Young Writers Society

Building A Believable Character: Part 1

Let’s face it. As writers, we do experience difficulties when building a character in our books, short stories, poems—everything. In building that piece of art, whatever the case may be, we take an immense amount of time to develop that character.

Some things are simple when creating characters. Clothing tastes, dislikes in food, height and hair color, etc. Those things are easy because you have those likes, dislikes and similarities. We all know what it is like to love ice-cream, or hate white cheese (trust me, I know. It’s all moldy, anyway), but when it come to the details, the small oddities that really build the character into someone that is believable and loved, that is where the trouble—and the fun—comes in.

Everyone’s eyes grow wide, everyone grins, and everyone talks excitedly. But those common reactions that people make—those actions that are universal with human beings—just fade into the background. It is the character that chomps uncontrollably at the bit, wanting to go, go, go! The character that has a funny nose twitch, a lazy eye, or perhaps just has a funny habit of saying a particular word. Those characters make an impact on your readers because there is something about them that is different from everyone else. Something unique.

An example of a deep character, one that everyone can relate to, but still isn’t Normal Joe at the same time is Percy Jackson, courtesy of Rick Riordin.
Percy is lost just about all the time. He never knows what to do, only that is has to involve his sword… Always has to involve his sword—and water. He would do anything for his friends, even to die for them. If only that they would remain safe. Percy is a troublemaker, a seaweed brain. But at the same time, behind that mischievous face, the guy has a big heart... He cares about everyone. And most importantly is that when fighting a Titan with nothing more than a sharpened toothpick, he is still afraid. He is a normal person who is afraid of evil, but still goes out with the intention of stopping it.

You see, all of those little things add up to make a character. It doesn’t take one small oddity to make your character have depth, its takes dozens. Many small quirks that makes your character more than just a fictional person to your reader. It makes your character a hero.

WOTW Admin Interview With Lucrezia

Hi, welcome to Weekly Writer. This weeks admin is @Lucrezia, the awesome member whom puts in a friendly and fun atmosphere to the WOTW team. Here we will learn some of the reasons behind WOTW!


The Weekly Writer: Hey, Lucrezia! WOTW was your idea to start, and the WOTW team. What made you decide to create WOTW and the official team/club?

Lucrezia: Ooh, good question! Well, I had been doing a lot of thinking about the Literary Spotlight and featured member at the time. I love both of those dearly and I think they add a lot to YWS, but there's also something kind of unattainable about them, especially for new members. When I first joined, getting featured member or having a work in the Spotlight seemed pretty impossible. I wanted to start something that was similar and would complement both, but was easier to achieve.
As for the club where the voting happens, that came out of necessity. Having all of YWS vote was too messy. We needed people we could trust, that were unbiased, and we needed to do it in private so no one would feel left out if they weren't nominated or didn't get that many votes. Thus, the official club was born.

WW: That's an awesome reason to start the club and to create WOTW. In your opinion, how do you think WOTW has affected members of YWS?

L: I think it's mainly just given them something fun to support and enjoy every week. It gives them a chance to congratulate the lucky person and read some amazing writing they may not have noticed before. It also gives them a reason to write and something to strive to achieve.

WW: In your opinion, has Writer of the Week changed how you think when you read new works that are posted?

L: A little. Usually, around Wednesday (when we start the nominating), I begin to look at the works posted in a different way than normal. I still read it like I would if I was just going to review it, trying to determine how interesting/unique/well-written it is and what needs improvement, but I use those merits to see if the writer's deserving of WOTW. If they don't have much that needs improvement and the content's good, I'll probably nominate them.


So here it is, the wise words of one of WOTW's finest admins. You heard from the head admin herself today about the reason why she created WOTW. With her aide in the nominating process and her taking part in voting plus her supporting all members of the official club- we can keep cranking out WOTW.

-GreenTulip

Behind The Scenes:
Nominating - Who, How, and Why.

I'm sure you've been wondering how Writer of the Week (WOTW) works. And if you haven't, well you get to find out anyway! In this column we'll be taking a behind the scenes look at different areas of WOTW. For this article we'll talk about nomination. I'll be answering questions like, what does it take to get nominated for WOTW? exactly what happens when someone is nominated? how many people usually get nominated each week? what are we looking for in nominees?


