Nina Guilbeau Tells It (Creating Characters) Like It Is

Nina Guilbeau has several novels under her belt (which already makes me envious, since I'm slogging along with a NaNoGoneBaddo from a couple of years ago). She was generous enough to do this guest post for me. When I read her bio on Amazon, I realized she and I have something in common: we both have stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers and Daughters.


Please read what she has to say about creating characters... and I'm going back to that Chicken Soup collection and check out Nina's memoir story. (I'm hoping a smidgen of her success will rub off on me as I'm working on my manuscript.) To find out more about Nina, go to ninaguilbeau.com

Character Inspirations   by Nina Guilbeau

Authors are often asked about the origins of their fictional stories or characters. I personally believe that our imaginative writings are always a little autobiographical in nature. Not in the literal telling of our life’s story, but from our individual perspective of life and the people who have crossed our paths. Ideas for stories and characters can come from our daydreams, night dreams or nightmares. They can come from our present life, old memories or our new visions of “the what ifs” and the “why nots?” Some say there aren’t really any original stories, only original storytellers. However, to be original in any way means we must pull from within to give the outside world something new and personalized.

 

In my novel God Doesn’t Love Us All the Same, the beginnings of Vera, the old homeless woman, were similar to my grandmother’s. They were both of mixed-race, born around the same time and both of their fathers drowned before they were born. However, the rest of Vera’s story was inspired by my perspective of the strength, determination and sacrifices that develop through motherhood. Was she a successful character? The answer to that questions lies with the individual reader. However, for those who were moved by or related to Vera’s fictional tale (enough to write me), I have to believe she was a successful character for them. So, the answer to the frequently asked question about character inspirations isn’t just about where the inspirations originate, but it’s also about how to use inspirations to define the characters. Here are a few tips to help shape or create new fictional characters:

Write from your feelings – Emotions that have become fused with the character’s personality, such as anger or sadness, need to be authentic. The most successful way to do this is to write from personal, true feelings. That may mean dredging up old memories, but the end result will be felt through the pages. If it’s difficult to relate to what your character is feeling, it’s okay to put your story on the shelf for a while. Just keep coming back to it until it feels right.

Focus on one character trait – Sometimes important characters originate from people you know in real life. Concentrate on the one detail in their personality or behavior that intrigues you. Use only that one behavior and build the rest of your character’s personality around it. That allows your imagination to continuously create new characters and not recycle personalities into different stories because they originate from the same general source.

Develop a back story -Depending on the type of story, one dimensional characters can get old fast. An antagonist meant to be disliked is sometimes devoid of any redeeming qualities. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons why the character is such an awful person. The reasons don’t have to be relatable or of any consequence to the outcome of the story, but exploring them from a writer’s perspective can help sharpen the overall character development and create interest for the reader.

 

Pull from your dreams – Keeping a notepad by your bed is cliché, but it’s still not a bad idea. Waking from a dream with a fresh perspective for a story or character can be priceless if you’re able to capture it. Try to note why the character seemed interesting and not just a visual description or list of details. This helps later when the visual image and details begin to fade.



God Doesn't Love Us All the Same  by Nina Guilbeau


Janine Harris never really thought about homeless people. She barely even notices them as she passes them by on her way to work in downtown Washington D.C. All Janine can focus on is the shambles of her own young life, afraid that she will never be able to get past the painful mistakes she has made. However, all of that changes on a snowy evening in December when Janine unexpectedly finds herself alone with Vera, an old, homeless woman who seems to need her help. Now Janie wants to know what could have possibly happened to Vera to leave her so broken and alone.

As Vera shares her life story with Janine, the two women form an unusual bond and begin a journey that changes both of their lives forever. Reluctantly, they each confront their own past and, in the process, discover the true meaning of sacrifice, family and love. Although to truly move forward in their lives, they must fast the most difficult challenge of all – forgiving themselves.


NINA GUILBEAU is the Siblings Editor for BellaOnline The Voice of Women and writes weekly family articles for online magazines. Her e-book, Birth Order and Parenting, is a popular pick with students studying the Alfred Adler birth order theory.

She is a member of the Florida Writer's Association and the author of women's fiction novels Too Many Sisters and Too Many Secrets. A winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award, Nina's work has been published in the short story anthologies From Our Family to Yours and Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers and Daughters. An excerpt from upcoming novel Being Non-Famous was published in the Orlando Sentinel as a Father's Day tribute.

