Writing with Mortality

My maternal grandparents in 1956

I’m getting older. At 64, I have to step back and examine my life and where I fit in to the legacy of my family. My dad died at 69. My mom at 76. Her mom at 82 and her dad at 66. Mom didn’t see it coming. She was in good health.

I’m in okay health and sometimes I wonder about my ticking clock. I ask myself at night if I accomplished all I needed to in the day to be sure I didn’t waste time or leave important things undone. It is often motivation for my books, to be sure I finish before I die. Mortality. 

Life and Death is an issue in Infinity War as she see our superheroes snapped out of existence. Like Spiderman said moments before he disappeared, “I don’t feel so good, Mr. Stark.” The entire idea of suddenly ceasing to exist is made ever more poignant to us old timers when we hear talk of the Avengers moving on and the old actors passing the torch. Truly, Fury, Capt. America, Iron Man, Thor, are all aging in real life. Mortality seems to be an issue for Hollywood (age diversity and discrimination will be for another day), and younger superheroes are waiting in the wings. Just look at what was done with the X Men. Poor Professor X!

Mortality is an issue with our books too. If we write supernatural or paranormal characters we don’t have to worry about their aging. Or if we have to deal with it, it can be done very slowly (like decades slowly), or even used as a plot device if we need to kill off someone or scare everyone with the loss of a favorite character.

But where are the love stories for the over 40? Honestly, I don’t find many adult books, other than Contemporary Fiction/Romance, where the over 40 or 50 group deals with love or loving again. Yes, we find it in younger characters, but we avoid the “older” or the “elderly.”

Gives a girl a complex and makes her think she’s passé. Like all the talk about the older actors being past their prime for their superhero roles, they are made new with younger, more viral, more “viable” contract players. Seems a bit unfair especially if you have superpowers to say that after age “x” that you are too old to do your job.

My job is to write. My job is to write good stories. If I write stories about older people, the younger folks don’t want to read about the 50 year old divorce with three grown children and four grandchildren, her arthritis and her aged mother with diabetes or Alzheimer’s. It’s too….real? Too close to home?

Maybe that’s it. We’re aging and it’s real. It’s contemporary but not the way we want to be remembered? I don’t know. Can you imagine a story about Hawkeye and his family in addition to his fighting Thanos? It’s rumored that we will have something like that in Avengers 4. Why doesn’t that mortality bother us?

What about your stories? Do you write about older people other than wizards and witches and sorcerers and vampires? Can you? Would you? Or is mortality too scary to manage because it is too real and close to home? Like a birthday cake with a heart – a real heart – it frightens and grosses us out. But there is a magic in the reality if we try to see it.

I think about it every day. And I’ve discovered that I am adding older characters to my stories. Yes, some of them have supernatural abilities. And some are mere mortals who have managed to live into their more senior years. I don’t write Young Adult stories so maybe I’m trying to match reality with the imaginary in a way that makes my reality more palatable. Or maybe it makes you think more about your reality and manage it better?

Mortality. The scariest story there is to a writer with a million stories to tell. I’m writing as fast as I can but if I get zapped out of existence, I want my readers to have truth amid the fantasy. I want to read that too. Write more real people. Age them along with you. Let me know that my mortality is okay and that I can be a superhero even with gray hair and eczema or contact lenses.

Maybe the best writing is one that says the greatest superheroes are the best of us, just the way we are, even aged.  Just do me a favor? Write faster and leave a legacy that will outlast time (or Thanos).

Mortality. It only matters if you let it take you without a fight. Right Mr. Stark?

Thanks for stopping by.

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

(All credit to Marvel and DC. I do not own rights nor use photos for personal gain).

Lost Gems of Character Development

We writers and authors spend an exhaustive amount of time learning our craft. You have to do it. There are so many technical aspects about writing which must be studied. You must learn about plots, scene and sequel creation, dialogue, monologues, internal dialogue, Point of View (POV), deep POV, grammar, punctuation, formatting, vocabulary, character arcs, style, genre, trends, world-building. Good grief the list is endless! And there are dozens of checklists, reminders, rule books, handouts, programs, spellcheckers– Holy Info Overload, Batman!

The learning must happen if we want to produce a quality story, chapbook, or novel. I know for me, there is a constant review of certain lessons with every novel, checking style and format, always improving vocabulary, looking to reinvent a master plot or character trope and always striving to be original in the process.

