Chapter Six: One Monkey and a Typewriter . . . And, GO!

You ever hear that old saying? If you had a million monkeys pounding away on a million typewriters, eventually they would reproduce the works of Shakespeare? Not to start preaching or anything like that, but I'm calling bullshit.

Monkeys are not at all qualified to attempt the graceful prose of the Bard, nor would they have the emotional context with which to create and evolve characters into believable and meaningful stories. So, in summary, that's hogwash.

To be fair, if you throw down a smattering of words, chances are something good will come of it. If I give someone a guitar and teach them which side is the business end, do you think eventually they will become James Taylor? No. It takes talent and personal experience to come up with the material that these artists have created.

Is that to say you are a monkey with no shot at producing something good? No, and don't ever call yourself a monkey in my presence again. I'll slap some sense into you.

The point is, sometimes you have to throw down a lot of words before you create something worth keeping. I have a practice, and I think it is one that many writers share, of writing down every idea I get. I don't care how many times I come up with the same "Wizard fights dragon with the power of song" story, it keeps getting better. One day I will find the chocolatey center of that puzzle and strike literary gold.

When I started writing my first manuscript, I had a lot of trouble working out different scenes. It wasn't exactly writer's block, but I could feel the stress building. So I did something a little different and tried free writing something completely out of left field. I wrote a fantasy story, starting with nothing more than "She found the boy near her usual walking path," and what came next was a universe of unexpected detail and filled with unique characters.

Is that fantasy story available for download onto my Kindle, you ask? No, it isn't even CLOSE to done, but the point is a threw down some words and found a story where before there had been nothing.

We are in a noble profession, us storytellers. No matter how many times your family says "Just be a lawyer," you need to know where your passions are and pursue them with tenacity. We create life out of nothing, weave stories with digital ink and electronic paper. We take people on journeys to places that never existed, and then make them sad to leave. People get angry at villains made up in your imagination. And there is, in my opinion, no better feeling than that.

So if you find yourself stuck on a particular scene, or lost as to how to start a story, try free writing. Shut off your brain and let the letters fall off your fingers. Or, in the grosser sense, cut your wrists and bleed out a story.

And if you need a prompt, I've got five journals full of them.

Chapter Five: Agonizing Antagonists

I'm terrible at coming up with a good antagonist. 

It's not that I can't make a bad guy. That's easy enough. Put a mustache or black hat on them and BAM, you've got yourself a villain. My failing comes in not making realistic or compelling antagonists with which to harass and haunt my heroes. 

I'm reading an excellent book on writing called Deepening Fiction, and it suggests that the best characters in any story share a deep and meaningful relationship. The villain and the hero are intertwined; they have to be. If there is no conflict or pull on an emotional level, the reader has lost a valuable level of interest. 

Now, this isn't to say that you should always make your villains somehow related to the main character. But there needs to be a relationship. Think about Frodo and Sauron of "The Lord of the Rings." Sauron is never actually IN the books. He is an ever present force that exists in a tower in spirit form, a looming threat that could congeal and destroy all of Middle Earth. Frodo and Sauron never meet directly, but they share a ring. A piece of jewelry that carries the darkest, most evil power in existence. 

Harry Potter and Voldemort were bound by a prophecy, but even more so by the violent act that scarred the "boy who lived."

You can go a more direct route, such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but often the less intimate the relationship, the more powerful the antagonization. 

And remember, there are three basic types of conflict to fall back on: Man VS Man, Man VS Environment, Man VS Himself.

What are some great relationships in movies, books and films that you enjoyed? Comment and post below and share your opinions. 

Chapter Four: Full Steampunk Ahead

This will be a short post, as I'm preparing for the Jewish New Year and there is much still to do. Like shower. I've been tossing around the idea of setting a new series in a Steampunk universe, but I don't know much about the universe. I've seen some steampunk movies and read my share of novels, but I'm trying to wrap my brain around the physics and science of such a place. I'd like to know if any of you have suggestions for good material.

I need to know what's been done to death so I can look for a new angle. And I'm looking forward to writing about something that is not steeped in aliens. But there might be mutants, so I'll have a fall guy if I need a villain.

But please, comment and post and let me know what you think so I can get to work on this. I've been working on a non-fiction book so much over the last few days that my brain is starting to become, shudder, logical. I'd like to spend a few hours delving into something completely ridiculous and have some fun. Then I'll come back to the surface and see how much work I can do.

For all of you who are members of the tribe, have a happy and sweet New Year.

And, for you budding writers out there, if you want to add to the conversation, or have a question of your own, I want you to let me know. This blog is not about me. This is about writing in general. I have questions, definitely more than I do answers, but I want a discussion and not a rant. That means I need you to add in your two cents.

Just a thought. But you should totally act on it.