How Reality TV Has Helped My Writing

One of the questions authors get asked all the time is, “Where does the inspiration for your characters come from?”

This is actually a two part question because they could be referring to either the character’s personality type/character traits or the actual appearance/physical look of a character.

In my case, the inspiration for both personality and appearance a lot of times comes from—believe it or not—reality TV.

The main show I watch that produces the inspiration is of course The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. I write romance so what better source, right? Some people may say, Why do you even watch such an awful show? It’s all fake, you know.

I’m not naïve. I know reality TV isn’t really reality. But I don’t believe it is all fake. Do the producers hand pick contestants that they know will cause the most drama? Absolutely. Do they create situations to intentionally cause drama? Absolutely. Do they look for contestants with clashing personalities in order to stir up drama? Absolutely. And you know why?

Because no one would watch the show if it wasn’t orchestrated that way! Reality is boring (at times). So in order to keep the viewers hooked they have to amp up the drama.

But this is precisely why this show gives me so many ideas for characters. These people have big personalities, glaring faults, clash with other contestants who have different personalities, worldviews, backgrounds, and character traits and this is precisely what I need to develop interesting, relatable characters.

Not all of my characters are based off reality stars, however. As far as just the physical appearance, sometimes—like many other authors—I picture my characters to look like a famous person, movie star, athlete, etc. But it just so happens that the book I’m plotting for now, the physical inspiration for my two main characters has come from the TV show The Bachelor.

TV isn’t the only place I glean inspiration from for characters though. Another favorite place is, of course, my real life! The people I know!

For example, one of my upcoming book ideas has a character who is inspired by a past coworker.

So be very careful…or you might just end up in one of my novels.

And you won’t necessarily be the good guy either J

When Secondary Characters Demand Their Own Story

This past April I finished the first draft of my third book in my yet-to-be-named series. For quite some time I’ve had an idea for a fourth book in this series and have gone back and forth about whether or not to pursue this idea for my 2015 NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) project in November. I figured I’d have to go forward with that idea as my one other book idea has been slow coming in the plotting stage and I don't have enough for a full book yet. So for now that project is on the back burner.

However, I have a problem with going forward with the fourth book in my Pennie series for a couple of reasons (I call it that as it has yet to be named and since my female protagonist is named Pennie, that has become the default temporary name). The first reason is that this story requires a lot of research and since research happens to be my least favorite thing about writing, I’d rather put it off. But the second reason, and probably the stronger of the two, is that I’m not even sure I want to write this story.

Simply put, I’m not sure I want to put my characters through the plot I’ve developed in my head. After spending years with these characters and growing very attached to them, it’s tempting to simply leave the story as is, sit back, and let them live happily ever after.

But that’s not how life goes. And since my writing philosophy is to produce as real of a story as possible with flawed, relatable characters, I’m leaning towards the idea that this story needs to be told. My characters need to go through the valleys in order to truly appreciate the mountain peaks. I’m just not quite ready to put them through that.

Fortunately, in the last book I wrote, one of my secondary characters developed such a strong personality with glaring flaws, it was as if he was demanding his own story. The plot quickly developed and before I knew it, I had my story for this year’s upcoming NaNo. So as a branch off from my current series, I’ll be working with a new male and female protagonist.

I’m looking forward to working with these characters. And with the male protagonist an arrogant, tactless, no-filter-on-his-mouth type of guy, things are bound to get interesting.

Anyone is capable of growth and change. But first you must recognize your need. And who better to point that out than a strong, independent woman who steals your heart and makes you realize maybe you aren’t as perfect as you thought you were.

Is it November yet? J

The Fatal Flaw of NaNoWriMo

Last November I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the first time. On November 1, online participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel, for seasoned writers who simply need a little accountability for meeting a deadline, and for anyone else in between.

Despite multiple distractions including my brother’s wedding as well as the sudden loss of a dear friend, I managed to complete my goal of writing 50,000 words during the month of November. This was by far my biggest accomplishment in such a short period of time when it comes to writing. I have a very hard time staying disciplined and don’t usually keep a consistent word count going. Life simply gets in the way and no matter how much I love putting words to the page, I don’t always make it a priority. But having a daily word count goal and that large goal of meeting the 50,000 words at the end of the month was more motivating that I could have imaged. I loved the experience, reveled in the feeling of victory after meeting my goal, but soon I realized a fatal flaw in how NaNoWriMo is set up.