-The Nominators
In the WOTW team there are several different positions. All members are expected to vote for WOTW. But only the select nominators are required to nominate people for WOTW (other members of the team are allowed to nominate, if they find someone they want to nominate, they just don't have to look for people to nominate).
As of right now we have ten nominators. They are very dedicated members who search through YWS finding particularly good works, so that when the appropriate week come around, they can nominate the author and have everyone on the team vote for WOTW.

-The Nominated
Our nominees come from all over YWS, from all different categories, genres, and age groups. There are no requirements for who will be considered for nomination. Who is nominated for WOTW hinges completely on their writing skills. We have several things in particular that we look for in specific categories...
Novels: When looking for novels/chapters the story-line is always a big priority, alongside the character development, description, endings, and of course, grammar and spelling. While our nominees don't have to excel in all of these, it is expect they are fairly decent in those categories and are particularly skilled in at least one.
Poetry: For poetry what we look for is quite different. We always love to see a poem that flows well and portrays plenty of emotion, while having good imagery, style, ad being original.
Short Stories: What we look for in shorts is a lot like what we look for in novels. But we have to pay more attention to the detail in a short. Novels have plenty of chapters in which to tell the reader all they want. Whereas a short only has so many words, so they have to make everything count. So while we are looking for the same basic principals in novels and shorts, what we look for in the two still varies quite a bit more then most would expect.
Miscellaneous: There has been a little confusion here, due to having so many things belonging in this category. Whenever a article/essay is nominated we consider the topic (is it normal? is it something new? what kind of a crowd will it appeal to?). How entertaining is the article/essay? How are the facts? are any of them false? are there enough? What about technical aspects like grammar, formatting, and such? We will also look at the overall feel, at the end does the reader agree with the article? Or are they disgruntled about it? Outside of articles/essays, what we look for will usually resemble another category, depending on what kind of work it is (i.e. a script will have similar things as a short or a novel, but we'd also take into account how clear the stage directions are, and if the formatting is right).

-The Nominating
Starting at about Wednesday or Friday, our nominators start posting their nominees. They'll put a link to the nominee's portfolio and a specific work that stuck out to them.They will also provide a quick overview of what they thought of this writer's work.
Usually all the nominees will be posted by Saturday or Sunday. At which time all members of the WOTW team will look through the nominees and vote. Then on Monday the WOTW is announced!
Sometime's nominating every week can be a little stressful for the nominators. So we've set them up into teams. Each nominator signed up for a specific week (poetry, novel, short, or misc.) that they will focus on and make sure they nominate for every time it comes around. Some nominators signed up for multiple weeks. The nominators are not limited to only nominating in their week, but they aren't to stressed about nominating on the other weeks.


It's a fairly straightforward process. This is intentionally done so that new members can catch on to the system quickly.
Naturally, because every writer has their own specialty, they also have areas of writing they're weak in. This means that certain weeks will have more nominators/voters then other weeks, until we manage to even out the specialties. As of right now, we're weakest in the Misc. week (which includes things like articles, essays, scripts, and pretty much anything else that doesn't fit into one of the other weeks). If you're strong in that area and are interested in joining the WOTW team please contact @Lucrezia about it.

Thanks of reading! I hope you've enjoyed this edition of Behind The Scenes.

~WW

This week's WOTW was to be chosen based on their novel skills! After a very close voting process, @BlueAfrica pulled ahead to claim the title! She was voted because of The Book Man, which can be found here. So I got to sit down with her and talk about the experience, and her future writing plans!

Messenger:Hi Blue! Seen the WOTW news?

BlueAfrica: Hola, buddy! Indeed I did!

M: So, how'd you respond?

BA: Mostly with internal fangirling. I was so hoping it would happen at some point. I've known about it since its inception and the original WOTW when everyone got to vote. Iggy tagged me in it because she nominated me back then.

M: Ah, that's neat. So the dream came true!

BA: Yes! So happy. Anyway, I figured if I didn't get it for The Book Man then I probably just wouldn't get it.

