Writing
Essence Of Character – Seven Steps To Creating Characters That Write Themselves
by admin on Apr.28, 2010, under Writing
Creating characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals and not imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, and is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spending your time building your characters before they enter the world of your story makes the process of writing an easier and more enjoyable ride, and creates a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.
You must first agree to operate from the understanding that the three-dimensionality of your characters is not created magically. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time and you must practice (daily) the art of developing your characters. As a development executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have developed a framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through 1) labeling their desire essences, 2) labeling their fear essences, 3) getting specific about their past, 4) labeling their behavior, 5) raising their stakes, 6) not meddling in their lives, and 7) letting them play. Asking provoking questions in line with these steps, answering them thoroughly, and then repeating the process, provides constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life. Now let’s take each step in turn:
1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters: The first key to deepening your work is finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters that drive their actions. We all have deep aspirations that drive our choices, our thoughts, our actions and reactions. These needs are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of DESIRE ESSENCES are: the desire to be intellectually brilliant; the desire to be socially famous; the desire to hide from the world; the desire to belong to a group; the desire to be loved; the desire to party; the desire to die.
2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters: What is at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they have they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Labeling and understanding the darker sides of your characters is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of FEAR ESSENCES are: the fear of being stupid; the fear of being ordinary; the fear of being socially exposed; the fear of being rejected by a group; the fear of being loathed; the fear of being boring; the fear of having to face life.
3. Get specific with your Backstory: Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and reactions to those moments. A character’s current behavior is a battle between fear and desire and their immediate choices are made based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from their past – experiences that leave imprints much like DNA. Though your characters should be unconscious of these past experiences that are influencing them, you the writer must create these in your preparation of their backstory be fully aware of them. Here is an example of what won’t benefit you vs. what will when getting specific with backstory:
Bad example of getting specific: Rachel is a pretty girl who thinks she is unattractive. She prefers to live in her books as opposed to being with friends or family. Her father has abused her sexually throughout her youth. She hates attention.
Better example of getting specific: On her graduation day, at a party her Mother is throwing for her, Rachel’s sexually abusive father shows up drunk and congratulates her, hugging her too closely, grabbing her rear end with both hands, and calling her pretty in front of a room full of her friends and family. She runs away humiliated and hides in her room, escaping into one of her fantasy books. That night she moves out to stay with a friend and doesn’t tell her friends where she is going. Two weeks later she finds out through another friend that her father died in a car accident. He had been drunk.
In the better example of getting specific, the reader can have a visceral reaction to the words. This is caused by the detail. The generality of the bad reaction is logical, but lifeless. In the better example it is easy to determine what the essences of our leading lady might be: desire to hide, maybe even desire to die, desire to live in her books, desire to be valued for her intellect instead of her body, fear of loneliness, fear of her appearance, fear of the opposite sex, fear of losing a loved one, fear of being abandoned.
4. Describe their Current Behavior: Take the essences and the specific examples you have now created and determine what kind of behavior your characters might exhibit as a result. Don’t limit yourself with these, but rather excite yourself with the possibilities.
Simple examples from our leading lady – a woman who: hides her body; avoids friends from her past; mistrusts anyone who comments favorably on her appearance; desires to control her education and her intellect; avoids alcohol.
5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme. Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting! Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences – when your essences are threatened will you fight to extremes to defend them, just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you – let them be that way to your characters.
6. Don’t meddle: Of course you might be saying to yourself, “How do I not meddle – I’m the writer!” But a truthful story is going to grow from your willingness to let your characters make their own decisions based on how you have defined them (which after these exercises will be in great depth). As their parent, you have to let your children go; this is the point at which your story truly begins. DO NOT MEDDLE IN THEIR LIVES. Continually remind yourself – it’s not about you. You just serve the story. Let your characters make their own decisions. If you ever find yourself not knowing what decision they might make – question your homework and rework their essences, behaviors and stakes until their choice becomes obvious.
Follow these steps to create the richer characters you want to be writing.
Find the Essences:
To find the essences of your characters, you have to look to their history and their genetics. Just like real people, your characters’ current behavior is defined by their DNA combined with experiences you create in their past. We all have the basic fears and ambitions of survival, shelter, and food, so when working on these essences focus on the ones that really drive each character. Consider ethnicity, religious beliefs, and major life events. Address sex, drugs, music, parents, siblings, education, appearance and intelligence for sure.
Start by writing out twenty DESIRE ESSENCES that feel right for each main character. Then determine one polar opposite of each DESIRE to create your twenty FEAR ESSENCES. Go back and toss the ones that you now feel less attached to. Repeat and refine the process until you have at least ten of each for each character that really excite you.
Get specific about Backstory:
Get specific about how your character’s essences have come to be. Create definitive moments in your characters’ lives that detail when these fears and desires were initiated. Come up with five supporting examples of moments in their lives when each of these essences was tested and eventually vindicated in the name of the fear or in the name of the desire. Failure vindicates the fear and success vindicates the desire. Write at least one half page of text supporting each -Yes that will give you a total of twenty-five pages of essence work. Do the work.
10 Essences (a desire and a fear for each) x 5 samples for each = 50 descriptions (each a half page)
Label the Current Behavior:
Using their essences and their specific past, come up with ten sample behaviors for each character. Simple example: a character who has a desire to hide and a fear of being publicly humiliated, has a specific past incident of continually having their pants pulled down in public by a sibling. The current behavior – they might always wear a belt, or might always look behind themselves in a very specific attempt to never be humiliated again.
Raise the stakes:
After looking over your newly created examples, it should be easy to determine some issues that might be going on in their lives that would increase or decrease their stress. A decrease in stress generally excites people to take greater chances, while an increase in stress tends to shorten people’s fuses.
List five possible increases or decreases in your characters stress level.
Don’t meddle and let them play:
Now put two of your fully developed characters into the same room. Implement two or three increases in stress to one character and two or three decreases in stress to the other character and let them bounce off of one another. Go into this exercise with no preconceived notions of what might happen. If you have done your homework, they should affect one another.*
*If you need a jumpstart – add an element that one needs from the other and give the other a strong reason for not wanting to provide what that character needs. Could be tangible or emotional.
You must first agree to operate from the understanding that the three-dimensionality of your characters is not created magically. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time and you must practice (daily) the art of developing your characters. As a development executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have developed a framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through 1) labeling their desire essences, 2) labeling their fear essences, 3) getting specific about their past, 4) labeling their behavior, 5) raising their stakes, 6) not meddling in their lives, and 7) letting them play. Asking provoking questions in line with these steps, answering them thoroughly, and then repeating the process, provides constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life. Now let’s take each step in turn:
1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters: The first key to deepening your work is finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters that drive their actions. We all have deep aspirations that drive our choices, our thoughts, our actions and reactions. These needs are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of DESIRE ESSENCES are: the desire to be intellectually brilliant; the desire to be socially famous; the desire to hide from the world; the desire to belong to a group; the desire to be loved; the desire to party; the desire to die.
2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters: What is at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they have they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Labeling and understanding the darker sides of your characters is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of FEAR ESSENCES are: the fear of being stupid; the fear of being ordinary; the fear of being socially exposed; the fear of being rejected by a group; the fear of being loathed; the fear of being boring; the fear of having to face life.
3. Get specific with your Backstory: Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and reactions to those moments. A character’s current behavior is a battle between fear and desire and their immediate choices are made based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from their past – experiences that leave imprints much like DNA. Though your characters should be unconscious of these past experiences that are influencing them, you the writer must create these in your preparation of their backstory be fully aware of them. Here is an example of what won’t benefit you vs. what will when getting specific with backstory:
Bad example of getting specific: Rachel is a pretty girl who thinks she is unattractive. She prefers to live in her books as opposed to being with friends or family. Her father has abused her sexually throughout her youth. She hates attention.
Better example of getting specific: On her graduation day, at a party her Mother is throwing for her, Rachel’s sexually abusive father shows up drunk and congratulates her, hugging her too closely, grabbing her rear end with both hands, and calling her pretty in front of a room full of her friends and family. She runs away humiliated and hides in her room, escaping into one of her fantasy books. That night she moves out to stay with a friend and doesn’t tell her friends where she is going. Two weeks later she finds out through another friend that her father died in a car accident. He had been drunk.
In the better example of getting specific, the reader can have a visceral reaction to the words. This is caused by the detail. The generality of the bad reaction is logical, but lifeless. In the better example it is easy to determine what the essences of our leading lady might be: desire to hide, maybe even desire to die, desire to live in her books, desire to be valued for her intellect instead of her body, fear of loneliness, fear of her appearance, fear of the opposite sex, fear of losing a loved one, fear of being abandoned.
4. Describe their Current Behavior: Take the essences and the specific examples you have now created and determine what kind of behavior your characters might exhibit as a result. Don’t limit yourself with these, but rather excite yourself with the possibilities.
Simple examples from our leading lady – a woman who: hides her body; avoids friends from her past; mistrusts anyone who comments favorably on her appearance; desires to control her education and her intellect; avoids alcohol.
5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme. Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting! Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences – when your essences are threatened will you fight to extremes to defend them, just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you – let them be that way to your characters.
6. Don’t meddle: Of course you might be saying to yourself, “How do I not meddle – I’m the writer!” But a truthful story is going to grow from your willingness to let your characters make their own decisions based on how you have defined them (which after these exercises will be in great depth). As their parent, you have to let your children go; this is the point at which your story truly begins. DO NOT MEDDLE IN THEIR LIVES. Continually remind yourself – it’s not about you. You just serve the story. Let your characters make their own decisions. If you ever find yourself not knowing what decision they might make – question your homework and rework their essences, behaviors and stakes until their choice becomes obvious.
Follow these steps to create the richer characters you want to be writing.
Find the Essences:
To find the essences of your characters, you have to look to their history and their genetics. Just like real people, your characters’ current behavior is defined by their DNA combined with experiences you create in their past. We all have the basic fears and ambitions of survival, shelter, and food, so when working on these essences focus on the ones that really drive each character. Consider ethnicity, religious beliefs, and major life events. Address sex, drugs, music, parents, siblings, education, appearance and intelligence for sure.
Start by writing out twenty DESIRE ESSENCES that feel right for each main character. Then determine one polar opposite of each DESIRE to create your twenty FEAR ESSENCES. Go back and toss the ones that you now feel less attached to. Repeat and refine the process until you have at least ten of each for each character that really excite you.