  

The End of Freedom

        A post by Lisa Ricard Claro brought back a flood of childhood memories. She wrote of the crazy things that kids used to do (and surprisingly more of them weren't maimed or permanently scarred) compared to the overprotected kids of today.

      When I was a kid, the world was a different place. In the summer I ran the neighborhood all day. I crossed railroad tracks and explored creeks and rode on buses to a local outdoor mall where I waded in the fountains and imagined what furniture I would buy when I was grown up. I spent all day there when my friend and I went, and we spent no money except at lunch: a soupcon of French onion soup and a fountain coke. I played in my friends' backyard until the fireflies came, making clover necklaces and playing Red Rover.

     I also went to the pool--by myself. I got there when they opened and left in time so I could get home for dinner.

This is a picture of the Carrollton Pool before it was completely destroyed.
In fact, the whole community was destroyed for the airport expansion...which really never happened.






We went to the neighborhood IGA and when my brother and I were old enough, we were allowed to walk by ourselves (probably a 30-minute trip) to get a loaf of bread or something else that two kids couldn't mangle too badly.

This was our IGA store. There was a little "movie theater" --a tiny booth that sat two or four kids--at the front of the store. In the same strip mall was a Ben Franklin--a magnet for kids with a few nickels to spend on penny candy...



On Halloween this year we had exactly one family come to our door. Sad. I remember running to houses, my pillowcase in hand and when it got so full it slowed me down, I ran home, emptied it, and continued my quest for chocolate. (What were those things wrapped in the orange and the black paper? I always threw them away.)


My childhood home is gone. The whole neighborhood is now a deer park. With the houses gone, the driveways have disappeared and the large expanses of grass have attracted deer.

The craziest thing I did as a kid was wish for a broken arm or leg. The next summer, I ended up falling off the high diving board--I went under the guard rail somehow--and when most of me landed in the pool but part of me landed on the concrete, I ended up with a broken arm. It was not fun. (I ended up with a dozen plastic iced-tea spoons broken off in that cast as I tried to scratch the unreachable itch.)

What is the craziest thing you ever did as a kid?

NaNoWriMoCrocIt

       Linda O'Connell came up with the winning name. Her prize?  A vial of James Patterson's toe jam (certified, for certain). Lucky, lucky Linda.

     Her creative name is a nod to my favorite brand of shoes (only the ones that can be hosed off. Those fancy, frou-frou fleece-lined Crocs are an ugly smear on haut couture). It's also a nod to Miami Vice, an incredibly inane television show that so many of us watched--so many decades ago.

      I've decided to do NaNoWriMo this year, but since I am not starting from scratch and since there is no way in not-heaven I will add 50,000 more words to what I have so far, I needed a name. Maverick...Rebel... (which is what I was last year)...NaNoWriMoDoDo (that was another of my favorites).

      Renee Roberson told me to eat all the mashed potatoes I want. She also suggested I do NaNo, set a goal and broadcast it so I can't weasel out of it deftly sidestep it. 


     Okay. Pass the potatoes, and take a gander at my goal--15,000 words during the month of November. I figure that word count is better than a trickle of ink... and without the prod and prompting of NaNoWriMo, a pathetic trickle might be all I get.

     That's around 500 words a day. I'm hoping that's do-able.

                              "The Proclaimers" singing "500 Miles."
                              It's from one of my favorite movies--
                              "Benny and Joon."


       

Fierceness

      Sunday, I went with a group of women to a winery. Strangely, none in our group drank wine; we slurped up several bottles of sparkling grape juice, dipped up lots of hummus, nibbled on crackers and laughed and talked and chuckled.

This is the view we drank in all day...

In the foreground, you can see the flourishing vineyard...


We all met at one friend's house. Since I was the first one there, I had some time to sit and think and write. Although it's still quite rough, I jotted down these lines:

Women...
What is it?

When a gathering of women--
fierce women--
occurs,
the earth's axis
shifts a little
(in a crazy, Thelma and Louise way).

Onlookers hold their breath
and try to hold their tongues 
(in an attempt to still
the disapproving clucking).

Still others hold
their hands over their ears
as the women
laugh
and 
snort
and bandy around
bawdy talk.

