splenda packets against his thumbnail exactly five times. Every packet, every time. He takes like twenty in his giant cup of coffee. He apparently also hates raisins with a passion.

I wondered how one coffee shop attracted so many unusual people until I realized the other day, that if the authorities were watching my friend and I, we’d be in trouble. She talks about daggers, sabotage, and usurping the throne. I’m constantly asking her what she thinks the weight threshold in an air duct is, or if she knows how to pick a lock. Easily misinterpreted stuff.

All this to say that even though right now its just me and another dedicated writer showing up for our critique…semi-circle, that’s okay. I know that this is what I am supposed to do. I have faith. We’ll both make it. Until then, though our network is limited, it's definitely valuable to me.