(i) (i) (i) = I i (C)

Although I'm no mathematician, numbers and equations do fascinate me. A different form of language which, for the most part, seems quite foreign. Yet I know hidden in the formulas are answers to complex problems which impact real life scenarios. (i)(i)(i) = Ii (C) is my formula for character development. Multiplying (i)magination by (i)ntrospection by (i)ntrigue equals (I)nviting (i)nteresting (C)haracters. Okay, I'll simplify.

Without imagination fiction would cease to exist. It's the foundation for all elements of a compelling story with interesting characters. With imagination, anything is possible! The writer's challenge is to make possibilities believable. (A topic for another post.) Once imagination is tapped into, it must be multiplied by introspection. How does what you've imagined apply to another person? Who will care about what you've imagined? Why will they care? What benefit is it to the reader to go to the place you've imagined and with the characters you've imagined? What emotions will they experience as a result of your imagination and introspection? Blending imagination with introspection creates a synergism of intrigue. Intrigue is essential to draw the reader in and not only capture but also keep their attention. The product of these three elements--imagination, introspection and intrigue--is an Invitation for interesting Characters. The formula works but you have to work it. It's up to the writer to accept the invitation and make it happen. Using this equation will result in characters that evolve, come alive, and are interesting enough to care about.

Here's an exerpt from a scene in The Stelladaur: Book One, Finding Tir Na Nog. Reilly is in his precalculus class, bored and daydreaming, as usual.

For a few minutes he zoned back in to what Ms. Lamar was saying. Something about coeffecients and plugging constants into the quadratic equation. Oh yeah, that was covered in the last chapter. Got it. No need for review there. When is she going to get on with the next chapter?

Math had always been easy for Reilly. He was fascinated that numbers were so precise, always anxious to learn something new about how they worked.

Like when Eilam showed Reilly how to take one times nine, plus two, to get 11. Then to make the one a 12, multiply it by nine, and add three to get 111, and so forth.

Reilly drew it out on the back of his test paper. Soon the final equation was clear in his mind: Take the number 123456789, multiply it by 9, add ten, and the answer is...

(Grab a calculator and draw it out yourself!)

He looked at the pyramid of numbers for a few minutes, remembering the exact moment Eilam had explained it to him. They were sitting on a dock at the kayak hut, feet dangling over the water, on a hot summer day. A tiny crab scurried up the piling near their feet.

"Some may think that little creature is useless," Eilam had said. "But even the very smallest of all creations is essential to our existence. Every single one adds to the whole." It was the way he emphasized one that caught Reilly's attention.

He had watched Eilam carve something beside them on the dock with his pocket knife. It had a similar pattern to the mathematical picture Reilly had just scribbled on his paper, but it fascinated him even more.

Reilly lifted his head now and stared blankly out the side window while he drew it out in his mind. Every number started with only ones. One times one equals one. Then he began again with 11 times 11 to get 121. He kept adding ones to both sides of the equation until multiplying nine ones by nine ones revealed...

(Get out your calculator and pen again!)

It was just as Eilam had told him. Perfect. No disputing its authenticity. It was a fact: "Everyone is vital to the whole. And everyone has a purpose and place in this world," Eilam had told him as he folded up his pocket knife.

"G" - Give Yourself Permission

Today is the day to celebrate a new year and welcome new opportunities. For the most part, we are the creators of those opportunities. As writers we must give ourselves permission to do what we love to do. Write! When I wrote my first novel, "The Stelladaur: Book One, Finding Tir Na Nog", I wrote 5-6 hours every day. It was intense but pure bliss! I miss that. That wonderful groove when I gave myself permission to put everything else on hold. I let the dishes, laundry and my inbox just pile up; and I exerted my right to say 'no' to an endless list of other demands, both self imposed and otherwise. If you're currently in that realm of euphoric oneness with transferring the words in your head to your computer, then simply give yourself permission to write for a certain number of minutes longer each day. Fifteen to thirty minutes more may be just the boost you need to finish a thought or complete a scene.

Over the holidays I performed the role of a Who in Whoville in the play "The Grinch". The Whos did not let the Grinch steal from them what they loved to do the most. Feast, feast, feast, feast. And sing, sing, sing sing. Nor can you let any "grinchiness" (distractions disguised in endless varieties and emotions) keep you from doing what you love to do the most. Write, write, write, write! This day, this week, this year, give yourself permission to write until your heart grows ten times larger. You may even find yourself bursting into song: Wah-who for-aze...Dah-who dor-aze! (I've attached a photo of me as a Who, sitting on my son's bed before leaving to the play.)

Finish a Chapter

This week's tip is to forge ahead and finish a chapter. Some chapters are easier to complete than others. Some have ending paragraphs and sentences with just the right amount of a hook or lead into the next chapter. But others slip off the page like wet noodles and land in a clump of narrative garb on the next, with no element of suspense, surprise or even serendipity. This will invariably leave the reader uninterested or frustrated and you, the author, confused as to why the story isn't coming together. So here's the run down: One, finish the chapter. Two, start the next chapter. Three, read the last page of said chapter and the first page of the next chapter to see if it makes sense to have a chapter break at that point. Four, make sure the ending of one chapter and the beginning of the next are seamless yet purposeful. Try picking up a pile of your favorite novels and read the beginning and ending pages of each chapter, looking for interesting patterns and clues. Take special note of the last paragraph, sentence, word and punctuation of a chapter in relation to the first word, sentence, paragraph and punctuation of the next. If, for some unexplained reason, your stomach starts to growl, it could be the pasta. Your best plan of action at this point is to douse the page with your favorite marinara or pesto sauce and shovel it in, with a resolve to start fresh tomorrow.