Get specific about Backstory:
Get specific about how your character’s essences have come to be. Create definitive moments in your characters’ lives that detail when these fears and desires were initiated. Come up with five supporting examples of moments in their lives when each of these essences was tested and eventually vindicated in the name of the fear or in the name of the desire. Failure vindicates the fear and success vindicates the desire. Write at least one half page of text supporting each -Yes that will give you a total of twenty-five pages of essence work. Do the work.
10 Essences (a desire and a fear for each) x 5 samples for each = 50 descriptions (each a half page)
Label the Current Behavior:
Using their essences and their specific past, come up with ten sample behaviors for each character. Simple example: a character who has a desire to hide and a fear of being publicly humiliated, has a specific past incident of continually having their pants pulled down in public by a sibling. The current behavior – they might always wear a belt, or might always look behind themselves in a very specific attempt to never be humiliated again.
Raise the stakes:
After looking over your newly created examples, it should be easy to determine some issues that might be going on in their lives that would increase or decrease their stress. A decrease in stress generally excites people to take greater chances, while an increase in stress tends to shorten people’s fuses.
List five possible increases or decreases in your characters stress level.
Don’t meddle and let them play:
Now put two of your fully developed characters into the same room. Implement two or three increases in stress to one character and two or three decreases in stress to the other character and let them bounce off of one another. Go into this exercise with no preconceived notions of what might happen. If you have done your homework, they should affect one another.*
*If you need a jumpstart – add an element that one needs from the other and give the other a strong reason for not wanting to provide what that character needs. Could be tangible or emotional.
Character Development Secrets – 7 Steps to Developing Real People Who Bring your Fiction to Life – 2
by admin on Apr.19, 2010, under Writing
Part Two: Creating the Past and Shaping the Present
The quality of your characters will form the foundation you desire for a strong story. In this four-part series, we’re looking at ways to develop three-dimensional, dynamic, story driving characters. Using the following seven-step framework, you can develop rich, complex, and multi-dimensional individuals:
1) Label their desire essences
2) Label their fear essences
3) Get specific about their past
4) Label their behavior
5) Raise their stakes
6) Don’t meddle in their lives
7) Let them play
In the previous article, we looked at the first two steps in this process: 1. Label their desire essences and 2. Label their fear essences.
In this installment, we’ll explore your characters’ backstories – where they came from – and then determine how their histories shape their behaviors. As we continue to the next two steps, you’ll take a great leap in crafting your characters into engaging parts of your story.
3. Get specific with your backstory
Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and the reactions to those moments. A character’s present is carved out by her past. Current behavior is a battle between fear and desire, and your character’s immediate choices are based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from her past
The quality of your characters will form the foundation you desire for a strong story. In this four-part series, we’re looking at ways to develop three-dimensional, dynamic, story driving characters. Using the following seven-step framework, you can develop rich, complex, and multi-dimensional individuals:
1) Label their desire essences
2) Label their fear essences
3) Get specific about their past
4) Label their behavior
5) Raise their stakes
6) Don’t meddle in their lives
7) Let them play
In the previous article, we looked at the first two steps in this process: 1. Label their desire essences and 2. Label their fear essences.
In this installment, we’ll explore your characters’ backstories – where they came from – and then determine how their histories shape their behaviors. As we continue to the next two steps, you’ll take a great leap in crafting your characters into engaging parts of your story.
3. Get specific with your backstory
Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and the reactions to those moments. A character’s present is carved out by her past. Current behavior is a battle between fear and desire, and your character’s immediate choices are based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from her past
Got Core Values? The Quickest Way to Increase your Revenue by Using the Right Words!
by admin on Mar.26, 2010, under Writing
When it comes to the way most people talk to their potential customers, little thought is put into the words used. This is a TRAGEDY because potential customers do not want to do business with you because of what you tell them!
THEY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU BECAUSE OF HOW YOUR BUSINESS MAKES THEM FEEL!
It is the words you use to emotionally grab them and make them feel great that keeps them reading about your product or service and then leads them to buy from you.
Too often, companies and business owners are afraid of saying the wrong thing, or of turning a customer off, so in their effort to not displease anybody they try to speak to everybody, and end up appealing to no one — WHAT A SHAME!
The intention of this article is to help you to understand that your business has power that you can harness in your words. That power comes from the values that you hold and that your company was founded on. They are called your CORE VALUES, and once you understand exactly what they are, you can become intentional about how you use them to repel customers who are not right for you, and to attract (in droves) those who are.
Imagine a day where you spend little to no time trying to deal with unhappy customers, because you dont have any. Imagine a day where every interaction is with a customer who loves what you bring to the table and values it immensely. What we are talking about is JOY and a business is full of JOY when it understands how to attract the perfect customers (and lots of them!). This is a business that operates with confidence and a business that generates the revenue necessary to grow.
SO WHAT ARE THESE CORE VALUES?
Your core values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a person and a business. You can spend a lot of time haggling over what they are, but what really matters is that you have them and that you allow them to guide you. Walt Disneys core values, for example, are imagination and wholesomeness. The US Air Forces core values are integrity, service and excellence.
Let me start by telling you ours and maybe they can spark some ideas for you:
" Integrity Holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards in everything we do AND creating an environment where those around us make their best efforts to do the same.
" Brilliance Crafting an atmosphere where brilliance is the natural result.
" Joy Having fun and enjoying the game of building the business by delivering a unique voice on behalf of each and every client.
" Synergy Taking the best assets of the client, the writer and the project manager and fusing them together as they move towards a common goal.
" Creativity Encouraging everyone who is part of our culture to use their hearts and minds to create outside the box by constantly sparking thoughts, generating ideas, and stretching our cumulative brain.
We use these core values to guide our decisions in ALL matters, as often as possible; in fact we do everything we can to LIVE BY THEM!
Like us, you can use your core values in the language of your business. The goal is for everyone within your culture to live your core values and utilize them throughout your branding so that potential customers can discover you and be immediately turned on or immediately turned off.
WE CALL THIS THE 50/50 LIKEABILITY FACTOR!
Do NOT be afraid to repel some potential customers! If they are not right for your company youd rather know it sooner than later!
Remember: For everyone who doesnt want to do business with you, there will be another company or individual who is shouting from the rooftops with excitement that they have found you. These are your dream clients, and to find them, you have to put yourself out there VERY clearly, using the right words.
SO NOW TO THE WRITING!
Look at your web copy. Look at your marketing copy. Look at the language of your emails. Beneath the words, what do they say about you as a company? What do they reveal as most important to you? Can people get a sense of your core values by reading your home page? Do the words and the feel of your site, or your marketing copy, or your employee handbooks coincide with your core values? If not, you can be sure that the disconnect will be noted by your customers, your employees, your vendors, your investors (or potential investors) and even if they cannot put their finger on why they dont want to do business with you, you can trust that they will go somewhere else.
Think about it! Why do people go into Starbucks? Why do they buy Nike shoes? Why do they use Federal Express? These companies live and die by their core values and their values are embedded throughout their company. You know that when you go to Starbucks you are going to get the exact same cup of coffee with the same service in the same environment. You know that when you buy Nike shoes, youre intending to Just Do It. You know when you use Federal Express that your package will arrive on time.
You have to be this clear in your own messages!
USING YOUR CORE VALUES in the way you speak about your company, present your company to the public, and write about your company in your marketing, WILL HAVE A DYNAMIC IMPACT ON YOUR BOTTOM LINE.
People will just start to get it! And that is when they go away and talk about your business. And that is when every interaction between your customers and your employees leaves them all feeling great and confident so that they can continue the circle of JOY which directly corresponds to the circle of REVENUE!
So converse with the heads of your company about what your core values are. Debate them. Narrow them down to the four or five most important parts of your business that you can uphold in all you do!
Then chisel them into the foundation of your company, from the product or service you provide, to the way you approach customer service, to the way you write your copy. Use your core values throughout your branding and let people love or hate them, and you will build a business of meaning; a business that stands for something. Without these, you are bland, boring and destined to mediocrity.
RISE ABOVE. USE YOUR WORDS
Heres to better business and a better life!
THEY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU BECAUSE OF HOW YOUR BUSINESS MAKES THEM FEEL!
It is the words you use to emotionally grab them and make them feel great that keeps them reading about your product or service and then leads them to buy from you.
Too often, companies and business owners are afraid of saying the wrong thing, or of turning a customer off, so in their effort to not displease anybody they try to speak to everybody, and end up appealing to no one — WHAT A SHAME!
The intention of this article is to help you to understand that your business has power that you can harness in your words. That power comes from the values that you hold and that your company was founded on. They are called your CORE VALUES, and once you understand exactly what they are, you can become intentional about how you use them to repel customers who are not right for you, and to attract (in droves) those who are.
Imagine a day where you spend little to no time trying to deal with unhappy customers, because you dont have any. Imagine a day where every interaction is with a customer who loves what you bring to the table and values it immensely. What we are talking about is JOY and a business is full of JOY when it understands how to attract the perfect customers (and lots of them!). This is a business that operates with confidence and a business that generates the revenue necessary to grow.
SO WHAT ARE THESE CORE VALUES?
Your core values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a person and a business. You can spend a lot of time haggling over what they are, but what really matters is that you have them and that you allow them to guide you. Walt Disneys core values, for example, are imagination and wholesomeness. The US Air Forces core values are integrity, service and excellence.
Let me start by telling you ours and maybe they can spark some ideas for you:
" Integrity Holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards in everything we do AND creating an environment where those around us make their best efforts to do the same.
" Brilliance Crafting an atmosphere where brilliance is the natural result.
" Joy Having fun and enjoying the game of building the business by delivering a unique voice on behalf of each and every client.
" Synergy Taking the best assets of the client, the writer and the project manager and fusing them together as they move towards a common goal.
" Creativity Encouraging everyone who is part of our culture to use their hearts and minds to create outside the box by constantly sparking thoughts, generating ideas, and stretching our cumulative brain.
We use these core values to guide our decisions in ALL matters, as often as possible; in fact we do everything we can to LIVE BY THEM!
Like us, you can use your core values in the language of your business. The goal is for everyone within your culture to live your core values and utilize them throughout your branding so that potential customers can discover you and be immediately turned on or immediately turned off.