M: Well, it was a fun week! Lots of good nominations, but you pulled out for the lead. How do think that this will affect your writing?

BA: Good question. Mostly I just hope it won't swell my head too much or anything. But I think, lately, since I've been trying to edit—I keep getting worried that I'm just going to ruin the story or something, but knowing I got WOTW will hopefully encourage me and motivate me to keep editing.

M: Editing is indeed a daunting task. But I'm sure you'll do fine. After editing once, will The Book Man be edited again? Or do you plan to try to get it published?

BA: Well, the version I posted on YWS is already heavily edited. It's actually the third draft. So far no one has pointed out major plot or character issues, so once I'm done revising this time I'll see if there are any willing readers to give it another look. And as long as things are mostly good, I'll start querying agents.

M: So no self-publishing. What helped you decide which way to publish?

BA: Mostly the fact that to be really successful in self-publishing you have to be a good salesman. And I am not. I feel weird trying to push stuff on people, like how do you just get a random stranger on the subject of "Hey, I wrote a book and you should buy it"? It's why I couldn't make it as an Avon rep and got booted from Lane Bryant when the holidays were over (couldn't get customers to sign up for credit cards). I hate pushy salespeople; therefore I cannot be a pushy salesperson; therefore my book would get mentioned to no one but immediate family and friends, who would soon be exhausted of the subject.

M: So, do you feel confident about getting published?

BA: Heh heh heh. Now there is an interesting question. Well, I mean, The Book Man is the best novel I've ever written, hands-down. And people like it.

But, I mean, it's never a certainty.

On the one hand, there are all these crappy things out there that look like they never even saw an editor, and it's easy to look at those and think: if they got published, so can I.

But on the other hand, there are great writers who are never discovered. And you can't know if it's because they decided not to play the publishing game or because the business just doesn't recognize good writing.

But I'm going to give it a go, and try to keep in mind that the record for "most rejections before publication" is somewhere in the range over several thousand.

M: Well, best of luck to you! Enjoy the rest of your time as WOTW!

BA: I shall, sir. A pleasure as always.


Well, that was a much longer interview then usual, but I hope you stuck with us! Blue really looks as if she can go far, and I wish her the best of luck, as I'm sure you do too! But enough from me. Shoo! Go write something! You could end up being interviewed as the WOTW.

~Messenger

Hello, I'm Cesare, and this week I'm writing an article based on members who finished a novel. I interviewed @BlackNether12, and he gave some amazingly useful tips. His novel can be found here: The Lost Legend.

I asked him a couple of questions:

CesareBorgia: What motivated you?

BlackNether12: The fact that I had a good story and that other people seemed to agree (plus, the high word count later on made it impossible to quit.).

C: What is the name of your novel?

BN12: The Lost Legend. (At the moment, I'm working through my second draft and have decided I need a new name.)

C: My last question: How did you exit writer's block?

BN12: I don't. If I catch writer's block I just live with it. However, my story idea is based off of a large, important part of my life and is easy to come back to.

C: Thanks for your time!

Check out BlackNether's novel!

I also have advice to share: When I get stuck in writer's block, I just make a chapter outline of my stories. That way I know what's happening, and I don't get stuck with writer's block.

This concludes my article on how to finish a novel. Goodbye, and have a great day.

Interview With A Character: Brazil and Parker

WOTW has seen some amazing writers being featured, people who have stopped the judges in their tracks with their amazing works. However, the question needs to be asked: who really is putting in all the hard yards? Maybe it's time that we interview the real stars, the characters of their works.

This week I am interviewing Brazil and Parker, two of the characters who star in former WOTW, @TemporarilyShane's (previously known as Isha) novel, Coffee, Grit, and my Dad's Best Shoes—a well known and popular novel here on YWS.

Silverlock: Hello boys! Thank you for agreeing to doing this interview with me! It's quite surreal to be chatting with the stars of CGaMDBS!

Parker: Oh lord, thanks Silver! It's an honour to be here.

Silverlock: So could you both take a turn at describing each other to us?