While 50,000 words is a large amount and a challenge for most writers to accomplish in one month, it is not enough to complete a full length novel. The length of novels varies by genres and authors, but the average novel runs around 90,000 words. So in all actuality, unless you go above and beyond the goal word count of 50,000 words, which some do, you don’t actually write a novel in a month.

Which is exactly what happened in my case…

I reached my word count goal, I accomplished what I’d set out to do, but my novel wasn’t finished.

I actually started NaNoWriMo already about 20,000 words into my novel. With the month of November completing the 50,000 words this put me at about 70,000 words. Looking at where I was in my story I realized I had about another 10,000 to 20,000 words to go in order to finish the book…

Which I didn’t accomplish until April of this year. I had lost steam and it took several months to refocus enough that I could finish the draft.

So this year, I need a new strategy. I’ve considered several options including increasing my word count for the month of November, as many do, some completing their 50,000 words in the first weekend. But this seems nothing short of insane for the amount of time I can allow myself to devote to writing. Not to mention I’m a slow writer even when it is only the first draft. (I literally must repeat over and over in my head, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s only a first draft). Another option would be starting the novel early as I did this past year, though not intentionally. I simply hadn’t decided to participate in NaNoWriMo until I had already started the first draft of my next book. My third option I’ve thought about is giving myself the goal of continuing the daily word count goal through December in order to complete the draft by the end of the calendar year. This would have its own challenges as for most, December is a very hectic time of the year.

I haven’t hammered out my plan just yet, but I do know I plan to participate in NaNoWritMo this November for the second time. But this time, my goal isn’t to write 50,000 words. It’s to complete a full first draft.

How It Began

My 4 a.m. epiphany did not come while lying awake unable to sleep. I was awake because it was my job to be.

At that point in my life I was working at a treatment facility for adolescent boys and while they were sleeping my main job - aside from a small amount of paperwork and light cleaning - was to stay awake. During a 10 or 12 hour shift, TV got old after awhile and even I couldn't read for that long night after night. So I started wondering what I could do to occupy the time which would be both productive and something I enjoyed.

I noticed that the other employee I worked with most often worked on a book she was writing. I admitted to having a love of writing and had even written 3 books when I was a child filling up 1 spiral notebook after another. I loved it! At the time I couldn't seem to write fast enough with the stories that filled my head. But somehow I got away from it. I told my coworker I used to write but hadn't done so in years (besides journaling). Then she told me I should pick it up again even suggesting I pick up one of my old books and work on it again. To this suggestion I thought, Are you crazy? I was 11 or 12 when I wrote those. They are so bad! Stories filled with he said, she said, and a lot of bad description.

But the suggestion sank deep because before I knew it I was reworking that original story I wrote using the same general setting, characters, and plot and realized this story had been in my head for years reworking itself though I hadn't realized. And so I began writing again. Those long nights turned into what seemed like very short hours pouring over my story wondering why I had gone so long ignoring my passion. I let those thoughts of it's not good enough win. But not anymore. I spent the next several months writing nearly every day until, because of the economy,  the facility I worked for closed and I lost my job. Though devastating I used the opportunity to plunge full time into school once again and pursue my dream of being able to work from home. I still wrote but I had to divide my time. Just over a year later I landed, what I like to call my dream job, as a medical transcriptionist working out of my home.

I have worked as a transcriptionist now for over a year, and though I love my job, it has affected my writing. Working full time at any job along with the normal every day responsibilities of life really cuts into your writing time. So I am learning to adjust. I take suggestions from those who have even more on their plate than I do and still find time to write. I cut things out of my life that aren't as important. I try to be organized and practice good time management techniques. It's a struggle but it's worth it.

And I am thankful for those long quiet nights when the rest of the world was asleep giving my mind the chance to be creative, to dig deep, and to put thoughts into words and words on paper. Because I am a writer. I may never be published, but I've learned I'm still a writer. I write because it's my passion. I write to get the stories out of my head. I write because it's this driving force that won't leave me alone. I write because I can't not write.