Women...
What is it?

I wouldn't have it
any other way... 

What do you do when you carve out some time with your friends?

When to NOT Follow the Rules

      Anyone who knows me knows I am a strict rule-follower. For example, when I wrote an underground newspaper in 7th grade, it corresponded with this rule:

* Middle-schoolers are a crazy bunch and must rail against the system.

    I am also known far and wide for my adherence to fashion rules. Oh, Oscar de la Renta, before he died, swooned (and often fainted, he was so aghast) over my fashion choices. The rule I stick to:


* Crocs are appropriate in every situation. A black tie event? Black Crocs, of course.


    Here comes the sticky wicket when it comes to rule-following. NaNoWriMo is coming up, and there is no way in not-heaven (as Val is fond of saying) that I want to start another project. I don't have another novel novel idea in me. The well in me has run dry when it comes to that long of a fictional project.


    However, I do have a NaNo from cough*cough*cough (several years ago--more than two coughs, Cathy C. Hall). Last year, I scrapped the whole thing and started--more or less--from scratch. It's been slow slogging, and now I have 20,000 words on the page (and lots of mashed potatoes under my belt).

Here is a picture of my original NaNoWriMo novel. It will be lining my guinea pig cage...whenever I get a guinea pig.

     I was a NaNoWriMo participant last year, and the other writers in my writing critique group (the WWWPs) called ourselves NaNoWriMo Rebels. We adored many of the components, but--for the most part--were not strictly adhering to the rules.


     Should I be a rebel again? I know I can't keep up with the word count (I teach third grade and it's a brutal year, workload-wise) but I benefit from the nudge prod electric cattle prod that NaNo provides. There are write-ins that I've enjoyed participating in. 

      I figure that however I can add to my word count, I should do it. But what do I call myself, since I was a NaNoWriMo Rebel last year? I need a new name on a new badge to pin onto myself, since it's a new year for NaNo.

      Any suggestions?

All He Wanted Was Some Wheat Toast

       I went to The Write Direction writing conference in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday. It was hosted by Columbia's chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild. I went to several great sessions, but on today's post, I'm focusing in on a dialogue workshop led by Terry Allen.

     We looked at some screenplays that had been rewritten. In the clip (above) from the movie Five Easy Pieces, the Nicholson character really wanted some wheat toast. The earlier version of the script had wheat toast buried in the middle of the dialogue line--in several dialogue lines. It was revised to end with "wheat toast" each time.

* Put what is most important at the end or at the beginning. The weakest part of the dialogue line is in the middle.

However, if you have a character that is weak (lacks confidence, for example), have them say the most important part in the middle of their line.

    Think about it. If Rhett Butler had said, "My dear, I don't give a damn, and I'm telling you as frankly as I possibly can," that doesn't have the same impact as the line he does hurl at Scarlett.

     When your character is talking, as a writer, you should be very clear what each character wants, even if they're not openly sharing that with others.

Every character should want something... even if it's only a glass of water.
                                                                      ---Kurt Vonnegut

* Why would a character ask directly for what they want? Why wouldn't they?

       Consider the text and the subtext. What is getting in the way of a character getting what they want? What are they willing to do in order to get what they want?

* What is not said has huge meaning.

       Here is a bit of dialogue I was composing for you am bluffing you with:

"I love these cookies. They remind me of the cookies my mother baked, but of course, she's been dead since I was thirteen, when she died in a fiery car crash caused by a man who was stalking her. I really shouldn't eat so many of these cookies, because my verbally abusive husband will denigrate me when I get home, but of course I cannot control my eating because I've got an addictive personality. It used to be booze...then it was meth. Now, it's mashed potatoes, which I gobble by the bowlful to comfort myself after giving birth to conjoined twins a year ago," Maggie said sobbingly.

* Don't use dialogue as an information dump.

                          and

* If you feel the need to explain how a character is saying something, the dialogue is not strong enough. Avoid taglines.

      And make sure each character has a distinct voice. Consider their word choice, choice of phrases and sentence structure. Each of the characters should not sound like a carbon copy of you. (This is something I struggle with.)

* Let go. Let the characters speak through you. Not as you.


       
      What are some dialogue lines from movies, television shows, books or your own writing that is memorable? Stealin' Sioux wants to know...