Brazil: *glances at Parker* *chuckles* "Um. He's a very clean-cut person. He's always been almost inordinately classy, but I suppose he gets it from his auntie. And with class comes charisma- boy could charm a demon before the reverse could happen, I swear. He gets people wrapped around his finger, but he's got the decency to refrain from taking advantage of it. I think it's his inner caretaker that keeps his moral compass pointing north.

Parker: My inner care-taker?

Brazil: Uh, yeah. You're raising your four-year-old brother; if that's not a caretaker's mark, I don't know what is. And you know, let's not leave out his ambition. He's a very... determined person, when he sets his mind to something. I mean, I've watched him lose sight of what he'd set his mind to do a few times, but as soon as you help him find it again, he's unstoppable. And he still leaves time for being fabulous and loving people up.

Parker: I'm not going to respond to that because I don't know how. Okay then. Um. Brazil. *glances at Braz and shakes his head* He's an enigma. I honestly don't think there's a better word for it. I mean, you sit there and watch him get totally fascinated by these little things- like, I swear, he just sits and watches grass grow and actually finds it interesting, but he's not a boring person. The world fascinates him, and his ability to be fascinated fascinates you, you know? And he does this thing where he'll be the picture of a mature adult one second- an abnormally relaxed adult, oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever met someone that laid-back- and this kid the next. And not in a bad way, either. Like, the wide-eyed at everything, with these stupid grins and puppy tendencies.
And if we're describing Braz, we're not allowed to leave out his capacity for love. He's the kind of person who believes that there's good in everyone, but he's not... naive about it. Like, you punch him and he'll let you, but you punch someone else and you'd better prepare yourself to be ripped to shreds in a way that doesn't involve being physically attacked. But he loves people. It's kind of weird to think about though, because he's always the kid everyone thinks they need to protect, but I swear, you mess with someone he loves, and you won't know what hit you. And in the same breath, he hands out forgiveness like the sun hands out light. Forgive the weird simile.

Silverlock: How did you both meet?

Brazil: Oh gosh. Parker needs to tell this one- it requires a prelude that I wasn't exactly there for.

Parker: *grins* When I was a kid- like, the summer between first and second grade, I think, and Braz was in kindergarten- we had this robin's nest in my backyard, and it only had one egg in it. The bush was low enough that I could reach in and take the egg because, hello, curious seven-year-old. Anyway, I was going to put it back, but my dad told me that I'd touched it and gotten human smell all over, so the mama bird wasn't going to come back. And I felt terrible about it. So I made it his little nest with dried up grass and a doll blanket in an old ice-cream pail and lugged it around for weeks. Neither of my parents or Leanne could convince me it was dead.
So anyway, Braz. My dad took me to the park this one day, after I put up a fight about bringing the bird, and Braz was there. He saw me lugging it around and wanted to know what it was, so I told him, and I told him what happened, and somehow, after I was bawling my eyes out, he convinced me that it was dead. Wasn't my fault, but the baby bird couldn't have lived, and we needed to give it a funeral. A good one. So we did, and after that, he took me to one of the toys and we played pirates or something until I felt better. Hung out for a couple years after that, stopped because- well, I had a lot of family drama going on at the time and it sort of sapped my extroversion out of me. Our last kick started on his fifteenth birthday- I wanted to talk to someone, and for whatever reason decided that I needed to give him a birthday present anyway. And then... this.

Brazil: 'This' is the permanent one though.

Parker: *nods* Definitely the permanent one.

Silverlock: What do you guys like best (or worst) about each other?

Brazil: Toss-up between his determination and the aforementioned nurturing spirit. For best, I mean. One of his most annoying Parker things is this delusion that I'd look good in high heels. He also gets really cranky really fast if he doesn't have a cup of coffee by nine every morning. *rolls eyes*

Parker: *wrinkles nose* Do not. Gosh. Braz, what's my favourite thing about you? I don't think I can make up my mind.

Brazil: That I put up with how absolutely grouchy you are in the morning?

