An awesome hop started by Viklit!
1. I went to see Mt. St. Helens with my family last Saturday. This was my second visit and their first. The last time I saw it, it was less than a half dozen years after the explosion in 1980 and the area was covered in ash and flattened trees. Now, it's teeming with life. (I know this might just mean I'm old, but I'm excited to see life abundant. I was 8 going on 9 during the first explosion in 1980 and in my hometown a few hours away, we had ash on the ground.)
My pic from the visitor center - the volcano has partially "re-grown" itself in the center with lava up-thrusts through the 80s and again in 2004.
2. We went to see the Maze Runner last weekend too - although it took some stealth mode parent action since my teens wanted to be "cool" and hang out only with their friends. We dropped them off early, came back as the theater darkened, fumbled our way to our seats and enjoyed the show. Don't tell my kids I liked the movie better than the book. (that's a rarity, but true in this case)
3. Read and reviewed Milo James Fowler's novella, Girl of Great Price, and I recommend it. If you like heroic hard-boiled detective stories mixed with scifi, read this book.
4. I went live with Ashes Bun on Monday. I'm enjoying my crazy micro-fiction experiment so far. :)
Friday Freebie!
Every Friday, I plan to offer a short story or group of stories for free for kindle readers or kindle app readers. This week, my flash fiction story, "Seedlings" is re-pubbed for kindle and free.
Dunnie has a secret: a power inside him that's gone wrong in the past. When it's time to introduce himself to a new teacher, what will he say? And, will his classmates ever accept the truth?
Prep for NaNoWriMo, part 1:
On Fridays this month, I will set out four things I do to prepare for NaNoWriMo in the hopes that this will help my fellow authors.
1. Character profiles can vary in length from a half page to a file folder of twenty pages. They can include pictures or images, music, and knowledge about the minutiae of a character's life. However, they can also become a distraction, so I try to stick with the basics and do one for my MC, one for each supporting character, and one for the antagonist.
My super basic character profile categories (bold means that these are necessities to know):
Name: Meaning
of name?:
Basic description:
Strengths of character:
Skills:
Weaknesses/Flaws:
Family Background:
Her/His greatest hope/dream/heart’s desire:
Is this character a doer or a watcher? Will she/he actively
engage in the story and try to make things happen? Or will things happen to
her/him and drag her/him into the adventure?
Next Friday: Loglines
Do you use character profiles for your writing projects? And, what are you celebrating this week?
Cool you got to see Mt. St. Helens. I've never been there.
ReplyDeleteLike your character profile. I use one with just a little bit more detail.
It's one of those awesome places that's just a few hour drive from where I live - the kind of places that my family and I often miss visiting.
Deleteand yes, more detail is good for characters, but sometimes I find that daunting, so I stick with simple and add later.
Wow! You had a good week. Now enjoy the weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marilyn!
DeleteWhen your kids get a little older, out of their teens, they don't mind going to the movies with you again. They enjoy it, especially if you're still paying their way. I always do character profiles.
ReplyDeleteI think the interesting thing about parenting the teen years so far is that we have this wonderful moments of closeness separated by "ew, parent cooties" type moments. And, I never know when the "eww, parent cooties" moments are going to come.
DeleteSounds like an awesome weekend. I really want to see Maze Runner too. May have to go by myself, but it sounds like a fun movie to see at the theater.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fun movie to see at the theater!
DeleteIt sounds like you had a great week! I hope you have an awesome weekend!
ReplyDeleteI usually do character profiles when I need to get a feel for voice and motivations. Otherwise, I pants my rough draft. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe have many things to celebrate this week. Thank your for reminding me to review them - I needed to!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend! :)
I have a really extensive character sheet I use, not only for me but for when I visit schools and have the kids create their own characters.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Salem, OR when Mt. St. Helens blew and we got ligh ash several times.
I think it's fun to use the extensive sheets, but I often find that these basic questions get me started and I end up creating more character specific questions as I work on them.
DeleteThanks for the freebie link, Tyrean.
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck with the NaNo preparation.
Interesting angle on the last point in your character profile, on whether the character is a doer or a watcher...now I'm wondering, which reveals more info, character profile or character interview?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
You're welcome!
DeleteAnd, that's a good question! I feel like I can't really get a good interview out a character until I know them a little better, but maybe that's just a different way of processing the same info.
Glad to see you had heaps to celebrate this week! Enjoying a movie more than the book is definitely a rarity. Also, love the character profile! Those always seem fun to do for a new project, but I just never seem to get around to doing any...
ReplyDeleteThat's why I try to keep mine simple, and then I can add extras later or just move into the fun of writing. :)
DeleteI tend to create the "official" character profiles as I write by keeping notes as things come to me, but I always start with some elements in my head at the beginning. I was 3 when Mt. St. Helens blew, and we lived in Oregon. My dad was working in Portland and his car was covered in ash. I lived in Salem, and I think I've been told we had plenty of ash there, too, but don't quote me on it. I'd love to visit MSH. The damage left behind by Waldo Canyon Fire here reminds me of volcano damage left behind in some ways. We still have the burnt trees, but there's grass and flowers growing around them.
ReplyDeleteOh, I remember the Mt. St. Helen's eruption! How amazing and frightening that you had ash that far away in your town. So fascinating to see what the volcano looks like now.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to give away the Friday Freebies!