Various Types of Brilliance

Sometimes I feel really stupid. Did you know that? Well, now you do. Considering I'm friends and family with a bunch of uber talented super geniuses, it shouldn't be that much of a shock. There are musicians, artists, mathematicians, scientists, philosophers, and fellow writers who can write my socks off with their eyes closed and their hands tied. I feel like the John Watson to everyone else's Sherlock.

I'll just stand over here and react to your brilliance. Don't mind me!

However, just as John presents his own talents, abilities, and smarts, I daresay I make my own contribution. There is this theory that there are nine types of intelligence, which I only know a little about because instead of taking psychology in high school, I took Honors World Cultures and AP US Government. Point is, I dabble in most of the types, but there is no doubt that I am heavy on the linguistic intelligence. I confirmed this by taking a quiz on About.com (and before you judge me, just know that I couldn't find the one the school psychology kids used). According to the results, I'm good at the following:

• Good at explaining things to others
• Able to use humor when telling stories
• Strong abilitiy to listen and remember spoken information
• Understands both the literal and figurative meaning of words
• Able to use language in many different ways, such as to entertain, to persuade and to inform
• Strong grammar skills

I mean, that's pretty much a complete list of my greatest strengths. (Humor is debatable. I try, but I'm not saying I succeed.)

So instead of sitting around and feeling stupid because I can't remember the dates of virtually any historical event or because I can't do ballet or something, I should really just cherish the gifts God did give me.

In case you thought this post was just me fishing for compliments, I have a proposition to make. I propose we writers take into account the different types of intelligence when devising characters. You have people who are "musical smart" and kids who are "number smart" and others who are "people smart". For example, Sherlock Holmes is not people smart. There was that one time and that other time and that other time which would totally happen to me and wow all of these have to do with Molly. Gosh, I love Molly.

(He's not really a sociopath. Do your research.)

However, Sherlock is the master of deductive reasoning. He also is violinist who dabbles in dance (yes, DANCE), and may be not as deficient in the people skills area as it seems. He's intelligent, but a certain type(s) of intelligent. Write characters with different types of intelligence and you'll have much more variety and interest. Or maybe you have characters whose similar types of intelligence clash or create competition, or maybe just work together in a two-heads-are-better-than-one situation. Just remember that every character has something to offer, and so does every person.

Image credits: top, 2nd down, 3rd down, 4th down, 5th down

How to Live Vicariously Through Your Characters

Sounds healthy, right? Kind of like those moms who live vicariously through their children on shows like Toddlers & Tiaras. Living the dream.

 This kid's a riot.

In all seriousness, living vicariously through a character (or your daughter) is not good. Nor is living vicariously through Bella Swan because she is a shell of a character who is left hollow so that any girl with any appearance or personality can slip herself into her mopey shoes.

"Blogging Twilight" by Dan Bergstein. A must-read if you want to mock Twilight for what it truly is... and enjoy yourself along the way. Click here to read all 4 books, Dan style.

If you still want to live vicariously through a character, consider fanfiction. No shame in that --- I wrote it too, when I was a wee lass. However, I would prefer we didn't revisit that period... very embarrassing... Um... Hey look! A distraction!

There are several reasons why living vicariously through a character is a not-so-good idea. For one, it makes everything that happens to that character personal, which means that injuring, killing, or hurting that character might be uncomfortable... or you won't have the heart to write it at all. Furthermore, any criticism of that character becomes a criticism of you. Who wants their editor telling them that they don't like the character that's based on you? Uh, NO ONE. And you know what else could happen? People could realize the story is about you, and/or that you've included other people from your life in the story. Like in Read it and Weep!

However, having a stake in your character is normal, healthy even. Characters often reflect little pieces of ourselves, or a piece that we would like to adopt as our own. I think recognizing your personal relationship with your characters is important, so that you can make them as well-written as possible.

I bring this up because I had a fairly recent revelation regarding my main characters in my 100-4-100 novel. Enter Mary, my female main character/protagonist. Two questions into answering these 100 questions you should answer before writing your novel, I discovered that Mary had virtually no personality. I always envisioned her as being very quiet and a keeper of the peace, which totally goes against the grain in a market full of girls who spend their pages kicking the boys' butts. Yet before I knew it, she had gone from a pacifist to a weakling, big time. I hated her. I was more passionate about her life than she was! I had to quit typing for a bit and think.

Where did Mary's quiet side come from? Why was I so determined to make her that way? It hit me: I was writing Mary as my opposite! (To an extent.) I have always been that girl who talks way too loud for her own good, and "talking out of turn" always showed up on my report card. When I was younger, I actually wanted to be quiet and invisible. Yet I was incapable of keeping my mouth shut. For someone who is very introverted, I am fantastic at running my mouth. Wouldn't it be great if I could be quiet and unnoticeable like Mary? I found myself thinking.

Recognizing that desire had manifested itself in Mary, I made what sounds like a silly decision: I decided to put MORE of me into her. Alright, she's quiet. But she and I both love story-telling. She and I both sing. She and I both fear rejection. (Personal stuff, right?) Now I identify with her. We act and react differently, but she has a few of the good parts of me in her, and we get on much better. Moral of the story: Putting a piece of yourself into a character can actually help you relate to them.

Greetings from the Depths of Despair!

MY STORY

I'm in mourning.