Parker: ... No, that's just a nice bonus. Um. Would it be safe to say the fascination thing? Actually, no, the love thing. ... No-- okay, you know what, Braz is an enigma and my favourite part about him is also a mystery. Shocker. He's just a good human and all the good parts are my favourite. I mean, we could be shallower and go for a favourite physical trait, in which case I'd have to say his eyes and his mouth, because they're so insanely expressive. What I like worst about him is... I dunno, you wouldn't get this from just looking at him, but he's a very impulsive person. Which is actually really fun, I guess, because I'm not as emotionally driven as he is, so I tend to be the wary, uptight one, but Lord when it comes to money. He buys everything and your entire life savings will be gone in literally twenty minutes flat.

Brazil: *nervous chuckle* Yeah... I do that.

Silverlock: If you could be a character in any other book, which one would it be?

Brazil: ... Gandalf. I'd definitely, definitely want to be Gandalf. There's that integrity thing, and the fact that he knows so much and never pretends that he knows all of it. He's kind of my literary hero.

Parker: ... Black Widow. Do comics count? I think they count. But seriously, if there's butt to kick, the girl's kicking it. Plus, she reminds me of my aunty, and my aunty's kind of my role model.

Silverlock: Of course comics count Parker! It's been a pleasure interviewing you boys, I've definitely had a blast!

Brazil: It was awesome being here.

Parker: Ditto. Keep life on the fresher side of things, Silver!

Check out TemporarilyShane's novel: Coffee, Grit, and my Dad's Best Shoes. With lovable characters and a heart warming plot, it's a story you'll find hard to let go of.


Editor's note: This gem of an article was written by the amazing @Silverlock. It's her last article with the Weekly Writer for now, as she's retiring to focus on other priorities. It was supposed to be just a special article for the fan club, but was so awesome we decided to share it here, as well. Best of luck to you, Silver! Thanks for helping out the Weekly Writer with such great articles and taking your time to do these amazing interviews.

The Weekly Writer

YWS's Unofficial Writing-Related Newsletter

Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekly Writer! Before we go further, a shout-out to the cast and crew:



Now onto the articles!

We meet clichés throughout every piece of writing, no matter who wrote it—J.R.R Tolkien, Suzanne Collins, or Yours Truly. They appear in our writing like little tears in our workmanship, small yet important and necessary to mend.

I looked up the definition of cliché in the dictionary:

A trite phrase or expression

What does trite mean?

Used so commonly that the novelty is worn off

So in essence, a cliché is simply “a phrase or expression used so commonly that the novelty is worn off.” So that could apply to many things. One could say that sighing has been used too frequently, and should therefore be excluded from all writing. Or maybe even that simple expressions or words that we use in everyday life should be pulled out because of over usage. Perhaps so.

But I think that nothing is more prominent of a concern than a cliché character, and in this case, the villain.

The definition of villain:

Deliberate scoundrel or criminal

So that gives you a wide viewpoint of villains. It doesn’t necessarily mean that your character is evil. Perhaps they fell into a stroke of bad luck and thought that the only way to dig themselves out was to steal from others. I wouldn’t call that person evil, unless they ventured to deeper crimes, which often case does happen, resulting in a truly evil character.

What is an example of a cliché villain? I will divert to the old standby, the character that has been used so many times throughout recent writing history, repeated over and over, except handed a new name and new power to govern his designated place.

Yes, I am talking about Sauron. Ever since the Lord of the Rings and Sauron, the story of the power hungry villain with an eye involving world domination, that spectrum of villains has been shunned by cliché haters. Not because it doesn’t make a great antagonist, but because it isn’t your baddie.

In my opinion, something is cliché if it isn’t yours. Your own creation. And your characters make most of your writing, so that is what matters most.

So when building a character, make them unique. Make them your person. Even if their goal is to take over the world—which is amazingly evil—then at least make them exceptional in more ways than merely their lust for power. They have more personality than just the stereotypical villain.

They can have quirks, little oddities that set them apart from other villains. They prefer knives to guns for their weapon of choice for some morbid reason. Perhaps the little things matter to them. The life of a little bug on the pavement means the world to them, but they have no respect for human life. Or perhaps…
What if the villain was a woman? That is something that most writers don’t do, and I think it’s because when someone envisions an evil character, they see a dark man, with a gun behind a dark trench coat, etc… But women can be evil, too. Trust me, I know.

