IWSG: Am I my Characters?

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking.

If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

This month's wonderful co-hosts are Erika Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, Lisa Buie-Collard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

Be sure to check out their blogs (and others on this great blog hop) when you're finished here! This month's (optional) question: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?
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I try not to just write characters that are analogues for myself--I'm rather dull, really: reliable, steady, not-that-dramatic. If I took "write what you know" to mean "write characters just like you" no one would want to read my work. Heck, *I* wouldn't even want to read my work.

I like my real life nice and boring and regular, but not my fiction, thanks. How many quiet and reliable schoolteachers who love the man they are married to and do what they say they're going to do on time would you read about?

Yeah, me either.

But I do find that fiction is accidentally confessional from time to time, revealing biases, prejudices, and preferences that I may not even really be aware I have until after I see them reflected in a character. Things that bother me in real life may end up bothering one of my characters, too. It can be a good way to take myself down a peg, too--my favorite person to poke fun at is myself.

Patricia, of the Menopausal Superhero series, is impatient with newbs. She's got her own way of doing things and doesn't like to be slowed down by having to explain herself to others.

There's a bit of me in there, always tempted to look away when they're looking for volunteers, hoping that maybe I can just do the work and not have to help someone else do it at the same time. Impatient with youth and inexperience when it slows me down.

(This is mostly in my teaching life; in my writing life: mentoring and being mentored has been a lot more natural, organic, and useful. The uselessness of most teacher training and evaluation programs could be a whole ranty blog post by itself).

Of course, Patricia isn't nearly as polite as me.

From Going Through the Change, the first in the series:

"Patricia rubbed at her forehead as if she could reach the headache forming somewhere deep behind her right eye. She had worked for this man for how long now, twenty years? A good ten years before that for his predecessor. He knew damn well she preferred to work alone and absolutely detested any kind of group project or partnership. Yet, this was the third time he had assigned her an intern to mentor. Always women, too. Or really, girls. Skinny little milksops with no real backbone. he actually used the word nurturing, like she was a freaking wet nurse. Didn't he remember that she had sent the last one home in tears?"

I also remember that when I got to the end of the first book I ever finished (unpublished, women's issues fiction: His Other Mother), I was surprised to discover that I'd written something very much like a gender-switched relationship dynamic from my first marriage. Oops. I didn't know I was doing it at the time.

Of course, there are small things, like a character who likes a food you like, or prefers the same kind

of pillow, or drives a similar car. Those slip in on me all the time because I need a small detail to add some life to a moment and I understand my own preferences from the inside, so they're easy to use.

But, I don't usually intentionally give my characters my own characteristics. I'm not using my fiction as disguised memoir. My imaginary friends are much more interesting than I am--and I like it that way!

T is for Time: A to Z Blogging Challenge

You hear a lot about how slowly the traditional publishing world moves. It's been described as glacial. It's a source of frustration, especially for eager new writers who are anxious to get their words into the hands of readers.

So I thought I'd share some details of the how much time went into the creation and release of Going Through the Change. For me, from conception of the idea to a book you can now buy (!) was almost exactly three years.

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In Spring 2012, I was struggling to finish the first novel I ever wrote (unpublished, His Other Mother, women's issues fiction). It's a dark story and it was emotionally hard on me to finish it.  So, part of my brain was trying to escape, and I came up with the general concept and some rough character descriptions for a superhero novel, escapism at its best. I filed them away and used them as a bribe to myself to make myself finish that first book.

In July 2012, I finished writing His Other Mother (that one took four years just for the writing of the first draft), and let myself start writing Going Through the Change. I finished the first draft in August 2013 (somewhere in there, I picked up my Magic Spreadsheet habit, which really increased my productivity). By the end of 2013, the book had been through my critique group and I had rewritten it. Keep in mind I also had a full time day job (middle school teaching) and a family during this time--there was only 1-2 hours per day I could get for direct focus on writing, often less.

I started querying it and submitting it in January 2014.  I won't make you suffer through the rejections and no-answer-answers with me.  The story ends happily with a book contract from +Curiosity Quills Press in August 2014. CQ had a really quick process. From my initial submission to my contract offer was only a space of about two weeks.

