Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

The Impossible Task

I seem to set myself the impossible task when writing many of my stories. My main character is either a wallflower, a loner, or totally deaf. Socializing is easy if everybody is more or less normal, but when you throw a tailspin in there, writing can get interesting. So tell me, what is your tailspin?

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Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on May 24, 2011 at 4:23am

First of all, it's great you started a new discussion!!! What I have found in reading is, many writers use the same characters with different names, which is understandable. I know, when writing, one can be moving so fast that we loss sight. Character defects. I mean really, are we all perfect!!! Nor are our characters. Tailspinning characters, to me means, not to make them perfect. However, I might be looking at yoiur question the wrong way. If you're talking about story, I write mystery, the story has too have many tailspins. I believe, not only to leave each chapter hanging, but also each paragraph and sometimes each sentence. Keep the reader guessing, Always!!!There's a word publishers don't like (Always). Great topic...

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on May 24, 2011 at 5:35am

The little imperfections found in people can be fun to toy with, whether they were a mere scar to a mental disability carefully hidden behind the perfect face. I get a kick out of torturing my characters, poor things. Thanks for the comment Robert.

Permalink Reply by Sally Pomeroy on May 24, 2011 at 6:58pm

I love "tailspin" to describe the difficulties we give ourselves, and our characters. I'm about to try it in our next novel, and I guess the tailspin would be 'conflicted feelings'. He's back in his hometown after leaving and maturing, and now has to face conflicted emotions about an old girlfriend and his relationship with his father. This in a lighthearted, Hollywood style action adventure comedy. I think I'm going to have to have a very light touch.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on May 24, 2011 at 7:11pm

Awesome Sally. Sounds like fun.

Permalink Reply by Peg Robarchek on August 7, 2011 at 8:36pm

Great question, Anna. Back in the day when I taught fiction writing, I would suggest that the best stories grow out of situations in which the character is horribly mismatched to the challenges s/he will face. For example, how much more intriguing might it be if Woody Allen were thrown into a situation where he had to use his physical prowess to save the world instead of throwing Sylvester Stallone into that situation one more time? Also, that gives my characters a chance to grow & change through the course of the story, which I feel makes for more compelling reading, as well.

And like Robert, I am drawn to deeply flawed characters. In the book I'm finishing up now, the main character is bi-polar and has an on-again, off-again relationship with the truth. As she says in the first chapter, her life is so far in the toilet the Roto-Rooter man couldn't help her. I love the fun of seeing if I can evolve a character like that into the "hero" of a story.

Love this discussion. Thanks again.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on August 8, 2011 at 5:47am

Ooh - that sounds interesting. I bet she gets into all kinds of trouble.

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