Also, to have a good (well, bad) character, you must let your reader into them. Into your character’s soul. You must allow your reader to venture into your character’s mind, until they can see your character. Until they find themselves loving—or in the case of villains, hating—your character, and can’t wait to turn the page in expectation of what lies ahead.

-timmyjake

I read The Hunger Games last year in English class and my teacher went over all of the symbols and themes in the book. I did even further research than what was taught in English class and now I am here about to share with you some of the symbols and themes I found.

*If you have not read the Hunger Games please be warned that there are spoilers in this article*
*Also this is only for the first book, but some of these symbols do apply to the rest of the trilogy*

The Hunger Games takes place in the country of Panem. It's this whole dystopian society built from the ruins of what was once North America. So what does Panem mean?

(It's Latin for bread.)

So the country's name is basically food. Pretty ironic right? Let's dive a little deeper into Panem's meaning....

I stole this from SparkNotes:

similarity of the Hunger Games to the gladiatorial Games of Ancient Rome, it recalls panem et circenses, or “bread and circuses.” The phrase refers to the Roman Caesars’ strategy of quelling public discontent by providing the people with plenty of food and entertainment.

So simply put the Hunger Games is a futuristic gladiator game.

So now lets move on to the main character of the book....

Katniss is this feisty and defiant girl who can move quickly and silently and likes to hunt. Lets tear apart her name for a moment. Kat is equal to cat and niss is the same as ness. So Katniss is actually Catness which means Katniss is a..... CAT!!!! Her personality is as catty as her name isn't it?

Catness, er um, Katniss, wears a mockingjay pin as a token from her district. The mockingjay is a symbol of freedom and rebellion.

I fasten the pin onto my shirt, and with the dark green frabric as a background I can almost imagine the mockingjay flying through the trees. (p42)

It's even a symbol of freedom for Katniss.

Peeta is that cute baker's son that loves to make cakes and gave Katniss those two loaves of bread when her family was struggling. Peeta sounds just like *dramatic pause* PITA! So Peeta is a baker, whose name sounds like bread, and Panem is Latin for bread. Suzanne Collins must really like bread...

*WARNING MAJOR PLOT SPOILER DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER UNLESS YOU WANT THE ENTIRE ENDING TO BE SPOILED*

So as the ending goes, Peeta and Katniss are star-crossed lovers who are willing to kill themselves and commit suicide in order to be with each other. That's pretty much a Romeo and Juliet ending.

So that's all folks! If you want to read more on the symbols and themes click these links:
Shmoop
SparkNotes

Writer Of The week Interview With Jadefox

This week's Writer Of The Week was chosen for her short story skills, and that would be @Jadefox. When the dust had settled from the voting, I got to sit down and talk to her for a little while about the experience!

Messenger: Hey Jadeofx, congratulations on lassoing the Writer Of The Week honor! How surprised were you when you saw it, and how did you respond?

Jadefox: I was completely surprised. I was sitting in Spanish class and casually logged on to check and clear my notifications.When I read that I was voted for WOW, I sort of did an awkward dance at my desk without standing up and an uncontrollable smile spread across my face. Like I replied in the forum, I am so thankful to my followers and friends on YWS that have given me constructive criticism and reviews which have truly made me a better writer. I know there's still room for improvement, but I am grateful for the recognition and know I can only go up from here.

M: That's really neat! I love to hear how everyone responds! I have to assume that doing a dance at your desk was just a tad bit hard to accomplish? How do you think this may affect your writing from now on?

Jf: It don't think it necessarily affects my writing, but my confidence in my writing, that maybe I can be successful with writing someday. I look at like as a push in the right direction.

M: I'm sure it will. I know it would definitely boost my confidence!! Do you have any tips on how you think others may be able to get the WOTW honor? Or just any writing tips or tricks in general, especially for those who write short stories?