WE CALL THIS THE 50/50 LIKEABILITY FACTOR!
Do NOT be afraid to repel some potential customers! If they are not right for your company youd rather know it sooner than later!
Remember: For everyone who doesnt want to do business with you, there will be another company or individual who is shouting from the rooftops with excitement that they have found you. These are your dream clients, and to find them, you have to put yourself out there VERY clearly, using the right words.
SO NOW TO THE WRITING!
Look at your web copy. Look at your marketing copy. Look at the language of your emails. Beneath the words, what do they say about you as a company? What do they reveal as most important to you? Can people get a sense of your core values by reading your home page? Do the words and the feel of your site, or your marketing copy, or your employee handbooks coincide with your core values? If not, you can be sure that the disconnect will be noted by your customers, your employees, your vendors, your investors (or potential investors) and even if they cannot put their finger on why they dont want to do business with you, you can trust that they will go somewhere else.
Think about it! Why do people go into Starbucks? Why do they buy Nike shoes? Why do they use Federal Express? These companies live and die by their core values and their values are embedded throughout their company. You know that when you go to Starbucks you are going to get the exact same cup of coffee with the same service in the same environment. You know that when you buy Nike shoes, youre intending to Just Do It. You know when you use Federal Express that your package will arrive on time.
You have to be this clear in your own messages!
USING YOUR CORE VALUES in the way you speak about your company, present your company to the public, and write about your company in your marketing, WILL HAVE A DYNAMIC IMPACT ON YOUR BOTTOM LINE.
People will just start to get it! And that is when they go away and talk about your business. And that is when every interaction between your customers and your employees leaves them all feeling great and confident so that they can continue the circle of JOY which directly corresponds to the circle of REVENUE!
So converse with the heads of your company about what your core values are. Debate them. Narrow them down to the four or five most important parts of your business that you can uphold in all you do!
Then chisel them into the foundation of your company, from the product or service you provide, to the way you approach customer service, to the way you write your copy. Use your core values throughout your branding and let people love or hate them, and you will build a business of meaning; a business that stands for something. Without these, you are bland, boring and destined to mediocrity.
RISE ABOVE. USE YOUR WORDS
Heres to better business and a better life!
Character Development Secrets – 7 Steps to Developing Real People Who Bring your Fiction to Life – 3
by admin on Mar.02, 2010, under Writing
Part Three: Let Your Characters Live
Character development for fiction is an essential step in the writing process and can mean the difference between a work that is welcomed by a publisher and one that is stuffed in the rejection pile. The time you invest in developing three-dimensional characters before you begin writing will reward you with more productive writing time and a stronger story. Just as you would frame up your story with an outline, you need to properly build the characters that bring life to your work.
In the third installment of this four-part series on story character development, we’re taking the fundamental traits, behaviors, and backstories you’ve developed to this point and helping you to push the limits of your characters.
In the previous two articles, we looked at the first four steps in this seven-step process:
1. Label their desire essences
2. Label their fear essences
3. Get specific with your backstory and
4. Describe their current behavior.
Now, we’re ready to step out of the structural mode of novel character development and let these creations stretch their limits and contribute to an exciting story.
5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme
Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting!
Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences. When your essences are threatened, will you fight to extremes to defend them? Just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you
Character development for fiction is an essential step in the writing process and can mean the difference between a work that is welcomed by a publisher and one that is stuffed in the rejection pile. The time you invest in developing three-dimensional characters before you begin writing will reward you with more productive writing time and a stronger story. Just as you would frame up your story with an outline, you need to properly build the characters that bring life to your work.
In the third installment of this four-part series on story character development, we’re taking the fundamental traits, behaviors, and backstories you’ve developed to this point and helping you to push the limits of your characters.
In the previous two articles, we looked at the first four steps in this seven-step process:
1. Label their desire essences
2. Label their fear essences
3. Get specific with your backstory and
4. Describe their current behavior.
Now, we’re ready to step out of the structural mode of novel character development and let these creations stretch their limits and contribute to an exciting story.
5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme
Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting!
Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences. When your essences are threatened, will you fight to extremes to defend them? Just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you
Hiring a Ghost Writer: 10 Questions you Must Ask Before Hiring a Wordsmith!
by admin on Feb.03, 2010, under Writing
When it comes to hiring a ghost writer, you need to be incredibly strategic about who you choose to pen your piece. Writers, like everyone, see the world from their own unique perspective, and their voice is going to come through loud and clear in your work. So how do you go about selecting the perfect ghost writer to string together the words that will attract your customers, speak your mind, communicate your knowledge, tighten a relationship, or spark a romance? Here is a list of 10 questions that should be asked and answered when interviewing ghost writer candidates.
1. WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES? Your core values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a person or a business. For example, Walt Disneys core values are imagination and wholesomeness. The U.S. Air Forces core values are integrity, service, and excellence.
Let me start by telling you ours, and maybe they can attract some ideas for you.
” Integrity Holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards in everything we do AND creating an environment where those around us are inspired to do the same.
” Brilliance Nurturing an atmosphere where brilliance is the natural result.
” Joy Having fun and enjoying the game of building the business by delivering a unique voice on behalf of each and every client.
” Synergy Taking the best assets of the client, the writer, and the project manager and fusing them together as this team moves towards a common goal.
” Creativity Encouraging everyone who is part of our culture to use their hearts and minds to create outside the box by constantly sparking thoughts, generating ideas, and stretching our cumulative brain.
We use these core values to guide our decisions in ALL matters as often as possible. In fact, we do everything we can to live by them! Once you determine your own core values, you can start looking for a ghost writer who shares them. Why? Because a ghost writer who reflects your core values is a ghost writer who looks at the world from a similar perspective. Choosing a ghost writer with similar core values is going to make writing on your behalf SO MUCH EASIER!
2. HAVE YOU DETERMINED YOUR PREFERRED WRITING STYLE? Different ghost writers have different styles in which they excel. If you want to create really personal writing that emotionally grabs people but you hire someone who has an academic style, youre going to spend a lot of time pulling your hair out and wondering why your ghost writer isnt producing in a style that appeals to you. So when interviewing potential ghost writers, make sure you ask for samples that are written in the style youre after! Various styles include personable, dramatic, inspirational, academic, factual, scientific, fun, humorous, intellectual, romantic, and technical.
3. WHAT TYPE OF EXPERTISE DO YOU NEED? Just because youve found a ghost writer who pens excellent articles doesnt mean youve found someone who can write exceptional brochure copy, sales letters, business plans, or fiction. Besides asking a ghost writer to discuss their core values and writing styles, make sure they show you examples of previous work that reflect their expertise in exactly the type of written work that you need!
4. WHATS IT GOING TO COST YOU? When discussing price with a new ghost writer, ask if they charge by the word, by the page, or by the hour. Be wary of ghost writers who charge by the hour, as your costs can be driven up quickly. If they charge by the word or the page, tell them what your ceiling is and ask them to contact you before exceeding that limit. If you do not want to go over budget, be very clear with your new ghost writer up front, letting them know that they need to stick to the agreed upon page count/word count.
5. WHAT DELIVERABLES SHOULD YOU EXPECT? Is the ghost writer going to handle research, prepare an outline, provide multiple drafts, and hire a proofreader to verify that the document is error-free? (Forget spell-check; using an outside and objective proofreader is imperative!) Be VERY specific about your expectations when negotiating your contract. Also, in case you request additional revisions, this is the time to predetermine the cost. Know exactly what youre getting for your money!
6. ON WHAT TIMELINE IS YOUR GHOST WRITER GOING TO DELIVER MATERIAL? Its important that you establish deadlines and that your ghost writer meets them. Set specific dates for when you expect each deliverable from drafts to a final proofread version. Your contract should also outline what penalty will occur if the ghost writer is not able to meet these deadlines.
7. WILL THE GHOST WRITER PROVIDE ADDITIONAL WRITING SERVICES? If they are working on your manuscript, are they also going to help you write your marketing copy, query letters, book proposal, etc? It is imperative that your voice remain consistent throughout your materials. If you have one ghost writer putting together your manuscript and another putting together your marketing copy you risk confusing your potential customers/readers.
8. WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS DOES YOUR GHOST WRITER HAVE? Other than handling the creative side of your writing, does your ghost writer have business relationships and strategic ideas that are going to help you use your writing to generate revenue if that is what you are after? When it comes to writing a manuscript or a screenplay, it is especially advantageous to hire a ghost writer who has legitimate contacts in Los Angeles and New York that can get you where you want to go.
9. WILL YOU OWN YOUR COPYRIGHT? Make sure that your contract (even for small writing assignments) states that, upon final payment, the copyright of the work done on your behalf is transferred to you. Be VERY clear about this point! An oversight here might cause you a BIG headache later.
10. DOES YOUR GHOST WRITER HAVE STRONG REFERENCES? Speak to people who have worked with the person you are considering. Ask them to share their perspective of this ghost writers greatest assets and weaknesses so you are aware of what they do well and can plan how youll fill the gap in areas where they dont excel. Any good ghost writer has previous customers willing to talk to you for 15 minutes!
At the end of the day, so many factors need to be considered. But youve spent a long time developing your idea, and deserve the perfect writer to breathe life into it. Determining the answers to these 10 questions will help you make a solid decision about the ghost writer who will represent your voice.
Heres to better business and a better life!
1. WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES? Your core values are the guiding principles that help you make decisions on a daily basis and define what you stand for as a person or a business. For example, Walt Disneys core values are imagination and wholesomeness. The U.S. Air Forces core values are integrity, service, and excellence.
Let me start by telling you ours, and maybe they can attract some ideas for you.
” Integrity Holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards in everything we do AND creating an environment where those around us are inspired to do the same.
” Brilliance Nurturing an atmosphere where brilliance is the natural result.
” Joy Having fun and enjoying the game of building the business by delivering a unique voice on behalf of each and every client.
” Synergy Taking the best assets of the client, the writer, and the project manager and fusing them together as this team moves towards a common goal.
” Creativity Encouraging everyone who is part of our culture to use their hearts and minds to create outside the box by constantly sparking thoughts, generating ideas, and stretching our cumulative brain.