One thing I recently noticed in my writing, and in so many other books, is the missed opportunities for deeper character development. Great care is taken to showcase the golden flecks in someone’s eyes, the blue-black sparkle of hair, the limp, the bushy eyebrows, or the curl of smoke from a pipe. Delicious details offer insights to the vampire’s desires, the streetwalkers boots, the royal throne or the courtier’s waistcoat. Even the most intimate scenes offer description of the silky sheets, the sweat that runs down the chest, the sound of flesh against flesh.

All of these details are ones we’ve been told to add. We know we need to cover all the senses, preferably in every scene. We want the readers to see the people as clearly as we do. To feel and hear the swish of a gown on the stairs, to taste the burning heat of a rye whisky tossed back without thinking, we need the readers to follow us as we dodge around trains who vent steam and blare horns. We go to a picnic and treasure the dappled sunlight, swat the flies over the potato salad and our mouth water when we smell the fried chicken. These details are what flesh out every scene and give depth to our tales. 

What if I told you that you can do more, that you are missing one of the best treasure troves for letting the reader learn about your characters through what THEY find in your stories?

Sometimes deeper character development, and therefore hidden meanings or careful foreshadowing, even character secrets, comes from what isn’t directly said or carefully described. What about what surrounds the character in your story? Are you taking advantage of the character’s personal items that never change, that are personally offered and perhaps never addressed?

Let’s use my house and me as an example for what I mean. In every story, your characters live somewhere, whether its a tent, a mansion, an RV, or a brick and mortar home. In my case, it’s a ranch house. I don’t like stairs anymore because I have a bad knee (have had since I was in my 30’s). This character information which the one story house emphasizes. We’ll mark that as “Fodder.” 

Next, my kitchen. A great many families hang out in the kitchen. Activity thrives there. Look around. Everyone plants their flag, so to speak, in their surroundings. What’s on the counter that never changes? The wall? How about the refrigerator? Fodder! Here’s a pic of my refrig. There are things that never change and others that change with moods. Fodder! Do you see personalities reflected here? Look at the gold magnet or the retro magnet. How about the apron? 

We speak of the roaring fire by the wingchair or the mantle clock. What about the walls? The unchanging, personally decorated walls? Ah, more secrets of likes and dislikes! Look at this picture of my dining room. I have a deep love for Egyptian art. Did you know? You can learn so much from what people hang on the wall for permanent decoration. Secrets to their likes, dislikes or personalities. Let them be noticed.

I know we all enjoy reading about a character in their library. Big old volumes of books, shelves upon shelves, a footstool, a ladder, a cuppa tea and a late night read. But wait! There are nik-nacs, maybe china? Maybe bronze? Let’s look at a portion of my library. Oh my! The oddities abound. Statues and photos and hints galore. Most of these things do not change and reveal so much about me. Do you see the vampires or the dragons? How about the moon or the variety? So much fodder for a tale that reveals personality.

A home also offers insights into hobbies. Do you show a character’s pottery? Artwork? Greenhouse, perhaps? Do you know I like to take photographs? On the spare bedroom wall you find this framed piece, showcasing several photos. Mine. It speaks of some of my deepest loves. More fodder.

There is also a boom in contemporary fiction about professionals like the military, the doctor, the fireman or the cowboy. These people surround themselves with items that represent them or pieces that show something in their past that represents this profession. In my case, there are retirement cases for my husband and me, that showcase our years of military service. These can be the most personal mementos available. Fodder awaits!

Details are the decoration that gives a story depth and richness. Don’t miss out on a chance to provide unique depth to your characters by using the details that may never change. Understand and flesh out the things that make the characters real and you define them in a way that readers will relate to on a deep personal level. Oh look, your reader will say, she puts her daughters drawings on the fridge too. And she uses the magnet of her trip to Boston Harbor to hold it up. You know, the place where she spent her summers so long ago…

Fodder.

These are the lost gems that make the difference between good and great character development. Set your work apart by giving your readers whole characters they can never forget because in the end, the readers want more than anything to be those characters. Make it happen for them.

Thanks for coming by. Let’s make this a great month!
I remain as ever, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

The Positive of Negative Emotions

…and how to use them for yourself and your characters.