Embrace the Editing Process

When I originally wrote the Author's ABC's I stated E was for "edit again". I have since added "embrace" because it gives that added umph to the challenge. As a writer, embrace means to open your eyes, your heart and your mind wide enough to recognize just how unpolished the manuscript may actually be. I met a well known novelist at a writers conference who said he personally edits each of his novels 30 times! I wondered if he was exaggerating, or perhaps obsessive. But eighteen months, fifteen complete edits, and 17,000 less words later, I think I'm beginning to understand. Or maybe I, too, have become obsessive about my work.

The Dichotomy of Deleting

D is for "delete at least one sentence from each page of your manuscript." I'm not talking about rewording or restructuring a sentence but actually getting rid of it, never to be a part of the story again. This simple exercise is a powerful way to begin the editing process. It allows the writer to emotionally step away from the page and let go of unnecessary fluff'n stuff. Read each sentence with the following questions in mind: Does this sentence move the story along? Is it vital to the scene? Does it have a definite purpose? If the answer is 'no' to any of these questions, consider striking the sentence. If the answer is 'no' to more than one of these questions, absolutely get rid of the sentence. Here's another hint: there are likely many more sentences that need to be deleted on that particular page! It may sound brutal but it's really quite liberating. The dichotomy is that we can ask these same questions about our life. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, what can we delete that will make our story more real, more believable, more true to our character?

"Create Something New"

C is for Create. The possibilities for creating are endless, and only limited by one's imagination. When a writer harnesses the power of creativity, he or she becomes an artist, an inventor, a designer, a builder and a word magician. One of the key elements for keeping creativity flowing freely is to expand the areas of focus to your creativity. This week, do something out of the ordinary--something that does NOT involve writing--but which explores your creative self. I'm not going to start listing suggestions. The ideas you need to get out of any writer's rut you may be experiencing (or any other rut) are only inside yourself.

As for me, I cleaned out three closets today in preparation for a house full of guests coming to stay for a week. Cleaning out closets opens up a ton of possible metaphors. I love the organizing, purging, sorting and straightening this creative activity provides. And I love the end result--more space. If there's one thing a creative mind needs, it's space. So...whatever you decide to create this week, be aware of the fact that it will likely open some much needed space. Welcome it as part of the creative process. Magically, the next time you sit down to write, the words will appear.

"B - Browse Your Local Bookstore"

We're only on 'B' in our Alphabet for Authors post series, which incidentally does not stand for "ba-humbug I'm behind on the blog already". It would be a blatant mockery to last week's entry--praising and applauding the power of Affirmations--to beat myself up over the fact that it's Friday and I'm just getting to the blog again. So I won't.

B is for Browse Your Local Bookstore. On Monday morning I went to our island bookstore, Eagle Harbor Books, an independent book store that exudes all evidences of a scene from a chick-flick about an aspiring chick-lit author (which I'm not). In a single word it's quaint. The store has been in existence for almost 50 years and I absolutely love the perfect blend of past, present and future: wooden plank floors that creek, bookshelves that open up to secret compartments where folding chairs are stored, comfy overstuffed chairs to relax in, the place where I attend my Speculative Fiction writing class, and up-to-date access to nearly as many ebooks as Barnes and Noble. It's an establishment that meets the current demands of the book industry by catering to the wide array of formats readers prefer, yet still maintains cheerful personal customer service and a genuine interest in the people who read the books. Just walking through the doors creates some kind of transmutation to my soul. Additionally, Eagle Harbor Books is the proud venue where literally dozens and dozens of local authors are showcased. I dare say Bainbridge Island/Seattle is to authors what Nashville is to country music. A mecca, so to speak.

I browsed the new titles table first, meandered past the travel section and audio books, sauntered around the gift area looking for stocking stuffers, and then found my way to the YA display table. Truthfully, I was somewhat disappointed. For some reason I've obviosly not grasped, werewolves and vampires are still hot. I found plenty of dark magic, young love and true scifi stories. A couple titles on angels and one about a pegasus. True, I was just browsing, not really reading. But that's because nothing REALLY grabbed my attention. I read a dozen or so jacket covers, tried a few first pages, and flipped through two or three books to do a quick study on dialogue. Suddenly, I wasn't feeling my typical almost out-of-body euphoria when I'm in this bookstore. Or any bookstore.

After over an hour of browsing, I walked outside into the wind and zipped up my jacket, wondering what I'd write in my post "B is for Browse Your Local Bookstore" that would be semi-inspirational or atleast helpful. I'm not sure I've done that yet but here's a thought. If nothing jumps out at you next time your'e in a bookstore, try your own personal library. Presently I'm reading six books simultaneously but the one on my night stand that I haven't opened yet is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. (Yes, I do realize it's NOT a new release!) The sequels are on display at Eagle Harbor Books which DID re-inspire me to start the series.

One other quick thought, if you do have a local independent bookstore then BRAVO! Considering today's publishing and emarketing industry, as readers and authors we need to do all we can to support their efforts and keep them in the BOOK BUSINESS.