Since then, we've been working steadily on edits, cover art, marketing plans, etc. All the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes my book as beautiful and polished and perfect as it can be.  So, here we are on BOOK RELEASE DAY! It's been nearly three years to the day since I thought up the idea. In traditional publishing, I'd call that speedy-fast-quick!

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This posting is part of the A to Z blogging challenge, in which bloggers undertake to post every day in April, excepting Sundays, which amounts to 26 postings, one for each letter of the alphabet--preferably along a theme. My postings will all be about my debut novel and my experiences writing it and seeing it published.

Blogging A to Z is a great opportunity to connect with some excellent bloggers and interesting people. I encourage you to check out other participating blogs, too!

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click the image to preorder on Amazon!

Meet My Main Character (Blog Tour)

It's time for another blog tour. I love these things. It's like playing a writing game with your writer friends. I learn about so many great writers and great books!

This one is the Meet My Main Character Blog Tour, begun by Debra Brown.This tour asks the authors of works-in-progress to answer questions about the main characters of their fictional novels. I was invited by Ronda Reed. Ronda's novel, The Walking Bridge, is in editing now and Ronda hopes to bring it out early next year. I'm glad she invited me. You can read her answers to these questions here.

So enough about my writing friends, let's talk about my book, His Other Mother. :-)

Like most writers, I hate trying to classify my work, but I'll try. His Other Mother is women's issues fiction, by which I mean it is realistic fiction in a real-world setting featuring a female protagonist with issues to work through. In Sherry's case, the issues are infertility and schizophrenia. The novel is structured in five sections which mirror the phases of schizophrenia.

What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or historical?

Sherry Morgan is completely fictional. Like any of my characters, she draws from people I have met and even loved, but, mostly, I don't even recognize the pieces that stem from my own life in my work until after the fact. It's certainly not intentional. I suspect it's my subconscious working through my own issues.

When and where is the story set?

The story takes place in a contemporary setting, for the most part, in roughly 2010. It's set in Hilltown, which is a fictionalized version of my current hometown: Hillsborough, North Carolina. I didn't want to be tied to the actual geography of the town, so fictionalizing my setting allowed me to use things as I chose and ignore things that didn't serve my story.

What should we know about her/him?

Sherry wants a baby more than anything else in this world.

This desire is at the center of this novel. It affects everything and everyone around her, including her husband, Kirk, and Maxie and Corbin, the mother and baby she fixates on.

What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

Sherry's problems begin when she and her husband, Kirk, decide to have a baby. They struggle with infertility and Sherry, in particular, is a mess over it. When she loses a pregnancy, she suffers a Brief Reactive Psychosis. She fixates on another woman's child and kidnaps him from the scene of an accident at the grocery store. As you might expect, this leads to trouble.

What is the personal goal of the character?

Motherhood.

Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

His Other Mother. I've posted some scenes from the novel on this blog over the year or so since I finished writing it.

Here's the kidnapping.

Here's the bread-baking scene.

And here's one of my favorite scenes: Kirk at the beach.

When can we expect the book to be published?

I'm pursuing traditional rather than indie publishing for this one, which means things like time tables are out of my hands. I really believe the book needs the publishing machine behind it to find its audience. So, it's out there in submission land, waiting for the next response. I've had two publishers ask for more before opting out, so I'm hopeful that the novel will find a home soon. In the meantime, I'm writing my other books (two superhero novels and a piece of historical fiction).

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That was fun.

If you'd like to read more of these posts, check out the blogs of my writing friends next week to see what they have to say about their characters!

Kristin Molnar is an urban fantasy writer and lives in North Carolina with her family.

Chad Clark is an independent author specializing in horror and science fiction.

Elizabeth Hein is a mother, author, and cancer survivor. She grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Durham, North Carolina. She writes women's fiction with a snarky edge. When not writing, she is trying to raise two young women and a husband.

