In the Flesh

A couple of nights ago my husband and I watched the movie Ruby Sparks. In the film, the main character, Calvin, is struggling with a massive case of writer's block. After his shrink gives him an impromptu writing assignment, Calvin has a dream about a beautiful red-haired girl and begins writing about her. And then the unbelievable happens--Ruby appears, in the flesh, in Calvin's house. He fell in love with her from the moment he began her story, and his attachment only deepens now that she's real. Of course this creates conflict when he realizes he can control her actions and emotions through his typewriter.

Throughout the film I was enchanted with the idea that Calvin had created a character who was so well written that she could slip into the world and no one would know she was made of ink and paper. He knew every detail of her life, who she was, and what had shaped her. When Calvin is describing Ruby to his shrink, he slips into this beautiful narrative that delves so much deeper than what she looks like or her favorite foods. 

This brought to mind my own characters and how well--or not so well--I know them. If they suddenly appeared and a stranger asked them about their life--their family, what they do, what they love, what defining moments shaped who they are--would my characters be able to answer? Would they be able to reply confidently, in a way consistent with their personality? Would there be enough backstory, enough thought-out, relatable details, for my characters to take on a life of their own and make it in the real world without being found out?

Image courtesy of jannoon028 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So I started thinking about my next project and my main character, Abbey. What does she look like? How does she wear her hair? These are pretty basic, so I asked myself "why?" Why does she wear her hair like that? I know her favorite books, but why are they her favorites? (This lead to the discovery that she feels Nancy Drew is far inferior to Sherlock Holmes.). I looked at some of the personality traits I'm drawn to the most in Abbey and realized it's because I share them (which helps me write these parts of her with more authenticity). I asked Abbey how she's different from those around her and whether she's okay with that (she is) and if she would be willing to maybe change the way she thinks about some things (she might eventually). And I soon found that one of the biggest perks to getting to know Abbey better is the more I know about her, the more the pieces of my plot's puzzle start to fall into place.

I've been wanting to watch Ruby Sparks for a while, but I'm glad I ended up watching it now (perfect timing since my writing group just happens to currently be discussing character development and interviewing your characters) because it inspired me to seriously delve into this process. Because really, my characters are a part of me and I owe it to them to get to know them well enough to tell their stories properly.

Hemingway said it well: "When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters."

Picture Quote Monday {Undefeated}

                                            This should be embossed on every rejection letter.

Off Switch? Ha!

This is a fairly extremely accurate representation of how my brain works.

Love Does by Bob Goff

We've all answered the question on social media quizzes and during those awkward "icebreaker" conversations. You know the one: "If you could have dinner with any person in the world, past or present, who would you choose?"

My answer would be, without hesitation, Bob Goff. Move over Dos Equis man, there's a new most interesting man in the world.

Love Does is filled with incredible stories. Underdogs succeed, the guy gets the girl, dream adventures are turned into reality. Disneyland becomes a corner office, world leaders come over for a sleepover, and jail doors are ripped from their hinges. And the best part?

It's all true.

Bob regales us with one crazy real life tale after another, showing by example what it says on the cover: Love Does. Never have I felt someone's heart, joy, and passion come through so clearly on a written page. With each chapter I felt myself becoming more and more inspired (and downright pumped) to go out and live my life with the same zeal and positive attitude that Bob does. This isn't a book filled with 14 steps to a better you, or a list of bullet points to check off on your road to success. What Bob gives us is a book filled with his own experiences and observations on what it means to love, and how living hand-in-hand with love and whimsy can lead to a secretly incredible life.

At the beginning of each chapter, Bob shares these great little gems of wisdom. Things like:

"I used to want to fix people, but now I just want to be with them."

And

"I used to think knowing God was like going on a business trip with Him, but now I know He's inviting me on an adventure instead." 

It's these personal lessons from Bob's life, and the paths he took to get there, that make this book so amazing.

There's a reason Love Does is a NYT Bestseller--it has the potential to be life changing if you'll let it. My review can be easily summed up in this recommendation: Put this on your must read list--your life will be better for having read it. I know mine is.

Picture Quote Monday {Doing}

  Today's inspirational quote comes from Arthur Ashe.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Journals App

This Journals app is a great way to organize and jot down notes and ideas. With four different styles of journals and dozens of fonts, it's fun and easy to customize. I love the fact that each journal can be split into chapters and pages because I can keep multiple writings separate, but under one common heading. Plus, you can attach photos, videos, and even draw and record audio right there in the app. My only word of caution is to make sure you remember your password if you choose to create a locked journal, because as far as I can tell there's no recovery option. The app gets a 4.5 star rating in the app store and is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

NOTE: Since I originally posted, Journals has updated their app to allow for password reset.  

A Silent Film - Sand & Snow

Some people need complete silence to write, others enjoy creating a writing playlist. I'm in the latter group. I love music and I love having a soundtrack attached to my stories (though admittedly the songs don't always have anything to do with what I'm writing about). English alternative rock band, A Silent Film (think sounds similar to Snow Patrol and The Killers) is one of my go-to bands to rock out to and get the creative juices flowing. I love lyrics that tell a story, and with tracks like "Danny, Dakota and the Wishing Well" and "Anastasia" Sand and Snow is one of my favorite albums to put on shuffle as I write.

 

The O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson

When people ask what my favorite book is, this is the answer I give them. (Yes, I know it's not just one book, but who can really pick just one?). This series is about seven siblings who choose to adopt each other after leaving the orphanage where they grew up. As adults, each one has taken an intense job: Chicago PD hostage negotiator, US Marshall, forensic pathologist, firefighter, children's trauma psychologist, paramedic, and pediatric physician, respectively. Each of the six books center around one individual's story (with one sister's story being told across the books). The novels are filled with suspense, romance and incredible details about each sibling's chosen field. The result is a story you can't put down and characters that seem incredibly real. I've read through the entire series four times, and individual books several times more. The Protector (Jack the firefighter's story) is my favorite. Since I'd just finished reading it when I met my husband--who was a volunteer firefighter at the time--the book was practically his wingman.

Feel free to share some of your favorites (current or all-time) in the comments below!

Go Big or Go to Bed

This pretty much describes my typical Friday night plans. I party hard, people.