There would be a video here of Bunbury's funeral in The Importance of Being Earnest if the universe liked me, but alas... PS - I *finally* saw that movie, and I would *highly* recommend it. That was code for "this-is-my-new-favorite-movie-ever-and-not-just-because-Colin-Firth-is-in-it".

Have you ever seen a character and liked them right off the bat? Like, no dialogue, no action, just saw them and decided they were the best thing since sliced pumpkin bread? Well, it happens to me. (See my Doctor Who confession here). And sometimes, very rarely, you completely adore that character, and your adoration simply grows and flourishes with time. You love them in every sense of the word. And then cruel, horrible writers, not so different from yourself, decide it's a fantastic idea to KILL THEM. Blimey, they don't just kill them, they make them so blimey heroic and their death so blimey tragic and the circumstances so blimey impossible and messed up and blimey complicated that there is literally no possible way to make their death more horrible.

I'm not naming names. I don't want to ruin things for anyone else. But let's just say that there were many tears, and I can feel my soul sinking into the depths of despair. And if you think I'm using hyperbole... I'm not. This Anne is definitely in the depths of despair, and nothing but sweets and hugs can keep her from completely abandoning her duties altogether.

Really, I'm quite serious.

WRITING UPDATE

I spent the entire weekend out of the house, so I have no writing to report. I was too busy eating, drinking, making merry and whatnot. And starting BBC's Robin Hood. Marian is the best thing that ever happened to the world of TV heroines ever. Unless of course, miserable writers decide they want to tear apart another character... Why not? Why bother? To be, or not to be? The play's the thing! The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Pardon me: All of my misery has sent me on another rant.

... She dies, doesn't she? Aw man, now I've gotta buy MORE tissues.

I totally didn't choose this picture of Marian because Richard Armitage is in it. Nope. Not at all... Even if we've all come to the conclusion he would make the most swoontastic Darcy ever. NBD.

READING UPDATE

I'm supposed to be reading Fahrenheit 451, but my mum picked me up a copy of The Mark of Athena, which I naturally started. Not too far into it, but Percy and Annabeth are together, so nothing else matters. Unless they get killed too.

"Have you got a handkerchief? I never seem to have one in moments of crisis."(I'd give brownie points for that reference, but it introduces another dimension to despair. If you get the reference, you understand where my depression comes from. Understand?)

The trailer is so misleading. Just... Just go watch it. Now.

The Final Countdown!

Duhduhduhduhhhhhduhduhduhduhduhduhhhh... It's pretty much impossible to convey that song without music. Here.



I didn't realize this had a music video. 80's music... *shudders* Will you just look at their hair!?!?!? What were they thinking!? Still, the song works.

It is, indeed, THE FINAL COUNTDOWN, as we approach the fabled Script Frenzy. I'm kind of terrified because I still only have a beginning and an end. Usually I only have a middle. But I promised y'all an overview of the main characters, so for the good of the order, here 'tis. I can't guarantee they won't change by the end of the script, or that you'll be able to recognize them, or that their names won't change or they won't dye their hair or just magically drop off the face of the planet. It's all tentative, my dears. Tentative.

Enter James or "Jamie". He's numero uno in this story, like it or not, and yes, he's the gent with the flowers. Grown-up Jamie is sort of serious looking. In fact, he's scowling right now. Ah yes, even with those marvelous flowers in hand, he's frowning. I promise you he wasn't always so dowry. In fact, he was once a daydreamer. He could have made a career out of it! Jamie used to be sort of on the scrawny side. Knobby knees, red from the scrapes, and sharp elbows, rough from playing outdoors. His clothes were always a little loose and his face was a bit sunken in. But he had these huge blue eyes... A charming child, really. Very creative. Quite the imagination, and a heart as deep as the ocean. But things have changed. His heart is hard now. But if I were to tell you WHY, then there would be no STORY, now WOULD THERE?

On to Peter. I can't help it - he's a favorite of mine. I know the viewer's sympathies are going to lie with Jamie, but I can't help but love him. Peter's rather oblivious, you see, and can be a little insensitive. He's got a good heart, I promise! He's rather handsome, I might add. It takes a little bit of willpower not to get too wrapped up in writing him. If you were to pass him on the street, he'd probably offer a good-natured smile, a tip of that hat if he happened to wearing one, and perhaps a grand bow if he really felt like getting your attention (if you're a pretty gal, that is). As a child, he was troublesome - always pulling Jamie into things, always talking out of turn and missing the point whenever possible. But he is still very clueless... You have to be rather blunt with him, and Jamie's more the hide-my-feelings-until-I-implode type...

(Now this is the part where you understand the name of the movie.) Meet Elizabeth. Goodness, is she pretty. Fair in every sense of the word, I might add. Nowadays she's rather soft-spoken, but as a child, she always had something to say. She was bossy and controlling, but sweet in a very quiet way. There was this ethereal quality about her - she was so light and elven-like. And she was practically addicted to books. It didn't matter what they were about - math, science, far off kingdoms - just so long as there were plenty of words. She spent so much time looking for adventure... I wonder if she ever found it.

... I think she might be French. We'll see once the writing process actually begins.

So there you are, a brief overview. Rather mysterious, eh? That's because they're all still "mysteries" to me. I can't wait to explore their character! I'll try and post a brief synopsis some time before the Frenzy begins. Until then, farewell.