We use these core values to guide our decisions in ALL matters as often as possible. In fact, we do everything we can to live by them! Once you determine your own core values, you can start looking for a ghost writer who shares them. Why? Because a ghost writer who reflects your core values is a ghost writer who looks at the world from a similar perspective. Choosing a ghost writer with similar core values is going to make writing on your behalf SO MUCH EASIER!
2. HAVE YOU DETERMINED YOUR PREFERRED WRITING STYLE? Different ghost writers have different styles in which they excel. If you want to create really personal writing that emotionally grabs people but you hire someone who has an academic style, youre going to spend a lot of time pulling your hair out and wondering why your ghost writer isnt producing in a style that appeals to you. So when interviewing potential ghost writers, make sure you ask for samples that are written in the style youre after! Various styles include personable, dramatic, inspirational, academic, factual, scientific, fun, humorous, intellectual, romantic, and technical.
3. WHAT TYPE OF EXPERTISE DO YOU NEED? Just because youve found a ghost writer who pens excellent articles doesnt mean youve found someone who can write exceptional brochure copy, sales letters, business plans, or fiction. Besides asking a ghost writer to discuss their core values and writing styles, make sure they show you examples of previous work that reflect their expertise in exactly the type of written work that you need!
4. WHATS IT GOING TO COST YOU? When discussing price with a new ghost writer, ask if they charge by the word, by the page, or by the hour. Be wary of ghost writers who charge by the hour, as your costs can be driven up quickly. If they charge by the word or the page, tell them what your ceiling is and ask them to contact you before exceeding that limit. If you do not want to go over budget, be very clear with your new ghost writer up front, letting them know that they need to stick to the agreed upon page count/word count.
5. WHAT DELIVERABLES SHOULD YOU EXPECT? Is the ghost writer going to handle research, prepare an outline, provide multiple drafts, and hire a proofreader to verify that the document is error-free? (Forget spell-check; using an outside and objective proofreader is imperative!) Be VERY specific about your expectations when negotiating your contract. Also, in case you request additional revisions, this is the time to predetermine the cost. Know exactly what youre getting for your money!
6. ON WHAT TIMELINE IS YOUR GHOST WRITER GOING TO DELIVER MATERIAL? Its important that you establish deadlines and that your ghost writer meets them. Set specific dates for when you expect each deliverable from drafts to a final proofread version. Your contract should also outline what penalty will occur if the ghost writer is not able to meet these deadlines.
7. WILL THE GHOST WRITER PROVIDE ADDITIONAL WRITING SERVICES? If they are working on your manuscript, are they also going to help you write your marketing copy, query letters, book proposal, etc? It is imperative that your voice remain consistent throughout your materials. If you have one ghost writer putting together your manuscript and another putting together your marketing copy you risk confusing your potential customers/readers.
8. WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS DOES YOUR GHOST WRITER HAVE? Other than handling the creative side of your writing, does your ghost writer have business relationships and strategic ideas that are going to help you use your writing to generate revenue if that is what you are after? When it comes to writing a manuscript or a screenplay, it is especially advantageous to hire a ghost writer who has legitimate contacts in Los Angeles and New York that can get you where you want to go.
9. WILL YOU OWN YOUR COPYRIGHT? Make sure that your contract (even for small writing assignments) states that, upon final payment, the copyright of the work done on your behalf is transferred to you. Be VERY clear about this point! An oversight here might cause you a BIG headache later.
10. DOES YOUR GHOST WRITER HAVE STRONG REFERENCES? Speak to people who have worked with the person you are considering. Ask them to share their perspective of this ghost writers greatest assets and weaknesses so you are aware of what they do well and can plan how youll fill the gap in areas where they dont excel. Any good ghost writer has previous customers willing to talk to you for 15 minutes!
At the end of the day, so many factors need to be considered. But youve spent a long time developing your idea, and deserve the perfect writer to breathe life into it. Determining the answers to these 10 questions will help you make a solid decision about the ghost writer who will represent your voice.
Heres to better business and a better life!
Legacy Writing – 19 Questions to Help you Put your Life on Paper
by admin on Nov.29, 2009, under Writing
There are more than six billion people on the planet and I am a firm believer that every one of us has a story to tell. We all do the best we can with what we’ve got, spend most of our lives trying to determine what is most important, face huge obstacles, and learn from our worst mistakes. So how strange is it that on a planet with so many stories, every one of them is so important? I’m not implying that every one of those stories is important to everyone. My point is that every one of those stories is important to someone. To the person whose story is being told. And probably to those closest to that person: their family.
Also called memoir writing, legacy writing is probably the most important writing we do in life. Legacy writing is the taking of wisdom and spinning it onto the page in a way that leads the reader down the path to a conclusion by letting them live in the shoes of the storyteller. Legacy writing is the taking of what has been most profound in any one person’s existence and bringing it to life on the page so that future generations can intimately experience it. What could be worth more?
Have you thought of what it would be like to get to know one of your relatives and see the world through their eyes? What it would be like to know someone who is now lost to you? To have pages and pages of their life at your fingertips to revisit in a moment? This is the power of a memoir, of legacy writing.
I can think of no better gift than the gift of immortality. And that is what legacy writing is. Your memoir is a chance for your grandchildren to get to know you. For your sisters and brothers to see into your soul. For your friends to cherish you now and after you are gone. Legacy writing is your opportunity to let others share in your journey.
So whether you pen your legacy writing yourself, or hire someone to help you put your memoir into words, the experience of getting your story down in writing delivers a life transformation a rare opportunity to relive your most profound moments, all the joy and all the pain. Good legacy writing must capture the roller coaster ride of life. A good memoir must capture an individual’s truth, from our greatest successes to our most heartbreaking failures.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when thinking of writing your own memoir:
1. What was one thing your mother or father did that really pissed you off when you were a teenager?
2. What was your most profound moment in romantic love?
3. When was the first time you saw a parent cry?
4. What was your greatest success in your career?
5. What did you do with your first big paycheck?
6. What was your most memorable moment of family love?
7. What do you feel was the biggest sacrifice you ever made?
8. Have you ever felt like a hero?
9. What have you been most embarrassed about?
10. Do you remember your wildest party?
11. Name a time you fell flat on your face.
12. Name a time you were on top of the world.
13. What is one habit you have that no one knows about?
14. What did you want to do with your life when you were only 5?
15. How did you lose your virginity?
16. Who was your favorite childhood playmate?
17. What did you get in trouble for as a child?
18. Have you ever stolen anything?
19. With whom did you share your first kiss?
The answers to these questions are what your loved ones would love to know about you. These are the moments that define you, that bring you to life, that humanize you. So put your truth on the page. There is no better way to rebirth yourself than through legacy writing. The catharsis that comes from laying out your history frees you to look differently at your future. To truly live again.
Put your life in writing. Write your legacy. Write your memoir.
Also called memoir writing, legacy writing is probably the most important writing we do in life. Legacy writing is the taking of wisdom and spinning it onto the page in a way that leads the reader down the path to a conclusion by letting them live in the shoes of the storyteller. Legacy writing is the taking of what has been most profound in any one person’s existence and bringing it to life on the page so that future generations can intimately experience it. What could be worth more?
Have you thought of what it would be like to get to know one of your relatives and see the world through their eyes? What it would be like to know someone who is now lost to you? To have pages and pages of their life at your fingertips to revisit in a moment? This is the power of a memoir, of legacy writing.
I can think of no better gift than the gift of immortality. And that is what legacy writing is. Your memoir is a chance for your grandchildren to get to know you. For your sisters and brothers to see into your soul. For your friends to cherish you now and after you are gone. Legacy writing is your opportunity to let others share in your journey.
So whether you pen your legacy writing yourself, or hire someone to help you put your memoir into words, the experience of getting your story down in writing delivers a life transformation a rare opportunity to relive your most profound moments, all the joy and all the pain. Good legacy writing must capture the roller coaster ride of life. A good memoir must capture an individual’s truth, from our greatest successes to our most heartbreaking failures.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when thinking of writing your own memoir:
1. What was one thing your mother or father did that really pissed you off when you were a teenager?
2. What was your most profound moment in romantic love?
3. When was the first time you saw a parent cry?
4. What was your greatest success in your career?
5. What did you do with your first big paycheck?
6. What was your most memorable moment of family love?
7. What do you feel was the biggest sacrifice you ever made?
8. Have you ever felt like a hero?
9. What have you been most embarrassed about?
10. Do you remember your wildest party?
11. Name a time you fell flat on your face.
12. Name a time you were on top of the world.
13. What is one habit you have that no one knows about?
14. What did you want to do with your life when you were only 5?
15. How did you lose your virginity?
16. Who was your favorite childhood playmate?
17. What did you get in trouble for as a child?
18. Have you ever stolen anything?
19. With whom did you share your first kiss?
The answers to these questions are what your loved ones would love to know about you. These are the moments that define you, that bring you to life, that humanize you. So put your truth on the page. There is no better way to rebirth yourself than through legacy writing. The catharsis that comes from laying out your history frees you to look differently at your future. To truly live again.
Put your life in writing. Write your legacy. Write your memoir.
Self Publish or Perish: the New Age of Book Writing
by admin on Nov.09, 2009, under Writing
In this new age of the Internet, information is everywhere and people are hungry to find it. If they have a question about ANYTHING in life, they are apt to jump online, go to a search engine and trust whatever they find. So how do you compete among trillions of pages of Internet content? The answer is simple: you write a book (or hire a ghostwriter to do it for you!).
In doing so, write a book with the intention of publishing it with a commercial publisher. This attitude will elevate your standards and create a high platform on which to perch. Quality is king. This book will speak for you forever; it will either speak poorly for you, or it will dynamically change lives. That being said, don’t let the traditional publishing industry push you around and force you to wait. People are relying on your information. If you invest in writing an exceptional book, you deserve to reap the rewards more quickly than traditional publishing allows (their process is as long as a year or more to get your book into bookstores), so partner your desire to create something outstanding with your ability to self publish and get your book out there into the hands of the people who need it most!
In life and in business, there are few things that bring the respect, the admiration, the financial reward, and the emotional gratification that writing a book does. The media will refer to you as an expert, your customers will look at you with newfound respect, and, most importantly, you’ll look at yourself differently, with so much more confidence and a crystallized understanding of what you offer your customers!
