For
those of you who are interested, here
are a few of the highlights from the
last two days. For those of you who
are really interested, I hope
to do the series again next Gen
Con (although the topics might change
a bit, just for fun).
Fantasy
Characters
Can
a character be too heroic? In a word,
yes. Publishers are no longer looking
for Conan or John Carter-esque characters
who can overcome any danger without
flinching or even breaking a sweat.
I had troubles with this myself, in
my first novel, The
Glass Prison. At first, the
character was just too tough -- too
powerful. He needed to have weakness.
The reader needed to know that he could
fail. That made his successes all the
more poignant.
Good
characters need foibles (they don't
need to be Thomas Covenant, though).
A great example of this is Sam from
the Lord of the Rings. Samwise's
shortcomings (his limited vision) actually
helped to ground Frodo when they were
in Mordor.
In
fact, one way to look at character creation
is this: Personality is defined by what
someone can't do or doesn't know. People
are their shortcomings. That's what
makes them interesting.
When
you are creating your characters, look
at people you know. Base your characters
on real people, or portions of real
people -- pick a trait, a speech pattern,
or a mannerism from someone you know
or just see on the street. Nothing makes
a character more real than giving him
traits from an actual person.
When
describing a character, don't ever tell
the reader anything obvious (this is
true in general, but particularly true
when dealing with characters). If you
know it, it will come through. You don't
have to tell the reader that Gandalf
is a powerful wizard, or that Lancelot
is a great hero -- not even obliquely.
It will just come through on its own.
Remember
that secondary characters can be just
as important as your main, point-of-view
character(s). Think of all the great
secondary fantasy characters that exist:
Foamfollower from the Chronicles
of Thomas Covenant and Sam from
the Lord of the Rings, just to
name two. Often, they can make or break
your story.
Villains
Monte's theory is that there are two
kinds of villains: Cool villains and
despicable villains. Boba Fett, Dracula,
and a big, hungry dragon are all cool
villains. We don't like them, but they
have a certain appeal. You wouldn't
want to be around them, but you might
wear a picture of them on your T-shirt.
Despicable villains include Sauron,
Lord Foul, or Baron Harkonnen. These
are just horrible beings -- you want
to see them die. You want them away
from you. You don't even want to think
about them too much.
There
are a lot of interesting things you
can do with villains. Consider, for
example, making a villain that is likable,
or at least sympathetic. Consider, in
fact, making a story with two "heroes"
at odds. Consider writing a story with
no villain. Robinson Crusoe, for example,
is a story with no real villain. In
Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, the real
villain is the Thread -- a natural occurrence,
not a person.
When
you're creating a villain, avoid the
clichés. The dastardly Snidely
Whiplash villain is as bad as the Conan-style
hero. Maybe worse. Even dastardly villains
should be understandable. Sauruman in
Lord of the Rings, and even Sauron
(particularly if you read The Silmarillion)
have understandable motives.
Getting
Published
To start with, here are my top three
tips to getting published:
The
next decision is: Should I have an agent?
If
you're writing only short stories, the
answer is easy: "No." You
don't need one. Most agents don't deal
with short stories. If you're writing
a novel, the answer is, "Maybe."
Get a book called Literary Agents
2001. This is published every year
and contains listings of agents in all
markets and genres. Remember this though:
It's tough to get an agent without a
finished manuscript. If you're a first-time
author, have your novel ready to go.
One
last important note: Avoid reader services,
rewriters, ghostwriters, or anything
with a fee. These are often scams.