#SaturdayScenes: No. 8

#SaturdayScenes has been a lot of fun. As an unpublished writer, I long to have people read my work, so appreciate this opportunity to share my words with an audience. I've really enjoyed this venture, begun by +John Ward , which asks writers to share bits of something they have written for public enjoyment. Following the hashtag is a great way to get a little taste of a wide variety of writing.

I received some beta-reader feedback this week, and used it to do some mild rewrites on His Other Mother.  I've posted a couple of other scenes from this novel previously (chapter 3: the kidnapping; and a thoughtful chapter with Kirk at the beach). So, if you like it, you can check out some more.

This chapter comes in the second section of the book. It was one of the first scenes I wrote for the book. Sherry, the main character, is on a baking binge as a coping mechanism for dealing with her latest disappointment in her fertility struggles.

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Sherry had spent her sick day baking, trying to knead out her frustrations over the failed final round of Clomid. If Clomid wasn’t going to work for them, they were running out of options. In vitro was almost as expensive as adoption, with no guarantee of a baby at the end. Sherry wasn’t sure she could take it if they tried it and it failed.

Slamming down the last loaf, now ready to rest and rise, Sherry thrust her hand into the middle of the first one, punching down the dough and her worried thoughts—the usual litany of self-blame for past mistakes or for waiting too long--if, if, if, if only—the usual whining self-pity that even her subconscious recognized and scorned as weak.

The dough sank satisfyingly, releasing a burst of yeast-scented air into the room. The oil on the outside felt good between her fingers as she worked out the blisters. She began to form a round loaf out of this one, a “rumpy” as she called them. No-manners bread, Gram called it. She had been partial to it, too. Her bread was the kind you could tear hunks from when it was fresh from the oven, warming your fingers in the steam. Eating the bread like this was as much a part of the ritual as kneading and baking.

As Sherry cut the traditional criss-cross pattern into the loaf, she eyed the knife and thought about putting similar markings into her forearms, thought how that might let something out, relieve a pressure valve. She put the knife down with a clattering force, shoving the thoughts away roughly and turned up the volume knob on the little red CD player perched in the windowsill. She hadn’t done it, but her imagination had supplied a stunningly clear vision of what the cuts would have been like. Obviously, she hadn’t yet succeeded in shutting down her over-active brain. “Stop torturing me,” she said aloud, wondering if she was talking to herself, the doctors, or the gods.

Sherry was wrist deep in dough when she heard the front door open. Kirk didn't call out or come straight to her with his backpack still on and his keys still in his hand like he would have six months earlier. A year and a half made for eighteen disappointments; eighteen nights spent soothing his bereft wife—who could blame him if he was in no hurry to face another one? He knew the calendar as well as she did. He had hoped, too. She could hear him close the door gently, hang his keys on the hook, place his backpack in the closet and head quietly to the bedroom for a tee shirt and jeans.

By the time he appeared in the doorway, watching her with that careful, questioning look she had come to dread, the loaf was coming out of the oven. That was good because they didn't have to talk. She wondered if he had stayed out of view on purpose, listening for the sound of the oven door opening before coming in. She set the loaf on the stovetop, and, without giving it time to cool, ripped into it with her hands, glad to feel the mild burn on her skin, and offered a hunk to him.

He took it, stepping nearer, but still staying at arms-length, watching her while he chewed. They stood like that and ate the whole loaf while she finished making the others. It was the only supper they ate that night before taking their respective sides of the king-size bed and turning back to back to stare at opposite dark walls. That was probably when Kirk gave up. Sherry was sure he didn't even hope with her anymore. If there was to be any more hope, it was up to her. Sherry didn’t think their odds were good.

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My other #SaturdayScenes contributions:

Week One: Elopement Day from WIP, Cold Spring

Week Two: Linda Makes a First Impression from WIP, Her Father's Daughter, sequel to Going Through the Change

Week Three: Claiming Alex, from unpublished novel His Other Mother

Week Four: Things Get Hairy for Linda, from unpublished novel Going Through the Change

Week Five: a poem: A Clear Day in Kodiak, Alaska

Week Six: a snippet from an idea barely begun, Lacrosse Zombies

Week Seven: Mathilde's Visit, from WIP, Cold Spring