Jf: Honestly, just be gracious and polite to your followers and reviewers. It's tough sometimes when you think your story deserves more and that you thought you caught all the mistakes. The thing is, when someone gives you a review, take what they say to heart. They take the time out of their day to sit down and review your story or poem. There's also a good amount of people who love to help you out. I often end up asking friends online and I know personally to review my stories.

Pertaining to actual writing, I take my time on stories. I plan it out, write, then check and double check. My English teacher always says a good writer knows how to revise. This goes beyond grammatical errors! I'm always improving my revising skills and asking help from others has definitely helped me.

Outlining and having a clear idea is a good idea for novels, but sometimes short stories you can just see where it takes you. Don't be concerned if you can't pound it all out in one sitting; take your time and let writer-blocked parts come to you.

A final word of advice, don't get too attached to a piece of writing when you post it online. Sometimes it can be ripped apart and nitpicked more than you wanted. It sometimes takes time to get used to tough criticism, but it usually helps in the long run!

M: Wow, that's a lot of good advice to digest Jade! Thanks for giving me some good things to think about! One of the things I do struggle with is becoming attached to a piece when i publish it, and then it gets shredded way more then I think it deserves. Very wise words. Just keep going and accept the fact that you aren't the greatest writer in the world . . . yet.

Thanks for your time Jade! Enjoy your time as the WOTW!

Jf: Thank you, glad I could help! And good luck!


Well there you have it! This concludes another WOTW Interview. I hope you enjoyed it. Now let's go write!

~Messenger

Employee Of The Month Interview With GoldFlame

This week our dear @Lucrezia decided to change things up a bit and introduce a new, monthly "activity." Employee of the Month!!!!!! Also know as EOTM, our first winner, as decided by Lucrezia, is @GoldFlame! So, I sat down with him and asked him a few questions about his most recent title.

FatCowsSis: Hi GoldFlame! Congrats on being the first ever EOTM!!

GoldFlame: Hey, sis! Thank you!

FCS: Were you expecting to be declared EOTM?

GF: Not at all! It came as a complete shock. I remember clicking on the link, because I was curious as to who it was, and then choking. Didn't expect my name to be there at all. I just nominate and vote like the other active Academy members, and I write for the e-zine, but so do many other people. Wow. I'm still recovering.

FCS: Wow, I guess it was a bit of a shock then. So, do you like the idea of EOTM?

GF: I love it. I think it'll inspire other Academy members to be active and enthusiastic. It'll also gives recognition to those who are.

FCS: That's great to hear! Any tips for EOTM future-to-be members?

GF: I didn't see it coming at all. I suppose it's like FM: don't pour all your focus into taking the position. Just enjoy yourself. Be active, enthusiastic, and energetic. All the better when it's a surprise, as well.

I have no idea how EOTM are selected, but yep, that's my two cents. A huge thanks! EOTM is a really huge honor.

FCS: Thanks for those kind words of wisdom! Congrats again! Enjoy your time as EOTM!

GF: Thank you!

We are so lucky to have GoldFlame as part of our "staff." Great job GoldFlame!

THE WEEKLY WRITER

YWS's Unofficial Writing-Related Newsletter

Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekly Writer! Before we go further, shoutout to the cast and crew:



Now onto the articles!

When our first edition came out, our group of writers was quite small. We where hoping to grow as The Weekly Writer became more popular. In the time since then we have gained a few more writers. But we have also lost quite a few. Mostly due to personal things, these writers could no longer find the time to write for TWW. Some of them are just on a temporary break, while others have left the team for good. So all in all, our team has shrunk since the first edition.

This will be the second time that we have had to publish and edition a few days late, and I haven't even bothered count the times we've had to scramble to get articles the day of.
Because of that it has become obviouse that TWW has a problem. We need more writers. Not only that, but we really need more writers.

This is our cry for help. If you are interested in writing for TWW please send a sample article to @Messenger
The sample article can be about pretty much anything, although it is preferred if it is about something to do with writing (because that is the type of thing that will be published here).

We will probably be needing somewhere around five more writers before we are any where near comfortable. So please, even if you don't think you're good enough, apply anyway. For all you know you could be lying to yourself!


Thanks in advance.
~WW and the rest of The Weekly Writer team.

Timmyjake: When did you begin writing Lord of the Rings?

J.R.R. Tolkien: Oh, that is a hard question to answer. The idea came a long time before the actual book, and it wasn’t the first! I wrote The Silmarillion during World War I and afterwards… It wasn’t until 1938 when I began writing the Lord of the Rings.

Timmyjake: How long did it take you to write The Lord of the Rings?

Tolkien: It was a long journey from beginning to end. Going through World War II and such, but I finally finished The Lord of the Rings in 1949, eleven years after I started.

Timmyjake: Wow. That is a long time to write a single book! That must have taken a lot of patience.
I heard from somewhere that it was initially one book, but was split up when it went to publishing?

Tolkien: Yes, and it’s totally ridiculous! The Lord of the Rings is one book, not a trilogy. But they told me that it needed to be split up into three books. I didn’t even choose the name of the three--Raynor Unwin did!
I still think that it should be one book, and my publishers finally listened to me. Well, somewhat. They published a version of the book to appease me, and even encouraged me to write an appendix and an index for it. So I suppose that I did get what I wanted.

Timmyjake: No offense, sir, but I would have a hard time sitting down to a thousand page book, no matter how amazing. xD
Is it true that the character Aragorn began as a hobbit named Peregrine Took?

Tolkien: I am so glad that I moved away from that idea. The entire series would have suffered if Aragorn had remained a hobbit! He transformed into a man not long after his creation, but it wasn’t until The Return of the King when I changed his name… And I think the book is better because of it.

Timmyjake: What was your initial plan with The Lord of the Rings?

Tolkien: That isn’t something that I talk about too often, but it was a long journey. The book began as merely another story about Hobbits, but it just went out from there, growing into something so much more.
I would love to talk longer, but this keyboard feels strange, and it takes a long time to type. I prefer my old typewriter. And what is this place, anyway? Seems like some weird T.V screen, although it’s too thin.

Timmyjake: Anyway, thanks for giving me some of your time today, Mr. Tolkien. You can take your harp back now and keep playing… Nice halo, by the way.


*This is a fictitious interview. So it never took place, and no, J.R.R. Tolkien did not come back from the dead for the interview. All information is derived from books on him and his work.

-timmyjake

This article is informative on Mary Sue. Not how to avoid writeing her.

Being a writer, I have been told some of my first characters were Mary Sue. Which made me wonder. What is a Mary Sue?

Mary Sue was really brought to life in the 1970’s. (Though the term Mary Sue could’ve been used earlier than that.)

From what I have gathered, Paula Smith wrote A Trekkie’s Tale, because she saw a story with a overpowered female character. And wanted to make a parody about it. (Fun fact: A Trekkie’s Tale was 307 words long.)

“She” is mostly found in the fanfiction universe, used in a parody occasionally, but mostly used as a better version of the author. Though, it is not always a better version.

The Mary Sue is: Funny, smart, gorgeous, loved by all, best of luck, unflawed. Though not all Mary Sue’s are like this. Some have more traits, some have fewer.

Some characters are called Anti Sue, they are so underpowered it is painful to read. These characters traits are usually: Hated by all, bad life, abused, bullied, ugly, few/or no friends, parents die. Those are some of the traits of the Anti Sue. Though, if your character is like that, it doesn't technically mean your character is an Anti Sue.

Now, we have Sue's showing up in non fanfiction stories. "She" is usually introduced put in odd situation, and then overcomes it in the next chapter. Now having a character overcoming a problem is not bad, in fact it makes the reader quite happy! But doing having "her" save the day every single chapter is not fun. In fact it gets boring after a bit. I personally like characters failing, but that is my opinion.

magpie wrote: A joyride for the author, not for the reader.

As I said before, I had a character who was a “Mary Sue”. She could jump through dimensions and change her appearance at will. I was told that she was too powerful, and I should give her a rest, so I did.

Why is that important?

Often having your character called a Mary Sue silences some authors. Making it so they can’t pick up the pen and write another character. Or, they can’t look at the same character the same again.

Some of us are too quick to judge characters, by just seeing what they do in the first chapter, and then labeling the hero a Mary Sue.