Remember when I said the answer was simple? Well, it was, but implementing it will require a bit more work. You need to take your expertise and create a unique, even remarkable delivery system for it. You and/or your ghostwriter are going to write a book but not just any book; it will be YOUR book! This is an endeavor that should take no less than six months to write, writing at least an hour a day, every day. It could possibly take as long as a year or more (and that doesn’t mean three months on and six months off!) to write a great book. Writing an exceptional manuscript worthy of worldwide distribution is a creative process that requires tremendous focus and the dedication of a brilliant team of people: ghostwriter, focus group participants, professional analysts, structure professionals, proofreaders, formatters, and more!
Now what is most important? Starting to write a book today, because time is of the essence! Consider this: in a world of instant gratification, the publishing industry has not yet caught up to our need for speed. Commercial publishers still take 9 to 18 months to get a book from manuscript to the bookstores, which comes after contract negotiations (two to three months) and finding the right agent and publisher (probably six months to a year). Who has this kind of patience anymore?
This is where self publishing comes in! Mind you, my recommendation is to still go through the process of creating something truly remarkable, investing your time and your money to write a book or hire a ghostwriter to write a book worthy of commercial publication, but do NOT let the slow speed of commercial publishing deter you from getting your message out quicker. Self Publish! Hire your ghostwriter to write a book and then while you are submitting to agents and publishers, self publish it through one of the many vanity presses available.
In addition to your time, this alternative will require investing a bit of capital, probably around $5,000 to $7,500 for 2,000 copies of your book, including the price to format it, acquire your ISBN number and get it listed on Amazon. But realize this: when you write a book and then you self publish, you make so much more of the money. When you sell those 2,000 books, your income can be anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000, versus a much smaller royalty from a traditional publisher.
So write a book worthy of commercial publishing, and then self publish to test the content, and build up a stockpile of cash that you can use to market and publicize the book when it hits the bookstores. Heck, if you can sell 30,000 units on your own, a commercial publisher will pick you up based on that alone!
You must be strategic in this day and age to survive! Think about what you are doing today and what you’ll need tomorrow. Today you need to start writing (or find your ghostwriter), so you can self publish tomorrow, and commercially publish down the road. Without the writing, there is neither the self publishing opportunity nor the commercial publishing chance. So start your writing, or hire your ghostwriter immediately (check out my article: 10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Ghostwriter)!
In doing so, write a book with the intention of publishing it with a commercial publisher. This attitude will elevate your standards and create a high platform on which to perch. Quality is king. This book will speak for you forever; it will either speak poorly for you, or it will dynamically change lives. That being said, don’t let the traditional publishing industry push you around and force you to wait. People are relying on your information. If you invest in writing an exceptional book, you deserve to reap the rewards more quickly than traditional publishing allows (their process is as long as a year or more to get your book into bookstores), so partner your desire to create something outstanding with your ability to self publish and get your book out there into the hands of the people who need it most!
In life and in business, there are few things that bring the respect, the admiration, the financial reward, and the emotional gratification that writing a book does. The media will refer to you as an expert, your customers will look at you with newfound respect, and, most importantly, you’ll look at yourself differently, with so much more confidence and a crystallized understanding of what you offer your customers!
Remember when I said the answer was simple? Well, it was, but implementing it will require a bit more work. You need to take your expertise and create a unique, even remarkable delivery system for it. You and/or your ghostwriter are going to write a book but not just any book; it will be YOUR book! This is an endeavor that should take no less than six months to write, writing at least an hour a day, every day. It could possibly take as long as a year or more (and that doesn’t mean three months on and six months off!) to write a great book. Writing an exceptional manuscript worthy of worldwide distribution is a creative process that requires tremendous focus and the dedication of a brilliant team of people: ghostwriter, focus group participants, professional analysts, structure professionals, proofreaders, formatters, and more!
Now what is most important? Starting to write a book today, because time is of the essence! Consider this: in a world of instant gratification, the publishing industry has not yet caught up to our need for speed. Commercial publishers still take 9 to 18 months to get a book from manuscript to the bookstores, which comes after contract negotiations (two to three months) and finding the right agent and publisher (probably six months to a year). Who has this kind of patience anymore?
This is where self publishing comes in! Mind you, my recommendation is to still go through the process of creating something truly remarkable, investing your time and your money to write a book or hire a ghostwriter to write a book worthy of commercial publication, but do NOT let the slow speed of commercial publishing deter you from getting your message out quicker. Self Publish! Hire your ghostwriter to write a book and then while you are submitting to agents and publishers, self publish it through one of the many vanity presses available.
In addition to your time, this alternative will require investing a bit of capital, probably around $5,000 to $7,500 for 2,000 copies of your book, including the price to format it, acquire your ISBN number and get it listed on Amazon. But realize this: when you write a book and then you self publish, you make so much more of the money. When you sell those 2,000 books, your income can be anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000, versus a much smaller royalty from a traditional publisher.
So write a book worthy of commercial publishing, and then self publish to test the content, and build up a stockpile of cash that you can use to market and publicize the book when it hits the bookstores. Heck, if you can sell 30,000 units on your own, a commercial publisher will pick you up based on that alone!
You must be strategic in this day and age to survive! Think about what you are doing today and what you’ll need tomorrow. Today you need to start writing (or find your ghostwriter), so you can self publish tomorrow, and commercially publish down the road. Without the writing, there is neither the self publishing opportunity nor the commercial publishing chance. So start your writing, or hire your ghostwriter immediately (check out my article: 10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Ghostwriter)!
Character Development Secrets – 7 Steps to Developing Real People Who Bring your Fiction to Life – 4
by admin on Nov.06, 2009, under Writing
Part Four: Getting Down to Work
If you’ve read the first three articles in this series, you know that the time investment in fiction character development pays a hefty dividend into the writing process, the quality of your story, and the likelihood of getting accepted. Let’s continue!
So far, we’ve worked through the seven-step process to create convincing, intriguing, and believable characters:
1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters.
2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters.
3. Get specific with your backstory.
4. Describe their current behavior.
5. Raise the stakes.
6. Don’t meddle.
7. Let your characters play.
Now that you’ve got the framework for effective story character development, let’s put this knowledge to work!
Problem
Let’s begin with an underdeveloped couple of characters – a man and a woman in the romantic drama genre. We’ll put these two in a used book shop for their initial meeting and write without developing them:
Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She needed a book for a dear friend and though she had passed this book shop a million times, she had never been inside. She browsed around for awhile, and then pulled a few books off the shelf trying to find a suitable gift. “Is there anything I can help you with?” said a voice from behind her. She turned to see an attractive young man in his twenties. “Are you looking for anything specific?” he asked. “No,” was her reply. “You’re very pretty,” said the man. “Thank you,” she said blushing.
Solution
Now, after putting these two characters through the story development process of labeling their essences, getting specific and raising the stakes, this is where we stop meddling and we let them truly play:
Rachel entered the bookshop, making a quick visual sweep of the interior. She browsed awhile, scanning the shelves and trying to avoid the other patrons (her desire to hide). Coming around a corner, she caught her reflection in a mirror and surveyed herself for just a moment. She was noting how her baggy jeans and sweatshirt hid her features well, when the classic literature section lured her like a magical door (her desire to live in a different reality). Gently, Rachel pulled a copy of “Leaves of Grass,” from the shelf (her desire to be appreciated for her intellect) and held it gingerly in her hands.
“A woman who enjoys Whitman is hard to find,” said a deep voice from behind her (his desire for connection). Startled, Rachel stumbled back into the shelf (her fear of the opposite sex) before she felt a hand on her arm trying to steady her. She looked up and saw a tall man with a thick crop of curly brown hair and rich, dark eyes looking at her with a mix of concern and amusement.
“I’m sorry if I scared you,” said the stranger, whose warmth only slightly melted her discomfort. “My mother and I used to read Whitman together,” he continued. Rachel stood there, still silent and feeling awkward. “I think that’s where I got my love of reading. How about you?” he asked her. His powerful gaze was penetrating (his high stakes).
“There is little else that I believe in,” she mumbled (her desire to connect). Her eyes never left the floor (her desire to hide is strong).
He nodded. “I love getting so lost in a story that the rest of the world fades away.”
Rachel drew her eyes slowly up from the floor, catching his only briefly before flicking back to the book in her hand. The jitters in her stomach were dancing so wildly that she was amazed her body wasn’t jerking. Although she would normally have shuffled away and avoided any interchange, she found her feet were somehow cemented in this spot, unable to pull away from his presence.
“Would you like to take a walk over to the pub (his need of a drink)?” he asked.
She raised her head (her strong desire for connection vs. fear of the opposite sex and desire to avoid alcohol). “I have to go now (her fear wins).” She darted from the store, the book still in her hand. She peeked back as she ran and saw the young man pull some cash out of his wallet, hand it to the cashier and then begin chasing after her (his need to connect outweighs his fear of rejection).
In this example, you have emotions, behavior, and history driving each subtle action and reaction. Every person is a complex network that should continue to unravel before the eyes of the reader in such a way that each page is compelling them to read on. In depth character development is the key to unlocking this kind of writing! Try to experiment with this novel character development process yourself and see if you too can bring your characters to life on the page!
In the meantime writers, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars.
If you’ve read the first three articles in this series, you know that the time investment in fiction character development pays a hefty dividend into the writing process, the quality of your story, and the likelihood of getting accepted. Let’s continue!
So far, we’ve worked through the seven-step process to create convincing, intriguing, and believable characters:
1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters.
2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters.
3. Get specific with your backstory.
4. Describe their current behavior.
5. Raise the stakes.
6. Don’t meddle.
7. Let your characters play.
Now that you’ve got the framework for effective story character development, let’s put this knowledge to work!
Problem
Let’s begin with an underdeveloped couple of characters – a man and a woman in the romantic drama genre. We’ll put these two in a used book shop for their initial meeting and write without developing them:
Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She needed a book for a dear friend and though she had passed this book shop a million times, she had never been inside. She browsed around for awhile, and then pulled a few books off the shelf trying to find a suitable gift. “Is there anything I can help you with?” said a voice from behind her. She turned to see an attractive young man in his twenties. “Are you looking for anything specific?” he asked. “No,” was her reply. “You’re very pretty,” said the man. “Thank you,” she said blushing.
Solution
Now, after putting these two characters through the story development process of labeling their essences, getting specific and raising the stakes, this is where we stop meddling and we let them truly play:
Rachel entered the bookshop, making a quick visual sweep of the interior. She browsed awhile, scanning the shelves and trying to avoid the other patrons (her desire to hide). Coming around a corner, she caught her reflection in a mirror and surveyed herself for just a moment. She was noting how her baggy jeans and sweatshirt hid her features well, when the classic literature section lured her like a magical door (her desire to live in a different reality). Gently, Rachel pulled a copy of “Leaves of Grass,” from the shelf (her desire to be appreciated for her intellect) and held it gingerly in her hands.
“A woman who enjoys Whitman is hard to find,” said a deep voice from behind her (his desire for connection). Startled, Rachel stumbled back into the shelf (her fear of the opposite sex) before she felt a hand on her arm trying to steady her. She looked up and saw a tall man with a thick crop of curly brown hair and rich, dark eyes looking at her with a mix of concern and amusement.
“I’m sorry if I scared you,” said the stranger, whose warmth only slightly melted her discomfort. “My mother and I used to read Whitman together,” he continued. Rachel stood there, still silent and feeling awkward. “I think that’s where I got my love of reading. How about you?” he asked her. His powerful gaze was penetrating (his high stakes).
“There is little else that I believe in,” she mumbled (her desire to connect). Her eyes never left the floor (her desire to hide is strong).
He nodded. “I love getting so lost in a story that the rest of the world fades away.”
Rachel drew her eyes slowly up from the floor, catching his only briefly before flicking back to the book in her hand. The jitters in her stomach were dancing so wildly that she was amazed her body wasn’t jerking. Although she would normally have shuffled away and avoided any interchange, she found her feet were somehow cemented in this spot, unable to pull away from his presence.
“Would you like to take a walk over to the pub (his need of a drink)?” he asked.
She raised her head (her strong desire for connection vs. fear of the opposite sex and desire to avoid alcohol). “I have to go now (her fear wins).” She darted from the store, the book still in her hand. She peeked back as she ran and saw the young man pull some cash out of his wallet, hand it to the cashier and then begin chasing after her (his need to connect outweighs his fear of rejection).
In this example, you have emotions, behavior, and history driving each subtle action and reaction. Every person is a complex network that should continue to unravel before the eyes of the reader in such a way that each page is compelling them to read on. In depth character development is the key to unlocking this kind of writing! Try to experiment with this novel character development process yourself and see if you too can bring your characters to life on the page!
In the meantime writers, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars.
Character Development Secrets – 7 Steps to Developing Real People Who Bring your Fiction to Life – 1
by admin on Oct.15, 2009, under Writing
Part One: Desire and Fear
Creating convincing characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals without imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, but this step is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spend time with character development – building your characters before they enter the world of your story – and you turn the process of writing your manuscript into an easier and more enjoyable ride. You also get the added reward of a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.
There is no magic to character development. You can create living, breathing people, monsters, animals and settings by following a few, simple steps. In the end, you will have created three-dimensionality that breathes life into your story.
As a former executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have learned that good writing isn’t a gift. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time, and you must practice (daily) the art of development to master your craft.
Here is a proven framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through:
1) Labeling their desire essences
2) Labeling their fear essences
3) Getting specific about their past
4) Labeling their behavior
5) Raising their stakes
6) Not meddling in their lives
7) Letting them play.
Ask provoking questions in line with these steps, answer them thoroughly, and then repeat the process to provide constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life.
In this series of articles, I will guide you through the seven steps to successful character development. In this first part, we’ll work through the first two steps: your characters’ desires and fears.
1) Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters
The first key to deepening your work comes from finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters. What drives their actions and reactions? Do their desires stem from specific experiences? We all have deep-seeded aspirations that spur our choices, thoughts, acts, and responses. These stimuli are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of Desire Essences are the desire to: be intellectually brilliant; be socially famous; hide from the world; belong to a group; be loved; party wildly; or end your suffering and die.
Desire is at the core of every being. We naturally aspire to be, do, or possess something that is just beyond our reach. Desire can be simple or deeply passionate. Write down the ten most important desire essences of each character! Once you have explored this component of your character’s psyche, you are on your way to mastering their voice.
2) Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters
What lies at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they possess, they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at attaining that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Understand and then label the darker sides of your characters. This step is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of Fear Essences are the fear of being: stupid; ordinary; socially exposed; rejected by a group; loathed; boring; or having to face life. Write down the ten most important fear essences of each character.
In the next installment of this four-part series, we’ll work on developing the backstory behind these essences that creates the foundation for your characters’ present lives. We’ll also delve into their behavior and explore ways to build characters that are exciting, dynamic, and unique.
In the meantime writers, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars.
Creating convincing characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals without imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, but this step is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spend time with character development – building your characters before they enter the world of your story – and you turn the process of writing your manuscript into an easier and more enjoyable ride. You also get the added reward of a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.
There is no magic to character development. You can create living, breathing people, monsters, animals and settings by following a few, simple steps. In the end, you will have created three-dimensionality that breathes life into your story.
As a former executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have learned that good writing isn’t a gift. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time, and you must practice (daily) the art of development to master your craft.
Here is a proven framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through:
1) Labeling their desire essences
2) Labeling their fear essences
3) Getting specific about their past
4) Labeling their behavior
5) Raising their stakes
6) Not meddling in their lives
7) Letting them play.
Ask provoking questions in line with these steps, answer them thoroughly, and then repeat the process to provide constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life.
In this series of articles, I will guide you through the seven steps to successful character development. In this first part, we’ll work through the first two steps: your characters’ desires and fears.
1) Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters
The first key to deepening your work comes from finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters. What drives their actions and reactions? Do their desires stem from specific experiences? We all have deep-seeded aspirations that spur our choices, thoughts, acts, and responses. These stimuli are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of Desire Essences are the desire to: be intellectually brilliant; be socially famous; hide from the world; belong to a group; be loved; party wildly; or end your suffering and die.
Desire is at the core of every being. We naturally aspire to be, do, or possess something that is just beyond our reach. Desire can be simple or deeply passionate. Write down the ten most important desire essences of each character! Once you have explored this component of your character’s psyche, you are on your way to mastering their voice.
2) Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters
What lies at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they possess, they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at attaining that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Understand and then label the darker sides of your characters. This step is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of Fear Essences are the fear of being: stupid; ordinary; socially exposed; rejected by a group; loathed; boring; or having to face life. Write down the ten most important fear essences of each character.
In the next installment of this four-part series, we’ll work on developing the backstory behind these essences that creates the foundation for your characters’ present lives. We’ll also delve into their behavior and explore ways to build characters that are exciting, dynamic, and unique.
In the meantime writers, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars.
Sir Winston Churchill- Book Excerpt
by admin on Jun.30, 2009, under Writing
Sir Winston Churchill
Born November 30, 1874
Died January 24, 1965
Prime Minister of England when it really counted, Sir Winston led the Brits to victory over the evil Nazi Empire in World War II — no easy task, especially when many thought the British would wave their white hankies, grab a pint, and call it quits.
Churchill gained fame as a reporter during the Boer Wars and World War I, attracting a large audience with his top-notch writing, and serving in nine British regiments. Using the publicity from his high-profile exploits, Winston won a seat in the general election of 1900, the first victory in a political career that would last sixty-two years.
Churchill lost elections as a Liberal free trader and Independent anti-Socialist and won under the Conservative label of “Constitutionalist.” The public gave him more lives than a cat, and he proved his political mettle time and time again with leadership, patriotism, and fresh ideas.
On one issue, Churchill never wavered: the growing threat of an aggressive Germany. Opponents accused him of warmongering, for promoting disarmament, but his instincts were dead-on. In 1940, at the age sixty-six, Churchill was finally appointed prime minister. He forged a fierce union during World War II by teaming with Franklin D. Roosevelt and unlikely ally Joseph Stalin to fight the Nazi war machine.
Churchill’s public broadcasts and fiery oratory kept spirits high during the Blitz bombings, and his popularity allowed him to survive several confidence votes in Parliament.
You’d think Churchill’s position as prime minister would be safe after leading his country to victory, but noooo. The masses loved him as a war leader, but failed to see him as leader of the party; two months after VE-day, Churchill and his Conservative cause was out the door.
Bouncing back as usual, he got the top spot in 1951 and remained prime minister until 1955, when strokes forced him from office. In 1953 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, along with being knighted by the queen. He died in London in January 1965, and anyone who was anyone came to the great statesman’s funeral.
Michael Stusser: Sir, you’re in your . . .
Winston Churchill: Jammies! PJs! Bloody well right. Man’s got to be comfortable — and in my right hand is a fine glass of bubbly. Care to join?
MS: Champagne? No sir, it’s not even . . .
WC: It’s cocktail hour somewhere, my dear man.
MS: Would you say you had a drinking problem?
WC: All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me. Truth be told, I watered my whiskey — just wanted the Ruskies to think I could drink them under the table.
MS: And your interest in cigars. Where did that start?
WC: Havana, 1895. Went down there to see some live military action and got hooked on Cubans! We pretty much lived on cigars and oranges — bee’s knees!
MS: Think you were addicted?
WC: I had my oxygen mask outfitted so I could smoke while air-borne. If that’s not addiction, I don’t know what is. Now let’s begin this blasted tête-à-tête, shall we? What say I talk and you listen?
MS: Go right ahead, sir.
[Churchill works furiously, scribbling notes onto a pad.]
WC: One moment, son, I’m just preparing my impromptu remarks. There we are. And let’s begin.
MS: Maybe you can talk a bit about your upbringing.
WC: Happy to. My father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a politician as well. Fancy it’s in our blood. Royal blood, I might add — my pops was a descendant of John Churchill, the first duke of Marlborough, and he had some successful wars indeed, taking it to Louis XIV of France. Aces!
MS: Right. Um, not to be indelicate, but it’s been speculated that Lord Churchill was not actually your . . .
WC: We did not have the sort of relationship that father and son might want, and for reasons I cannot explain. In terms of who did what to whom in the boudoir, I will not be going there.
MS: Your mother?
WC: The lovely Jennie Jerome, from New York City. Lady Randolph. Her pappy was filthy rich, though we earned our own loot. They put me up in boarding schools — it’s how we did it back then, and even though my mum rarely visited, I worshiped her, really did. Thing is, I was quite the underachiever in school. Lazy, total lack of effort, not my cup of tea. Took me three blooming tries to pass the entrance exam to the Royal Military Academy.
MS: Well, you made up for that, sir.
WC: Damn right. I was a helluva writer as well, did you know that?
MS: Yes, you wrote –
WC: Penned dispatches from Cuba, India, and campaigns in the Nile. Could have avoided politics altogether, and made a good go of it living by the pen. But I got the fever, in 1900, I did. Maybe it was because my father was such a prominent politico, but I felt I had to run for Parliament, and eventually won a spot with his old slogan, “Tory Democracy.” Got a nice ring to it.
MS: Probably helped that you were loaded.
WC: Loaded? As in drunk on a bender?
MS: No, loaded, as in rich.
WC: You’ve got the wrong man, I’m afraid. Though I may have had an aristocratic birth, I didn’t inherit a pot to piss in. My mum spent whatever loot there may have been. In fact, the reason I wrote my historical pieces was because I needed the coin. The writing allowed me to be my own man as a politician.
MS: Were you always a great speaker?
WC: Heavens, no. I worked at it. Had a speech defect that held me back a bit.
MS: You’re kidding.
WC: Not at all; had a bit of a lisp. I was fine for set speeches — good as they get — but in the impromptu, I had to be careful. Practiced like the dickens.
MS: I’ve heard about a conversation you had with Nancy Astor about women’s rights that turned nasty. Was it true?
WC: Oh, Lady Astor was a beauty. She was visiting Blenheim Palace and we disagreed a bit on things, to the point where she told me that if she were my wife, she’d put poison in my coffee. And I told her that if she were my wife, I’d drink it!
[ Laughter]
WC: She went on to become the first female MP in the House of Commons, by the way. Fancy that!
MS: You were often accused of crossing party lines for political gain.
WC: And both sides of the aisle hated me with equal vigor. What really mattered was my popularity with the regular blokes.
MS: Back in 1920, you had a bit of trouble in Iraq.
WC: Doesn’t everybody? I really thought we could just pound away at them from the air, but the uncivilized bastards are impossible to get at.
MS: What was the best decision you ever made?
WC: Marrying Clementine Hozier. No question about it — after taking on the ball-and-chain, I was a winner no matter what happened. We went on for fifty-seven years. Here’s to beating the average. Cheers!
MS: What about your best political decision?
WC: So many to choose from — but probably putting [friend and industrialist and newspaper baron] Lord Beaverbrook in charge of air-craft production in 1940. He was a fabulous businessman, and that allowed us to gear up in a hurry, don’t you know, with both engineering and production.
MS: It helped that you had the best pilots in the world.
WC: Righto — when I said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” well, the “few” were the Allied fighter pilots, god bless ’em.
MS: When did you first start worrying about the Germans?
WC: Oh dear, early, early in the game. Back in 1911, if I’ve got my years right, the Germans sent a gunboat to Agadir [a Moroccan port to which France had claims] and I knew then that if push came to shove, we’d have to be at France’s side. I started getting the navy ready, lickity-split, then got the cabinet to shell out the largest naval expenditure in British history.
MS: Not to sound morose, but you were kind of made for World War II.
WC: I was ready, of that there’s no doubt. I’m old school when it comes down to values and what we Brits stand for. One of the last believers in Whig history.
MS: Forgive me if I’m not up on obscure English history.
WC: It’s the belief that we British have a unique greatness — imperial destiny! This wasn’t a time to sit back and have a spot of tea; we needed action, Jackson! And I thrived on the conflict, loved a challenge, daresay even a crisis. Tests the soul, challenges the ol’ noggin. September 3, 1939, the day England declared war on Germany, Neville Chamberlain put me in my old naval post and the word went out to the fleet: “Winston is back.” Back, baby!
MS: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
WC: My first speech as prime minister [1940].
MS: Pretty inspiring.
WC: That was the idea. We were about to take on the enemy full force — needed balls the size of battleships.
MS: Before the Battle of Britain.
WC: Spot-on. That’s when I said, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Bracing ourselves for our finest hour, and, as it turned out, it truly was.
MS: The turning point?
WC: Our bravery throughout. But it helped to be fighting an uneducated, maniacal tyrant.
MS: Hitler?
WC: Daft dolt forgot about winter! Went into Russia in 1941 and simply forgot that it got blooming cold as the queen’s bum on a sleigh ride over there — freezing temps, snow. Ha! I never made a blunder half as bad!
MS: When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [December 7, 1941], you immediately went to Washington, D.C.
WC: Everything was changed that day. Roosevelt and I pooled all we had for the common good — military and economic resources, even combined chiefs of staff and command. We were in it together, and not a minute too late.
MS: Describe your relationship with FDR.
WC: Asked her to marry me, she turned me down flat.
MS: No, that was actress Ethel Barrymore. I asked about Franklin D. Roosevelt.
WC: Oh! Righto! Well we were mates, but, more importantly, we understood what our countries needed. I remember after he was re-elected in 1940, we started our joint effort.
MS: “Give us the tools, we’ll finish the job.”
WC: And this was before Pearl Harbor, remember, that we had a lend-lease program going. I’d give him a ringie-dingie on the ol’ tellie and he’d lend — not give us, mind you — military supplies and such. Key being, ’course, that we didn’t have to send him a million pounds every bloody time we needed ammo.
MS: Were there disagreements?
WC: Stalin was the problem, all right? Today every one knows he was a mass murderer, but I tell you I had a feeling. FDR thought he could handle him — thought he could keep him from taking Poland or the Czech Republic. I was way ahead of everybody on that one.
MS: Modest, too.
WC: Ultimately, I called FDR the greatest American friend we’d ever known. But Stalin I could never relate to. Too many awkward pauses. Bloody bonkers.
MS: V-day musta been incredible, huh?
WC: As I rode around London I was proud, but I also had foreboding feeling in my belly.
MS: About having to rebuild?
WC: No, about the Soviets with Stalin at the helm.
MS: You’re like a broken record with that . . .
WC: He was an aggressive Ruskie if ever there was one, and I warned anyone who’d listen that the Communists were bad news.
MS: Right. The iron curtain speech. Did anyone listen?
WC: Not so much.
MS: You weren’t treated so well after World War II. In fact, it’s been said that the great man who led the nation at war was not the man to lead it in peace.
WC: Bollocks! The Labour Party coined that little slogan and it worked like a charm. In my not-so-humble opinion, the reason we lost was due to the Conservative Party’s record ten years prior, with nitwits Baldwin and Chamberlain, and I never had a bloody chance.
MS: Were you bored after the war?
WC: Bored and brimming with ideas, chappie. My ideas on the European Common Market were ahead of their time, and much needed. It’s not always easy being a visionary, my boy.
MS: What vision do you have for the world today?
WC: Same vision I had: We need a world government, my friend, a League of Nations. One that is made up of irresistible force and inviolable authority for the purpose of securing peace and preventing war. With it, there are no limits to the blessings which all men enjoy and share. That, and we need to prevent the Iron Curtain from taking over the entire world.
MS: Uh, the Cold War’s over. The Soviet Union kind of went bankrupt and faded away.
WC: Really? Well thank goodness for that. Too much vodka and missiles, not enough chow on the table, eh? Knew it!
MS: Sir, this has been a most interesting interview.
WC: Remember that all the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
MS: Well said, sir. I’m afraid we’ve run out of –
WC: A few closing words are in order. First, I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
MS: Well you oughta –
WC: And lastly, remember, many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government — except all those others that have been tried from time to time. Let’s move this into the parlor room, shall we? I’ll tell you about my escape in South Africa, keep the chin wag going a spot longer.
MS: Thanks for your time, sir. I think I need a nap.
Copyright © Michael A. Stusser, 2007
The above is an excerpt from the book The Dead Guy Interviews
by Michael A. Stusser
Published by Penguin; September 2007;$14.00US/$16.50CAN; 978-0-14-311227-3
Copyright © Michael A. Stusser, 2007
Author
Michael A. Stusser is a Seattle-based writer and game inventor. His “Accidental Parent” column (ParentMap magazine) recently won the prestigious Gold Award from the Parenting Publications of America. Stusser is a contributing writer for mental_floss and Seattle Magazine, and his work is frequently published by Law & Politics, Yoga International Magazine, and Go World Travel Magazine.
Stusser is also the cocreator of The Doonesbury Game with Garry Trudeau (winner for “Best Party Game of the Year,” GAMES magazine, 1994); EARTHALERT, The Active Environmental Game; and Hear Me Out.
Born November 30, 1874
Died January 24, 1965
Prime Minister of England when it really counted, Sir Winston led the Brits to victory over the evil Nazi Empire in World War II — no easy task, especially when many thought the British would wave their white hankies, grab a pint, and call it quits.
Churchill gained fame as a reporter during the Boer Wars and World War I, attracting a large audience with his top-notch writing, and serving in nine British regiments. Using the publicity from his high-profile exploits, Winston won a seat in the general election of 1900, the first victory in a political career that would last sixty-two years.
Churchill lost elections as a Liberal free trader and Independent anti-Socialist and won under the Conservative label of “Constitutionalist.” The public gave him more lives than a cat, and he proved his political mettle time and time again with leadership, patriotism, and fresh ideas.
On one issue, Churchill never wavered: the growing threat of an aggressive Germany. Opponents accused him of warmongering, for promoting disarmament, but his instincts were dead-on. In 1940, at the age sixty-six, Churchill was finally appointed prime minister. He forged a fierce union during World War II by teaming with Franklin D. Roosevelt and unlikely ally Joseph Stalin to fight the Nazi war machine.
Churchill’s public broadcasts and fiery oratory kept spirits high during the Blitz bombings, and his popularity allowed him to survive several confidence votes in Parliament.
You’d think Churchill’s position as prime minister would be safe after leading his country to victory, but noooo. The masses loved him as a war leader, but failed to see him as leader of the party; two months after VE-day, Churchill and his Conservative cause was out the door.
Bouncing back as usual, he got the top spot in 1951 and remained prime minister until 1955, when strokes forced him from office. In 1953 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, along with being knighted by the queen. He died in London in January 1965, and anyone who was anyone came to the great statesman’s funeral.
Michael Stusser: Sir, you’re in your . . .