Life is a study of emotions. We often cruise through our days, months and years, barely aware of what’s going on outside of ourselves, perhaps only peripherally aware of our neighbors, too aware of what the news offers, and oblivious to what goes on outside of our scope of interest. I put to you that being more aware of the emotional landscape in your world benefits you personally as well as your character writing — specifically, the negative emotions no one like to feel or discuss.

Authors love to delve into character backgrounds, researching history, culture, even underwear when it suits them (or they have a need to bare it all. Ahem). We will give characters seedy backgrounds, give them physical wounds, and even childhood issues, but few use the darker or more negative emotional wounds/issues to character benefit (unless creating villains). I believe this hurts our characters and handicaps us both as people and as storytellers.

Let me give you a few examples of negative emotions and how each benefits you and your writing when viewed positively.

GUILT:  We all know the dark side of guilt. We do or say something and suddenly we feel bad that we’ve caused harm, or tears. We didn’t mean to break the vase and feel guilty because we know we shouldn’t have been skating in the house. Mom is mad and we are guilty (and punished). So where is the gem here? Guilt proves that we have a conscience. Guilt is the other side of apathy. If we didn’t care, there is no guilt and that’s the true negative. Feeling guilty shows there is a moral compass that can be used over and over for a characters growth. Guilt for past deeds is fodder for actions in the future. Guilt is a foundation for relationships meant to be positive. Guilt is more than a one-and-done happening.

SHAME:  We feel badly when we do something which hurts others when we could have prevented it. We feel badly when we see others mistreated or used by someone else. Shame comes because we have learned what is and isn’t acceptable in speech or behavior or belief. It proves – and here is the positive – that we have a moral compass. Someone you love tells a  lie about someone else and you are ashamed of them. Your moral compass is pinging. It proves that you have learned that certain kinds of pain are wrong. The gift is that in feeling shame, you know how to find relief and pride. Shame can build character. Take a police officer who built a career on  a past shame and is now incorruptible.

ANGER: Being mad is one of those emotions that can be both good and bad. You’ve heard of “justifiable homicide?” Murder when the person had it coming? But what about simpler anger. Anger that is so deep that it ruins relationships. Such anger can test our moral compass, re: homicide. Hot anger seems like the unforgiveable negative but au contraire! Let us not forget Shakespeare’s warning, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” In other words, let cooler heads prevail and when you have calmed down enact a revenge that the other never saw coming. So what’s the positive of anger? Anger demonstrats what your personal limits are and pushes you to test your moral compass. You reach the edge of your abyss and either you fall in or you step back. For a character to discover that edge gives them a wonderful control of self. And a useful tool against others who seek to manipulate, too. Use anger carefully.

FEAR: We all know about “fight or flight” syndrome and how fear will motivate or paralyze. The negative part of fear is becoming insecure. Fear can still thrust a soldier into battle or paralyze them into being shot. Fear is deadly. The upside to fear is how it creates change. Overcoming fear can break inhibitions or create new ones. Coming to grips with fear also teaches a person to trust personal instincts. And good instincts are a character’s gem. Use fear to make positive change and memorable, useful, experiences.

GRIEF: If you’ve lost a childhood friend, a family pet, a relative or cried over a character in a book or a movie, you’ve known grief. The level of attachment defines the depth. And that depth is the positive aspect we need for greater characters. Without grieving, we are shallow, septic, apathetic and even anti-social. Grief is the obvious truth of caring. Grieving is change, development, growth for relationships, a mantra for change. The mother who lost four children due to miscarriages gives up having any children and stops having sex because of a fear of more losses. The grief has changed her entire outlook of sex, relationships, her abilities and her function in life. And suddenly an abandoned child is thrust into her life and she needs bone marrow….and we have a match. Now the moral fiber opens and so does a heart. Grief can make positive changes when carefully managed.

These are only a few examples of how we need to use the positive side of negative emotions. Using this method to peel away the sour, provides special depth to characters and makes them unforgettable and more like real people. We need to find positives in the negatives for ourselves too, and if we don’t know how, then begin with characters. You’ll find your way by learning through them, just as your readers will.

Happy Writing!

Don’t forget to join me for my next Facebook Live chat on May 26, 11 a.m. on my author page.

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I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry