Characters

The creation and development of characters have been on my mind today. I wrote two articles this morning, "Finding Your Characters" and "Motivating Your Characters". I'll have to determine where to send them. I'm sticking to online markets for many of my articles and will post here as they get out and accepted.

I know I said I would go through how I come up with my characters and so I will do so now....

Some characters come to me in dreams, some just jump off of the page and say "here I am!", and others take a little work.

In TKQ, Dagan took some work. I'm female and so it's easier for me to connect with the female mind. Taun came first, naturally. Just out of the blue. A little girl who was her father's joy. Loved and torn from her family at a young age. Her story was the first I wrote and I admit I had a torturous time getting it out. There were so many issues she went through and I wasn't sure how to get them on paper. My husband took a shot and helped me figure out where I had a good start for her and he helped me get the writing to make sense even.

I know, not everyone has a spouse to help and I was lucky he did. I knew Taun for many years, but didn't know how to start her story for the reader. I had forty pages of notes. Once I realized I needed to start at the mine, I started writing. The first words that came to my mind for that scene was "I go... I go... I go... He don't hurt me now." That wasn't Taun. That was a young boy from nowhere who I pictured her watching. That young boy doesn't exist except for that one scene, but his speech remains a focal point for Taun throughout the novel.

Later, after I had her start, the storyline let me know this wasn't a part for one main character, but two. And that's where Dagan came in. I didn't have him in mind for many years like I had Taun. From Taun's quest, grew Dagan's character and he became her equal. It was tough. I hadn't been used to writing from a male pov before. After many trials, I believe I got him right though.

Truthfully, the first character of all for the world of South Reach, which TKQ takes place in, was Druid Mage Kerix. Only he was the Druid Salsa. Don't ask me why, but he refused for over a year to let go of that name. Finally, after many words worth and references to tacos by my critters, he relented and told me his true name was Kerix. Seems he had a strange sense of humor.

Oriel was an interesting character. I just pictured this young woman sleeping in the forest, resting her head on a great forest cat's belly. The two were best friends and bonded. I tackled the question of how did she become friends with this forest cat ... why was she in the woods and what would make her be alone enough to partner up with a wild animal like that. The novel's story grew from her backstory.

I took on a writing contest about writing a story revolving around music in some form. I imagined music being the pull for a person to follow. I needed a person to follow the music. And that's how the character, Terra, came into existence.

For me, usually the story comes from the character. I get the character first and then the story. But once in awhile the story comes first and then the character emerges.

Making the jump finally

Well, I've started sending agent queries out for TKQ. It took me quite awhile to decide whether or not I wanted to go with an agent. In the end, I determined that if I wanted to work multiple projects, it might be a good idea to have someone else handling the business end of it for me.

I've been a bit overwhelmed by the copywriting side of the business. Not with jobs, mind you, but with keeping my head on straight and having the motivation to properly wade through the mess of start up, stepping out of my comfort zone, and the mass of life stress that's being thrown at me right now.

Plus we're having the flu make its rounds through the household. Hasn't stopped me from working. Doing a lot of fiction revisions right now and setting up some article topics. But I have postponed any personal meetings I wanted to set up until next week. Not very professional to ask for a business meeting when you're coughing and look like 'death warmed over.'

Myst Online: Uru Live

I've been pretty busy working on the non-fiction work and the book manuscript. But this post has been on my mind for a long time. I've been mulling over how to write it and post it here - because it does stay on topic for writing, since I'm thinking about it as a writer.

Gametap decided to not publish Myst Online Uru Live again this year. A huge mistake. But understandable. I don't have the knowledge of how the gaming business works and contracts and such, so please bear that in mind as you read this. I do have a rudimentary understanding of the circumstances.

Years ago, Rand Miller wrote three novels. He then took those novels and built the Myst games through his gaming company, now called Cyan Worlds, Inc. His games became forerunners in the gaming industry. It grew to five games on disc for the pc. Great storylines. Non-violent. And they promoted learning about a new culture, new language, etc.

Eventually Ubisoft decided to help publish the game online for multi-player format. The players were huge fans of the game. But in the end, there weren't enough players to make the dollars add up and they cancelled it. With Cyan's help, the players created an environment to hold online and stay in contact. Those were the most die-hard players.

Then last year, Gametap agreed to publish it as Myst Online Uru Live. And it really grew. This is where I got involved. My first experience with online gaming. And perfect. It was storyline driven, although slow due to the time consumed by actual game development. They updated the game regularly, adding more stuff for us to do and find and learn. You're able to play at your own pace, by yourself or with others, as you see fit. It's suitable for all ages and whole families did join the game.

It promoted togetherness, belief in one's self and hope that not all in this world is built upon violence.

But, sadly, this world is so warped, that it's violence that sells. And Gametap had to pull it from their listings. I’m not mad at Gametap for having to go by the numbers, but I'm disappointed and unwilling to believe in them as a gaming port for me. I would have loved to find out that they worked out a way to keep such a valuable game online. The other family games out there are just cheezy.

Cyan keeps the game on their own servers. But word is that Gametap evidently still holds the rights to the game, denying Cyan the ability to keep the game online for the passionate fans. They are in negotiations to try to allow Cyan to see if they can keep the game going - it depends on Gametap's willingness to release those rights and Cyan's employee status. My feelings about Gametap will be on hold until the decision is made. If they act like a corporate giant intent on destroying all competition by withholding rights, then my view towards them will be extremely negative.

But my feelings on this as a writer is for Rand Miller. This must be bittersweet for him because the Myst story is his baby and it still has so much potential for growth. To have your novel expand to the online universe and develop such a devoted, fierce fan base must be very energizing. And then to have the opportunity to keep it going yanked from you, when it's your creation, no matter what contracts say, must be frustrating. I know the last few months have been very stressful for many with Cyan Worlds, Inc., and I hope something is resolved soon.

The players have not given up - not the ones devoted to the game, rather than just getting a service from someone. The non-devoted ones have pretty much left. The game is up until April 4th, and many of us are hanging on, hoping that Rand figures something out before then.

But many of us are also prepared for if things are out of his control. The one group I started with about six months ago on a player created storyline are continuing our work. We're building the story and the game components on our own. Many others are doing so with their groups. For a peek at what they are doing, go to http://www.mystonline.com and look at the forum. There are number who are talented in codework, as well as the creation, and are looking at holding the servers themselves if they need to until something permanent can be achieved.

For us passionate fans of Rand Miller's world, we will hold on and further the work on our own, if need be. I can only dream of creating such a loved storyline with my own novels.