Fiction Thursday: "The End"

I had a professor in college who never gave 100% on papers. She told her students this on the first day of class, and explained that the reason is because she believes there is always room for improvement, and a score of 100% means the assignment is the best it can be.

I understand her logic (not sure yet if I agree with it). And this is something that plagues many writers: when, if ever, is something its best? When are you done writing it? And I don't mean "done" as in "the story arc is complete". I mean "done" as in "there is nothing else that can be done to this story to improve it".

There have been many times I've written something, edited it, and been happy with the result. And when I go back to read the "finished" product, I find myself scrambling for a pen to make more changes.

Maybe those changes really did need to be made. Maybe I'm too critical of my own work. Either way, there are many pieces I've written that, even after they were out of my hands, I didn't feel they were done.

Part of me thinks it's because creative writing is so subjective. It's not like mathematics in which solving for x means you're done. In creative writing, different people have different opinions, and there's always someone who has suggestions for improvement.

So how do you know when you can let go of a piece and start working on something else?

A friend of mine told me she considered herself done when she read through the piece three times without making significant changes. (I'm not sure what her definition of "significant" is, either.) Someone else I know says he's done when the piece has been submitted. (How he knows when to submit is beyond me.)

What about you? When do you feel you can be done with a piece? What criteria do you have for the transition between editing and submission?

Fiction Thursday: Creating New Characters

Now that I have Bean, I've been thinking a lot about how amazing it is to have new life around. I love seeing him grow and change every day, and being such a major part of his life.

Having Bean has also got me to thinking about the creation of characters in fiction.

Writers can be very protective of their characters. It's understandable; you create a person from nothing, direct his or her actions, and then send that person out into the world to connect with other people. It's not unlike raising a child, really, although with fictional characters, you have quite a bit more control over the end result.

There is a big difference between raising a child and creating a character, though. Well, besides the obvious.

With a child, you are witness to the development, involved in it, but acting more as a shepherd. Your job is to give your child the tools to make good decisions, then let him or her make the decisions, good or bad, and love the child no matter what decisions are made. You influence your child, but ultimately, he or she is separate from you.

With a character, on the other hand, you create a fully-formed individual (particularly if your character is an adult). There is no guidance, or giving him or her tools to make decisions. Every single aspect of a characters life is crafted by the author. From looks to personality to character flaws to clothing "choices". Everything is created and carefully chosen. With characters, there's no need to worry about how they'll "turn out," because it's up to you as the writer.

I have created characters, and I'm in the beginning stages of raising a child. I think it's too early to tell which is easier.

Fiction Thursday: Inspiration

Kell over at The Fang Marked Writer has a post about music as inspiration up today. Music is a common source of writerly inspiration, but other things can be inspirational, too. Many writers like to be out in nature or to wander in art galleries and museums.

However, writers can be an odd bunch, and seek inspiration in "unusual" places sometimes. Dana of En Tequila Es Verdad has been known to go outside for a smoke, for example. Another writer friend of mine dusts her living room. Still another takes a long shower.

Sometimes when I need inspiration, I make myself a cup of hot tea. (Earl Grey is best for me!) The tea is relaxing and lets my mind wander a bit, and usually by the time I'm rinsing out my cup, I'm ready to get back to whatever I was working on (or trying to, at least).

So I'm curious as to what inspires you that others might find "odd." Is it a particular food or drink? Watching a television show? Doig a handstand? What is that gets your creative flow going?

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