Winston Churchill: Jammies! PJs! Bloody well right. Man’s got to be comfortable — and in my right hand is a fine glass of bubbly. Care to join?
MS: Champagne? No sir, it’s not even . . .
WC: It’s cocktail hour somewhere, my dear man.
MS: Would you say you had a drinking problem?
WC: All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me. Truth be told, I watered my whiskey — just wanted the Ruskies to think I could drink them under the table.
MS: And your interest in cigars. Where did that start?
WC: Havana, 1895. Went down there to see some live military action and got hooked on Cubans! We pretty much lived on cigars and oranges — bee’s knees!
MS: Think you were addicted?
WC: I had my oxygen mask outfitted so I could smoke while air-borne. If that’s not addiction, I don’t know what is. Now let’s begin this blasted tête-à-tête, shall we? What say I talk and you listen?
MS: Go right ahead, sir.
[Churchill works furiously, scribbling notes onto a pad.]
WC: One moment, son, I’m just preparing my impromptu remarks. There we are. And let’s begin.
MS: Maybe you can talk a bit about your upbringing.
WC: Happy to. My father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a politician as well. Fancy it’s in our blood. Royal blood, I might add — my pops was a descendant of John Churchill, the first duke of Marlborough, and he had some successful wars indeed, taking it to Louis XIV of France. Aces!
MS: Right. Um, not to be indelicate, but it’s been speculated that Lord Churchill was not actually your . . .
WC: We did not have the sort of relationship that father and son might want, and for reasons I cannot explain. In terms of who did what to whom in the boudoir, I will not be going there.
MS: Your mother?
WC: The lovely Jennie Jerome, from New York City. Lady Randolph. Her pappy was filthy rich, though we earned our own loot. They put me up in boarding schools — it’s how we did it back then, and even though my mum rarely visited, I worshiped her, really did. Thing is, I was quite the underachiever in school. Lazy, total lack of effort, not my cup of tea. Took me three blooming tries to pass the entrance exam to the Royal Military Academy.
MS: Well, you made up for that, sir.
WC: Damn right. I was a helluva writer as well, did you know that?
MS: Yes, you wrote –
WC: Penned dispatches from Cuba, India, and campaigns in the Nile. Could have avoided politics altogether, and made a good go of it living by the pen. But I got the fever, in 1900, I did. Maybe it was because my father was such a prominent politico, but I felt I had to run for Parliament, and eventually won a spot with his old slogan, “Tory Democracy.” Got a nice ring to it.
MS: Probably helped that you were loaded.
WC: Loaded? As in drunk on a bender?
MS: No, loaded, as in rich.
WC: You’ve got the wrong man, I’m afraid. Though I may have had an aristocratic birth, I didn’t inherit a pot to piss in. My mum spent whatever loot there may have been. In fact, the reason I wrote my historical pieces was because I needed the coin. The writing allowed me to be my own man as a politician.
MS: Were you always a great speaker?
WC: Heavens, no. I worked at it. Had a speech defect that held me back a bit.
MS: You’re kidding.
WC: Not at all; had a bit of a lisp. I was fine for set speeches — good as they get — but in the impromptu, I had to be careful. Practiced like the dickens.
MS: I’ve heard about a conversation you had with Nancy Astor about women’s rights that turned nasty. Was it true?
WC: Oh, Lady Astor was a beauty. She was visiting Blenheim Palace and we disagreed a bit on things, to the point where she told me that if she were my wife, she’d put poison in my coffee. And I told her that if she were my wife, I’d drink it!
[ Laughter]
WC: She went on to become the first female MP in the House of Commons, by the way. Fancy that!
MS: You were often accused of crossing party lines for political gain.
WC: And both sides of the aisle hated me with equal vigor. What really mattered was my popularity with the regular blokes.
MS: Back in 1920, you had a bit of trouble in Iraq.
WC: Doesn’t everybody? I really thought we could just pound away at them from the air, but the uncivilized bastards are impossible to get at.
MS: What was the best decision you ever made?
WC: Marrying Clementine Hozier. No question about it — after taking on the ball-and-chain, I was a winner no matter what happened. We went on for fifty-seven years. Here’s to beating the average. Cheers!
MS: What about your best political decision?
WC: So many to choose from — but probably putting [friend and industrialist and newspaper baron] Lord Beaverbrook in charge of air-craft production in 1940. He was a fabulous businessman, and that allowed us to gear up in a hurry, don’t you know, with both engineering and production.
MS: It helped that you had the best pilots in the world.
WC: Righto — when I said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” well, the “few” were the Allied fighter pilots, god bless ’em.
MS: When did you first start worrying about the Germans?
WC: Oh dear, early, early in the game. Back in 1911, if I’ve got my years right, the Germans sent a gunboat to Agadir [a Moroccan port to which France had claims] and I knew then that if push came to shove, we’d have to be at France’s side. I started getting the navy ready, lickity-split, then got the cabinet to shell out the largest naval expenditure in British history.
MS: Not to sound morose, but you were kind of made for World War II.
WC: I was ready, of that there’s no doubt. I’m old school when it comes down to values and what we Brits stand for. One of the last believers in Whig history.
MS: Forgive me if I’m not up on obscure English history.
WC: It’s the belief that we British have a unique greatness — imperial destiny! This wasn’t a time to sit back and have a spot of tea; we needed action, Jackson! And I thrived on the conflict, loved a challenge, daresay even a crisis. Tests the soul, challenges the ol’ noggin. September 3, 1939, the day England declared war on Germany, Neville Chamberlain put me in my old naval post and the word went out to the fleet: “Winston is back.” Back, baby!
MS: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
WC: My first speech as prime minister [1940].
MS: Pretty inspiring.
WC: That was the idea. We were about to take on the enemy full force — needed balls the size of battleships.
MS: Before the Battle of Britain.
WC: Spot-on. That’s when I said, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Bracing ourselves for our finest hour, and, as it turned out, it truly was.
MS: The turning point?
WC: Our bravery throughout. But it helped to be fighting an uneducated, maniacal tyrant.
MS: Hitler?
WC: Daft dolt forgot about winter! Went into Russia in 1941 and simply forgot that it got blooming cold as the queen’s bum on a sleigh ride over there — freezing temps, snow. Ha! I never made a blunder half as bad!
MS: When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [December 7, 1941], you immediately went to Washington, D.C.
WC: Everything was changed that day. Roosevelt and I pooled all we had for the common good — military and economic resources, even combined chiefs of staff and command. We were in it together, and not a minute too late.
MS: Describe your relationship with FDR.
WC: Asked her to marry me, she turned me down flat.
MS: No, that was actress Ethel Barrymore. I asked about Franklin D. Roosevelt.
WC: Oh! Righto! Well we were mates, but, more importantly, we understood what our countries needed. I remember after he was re-elected in 1940, we started our joint effort.
MS: “Give us the tools, we’ll finish the job.”
WC: And this was before Pearl Harbor, remember, that we had a lend-lease program going. I’d give him a ringie-dingie on the ol’ tellie and he’d lend — not give us, mind you — military supplies and such. Key being, ’course, that we didn’t have to send him a million pounds every bloody time we needed ammo.
MS: Were there disagreements?
WC: Stalin was the problem, all right? Today every one knows he was a mass murderer, but I tell you I had a feeling. FDR thought he could handle him — thought he could keep him from taking Poland or the Czech Republic. I was way ahead of everybody on that one.
MS: Modest, too.
WC: Ultimately, I called FDR the greatest American friend we’d ever known. But Stalin I could never relate to. Too many awkward pauses. Bloody bonkers.
MS: V-day musta been incredible, huh?
WC: As I rode around London I was proud, but I also had foreboding feeling in my belly.
MS: About having to rebuild?
WC: No, about the Soviets with Stalin at the helm.
MS: You’re like a broken record with that . . .
WC: He was an aggressive Ruskie if ever there was one, and I warned anyone who’d listen that the Communists were bad news.
MS: Right. The iron curtain speech. Did anyone listen?
WC: Not so much.
MS: You weren’t treated so well after World War II. In fact, it’s been said that the great man who led the nation at war was not the man to lead it in peace.
WC: Bollocks! The Labour Party coined that little slogan and it worked like a charm. In my not-so-humble opinion, the reason we lost was due to the Conservative Party’s record ten years prior, with nitwits Baldwin and Chamberlain, and I never had a bloody chance.
MS: Were you bored after the war?
WC: Bored and brimming with ideas, chappie. My ideas on the European Common Market were ahead of their time, and much needed. It’s not always easy being a visionary, my boy.
MS: What vision do you have for the world today?
WC: Same vision I had: We need a world government, my friend, a League of Nations. One that is made up of irresistible force and inviolable authority for the purpose of securing peace and preventing war. With it, there are no limits to the blessings which all men enjoy and share. That, and we need to prevent the Iron Curtain from taking over the entire world.
MS: Uh, the Cold War’s over. The Soviet Union kind of went bankrupt and faded away.
WC: Really? Well thank goodness for that. Too much vodka and missiles, not enough chow on the table, eh? Knew it!
MS: Sir, this has been a most interesting interview.
WC: Remember that all the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
MS: Well said, sir. I’m afraid we’ve run out of –
WC: A few closing words are in order. First, I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
MS: Well you oughta –
WC: And lastly, remember, many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government — except all those others that have been tried from time to time. Let’s move this into the parlor room, shall we? I’ll tell you about my escape in South Africa, keep the chin wag going a spot longer.
MS: Thanks for your time, sir. I think I need a nap.
Copyright © Michael A. Stusser, 2007
The above is an excerpt from the book The Dead Guy Interviews
by Michael A. Stusser
Published by Penguin; September 2007;$14.00US/$16.50CAN; 978-0-14-311227-3
Copyright © Michael A. Stusser, 2007
Author
Michael A. Stusser is a Seattle-based writer and game inventor. His “Accidental Parent” column (ParentMap magazine) recently won the prestigious Gold Award from the Parenting Publications of America. Stusser is a contributing writer for mental_floss and Seattle Magazine, and his work is frequently published by Law & Politics, Yoga International Magazine, and Go World Travel Magazine.
Stusser is also the cocreator of The Doonesbury Game with Garry Trudeau (winner for “Best Party Game of the Year,” GAMES magazine, 1994); EARTHALERT, The Active Environmental Game; and Hear Me Out.
