#One step closer to the Finish

Today I wrote the last sentence in my novel 'Lews Canon'. It is not the final title. Now begins the job of editing and finding a fitting title.

The novel turned out to be 74,800 words long. I usually write longer novels, but I didn't want this one to be too long. Apparently, readers don't want long novels. So this amount of words seems just right.

I'm happy with how it turned out. When I start a new novel, I never know where it will lead me. It was the same with this one. But once I was about two-thirds into the story suddenly a foreseeable ending appeared and I knew where I was headed and I had a pretty good idea how it would end. Even though, while writing, new ideas popped into my head and they helped to round it out and to make it as it stands now.

I'm not going to rush with the editing. I'll take my time. Now I have to read it first to find inconsistencies and stuff like that. After that comes the search for spelling errors, awkward sentences, making sure all the names are spelled correctly every time they are mentioned.

Once I have a title comes the fun of finding and designing a nice cover.

I'm not sure yet if I will publish with Amazon or Smashwords. Neither of them have done much for me in the selling department of my last books. I'll have to look into how I will market the novel, also. I have a few ideas, but I don't want to spend much money. Money I may never recover.

#Writing a novel, part 9

 A sample of the history of a character

This is the history and character sheet for Lews Canon. He is the main character in the book I’m currently writing.

Lews Bullseye Canon, P.I.  (Sometimes he uses an alias: Mark Conelli).

41 years old in 2013. (Born in 1972).

Ex-Cop. (from 1994 to 2006). Then worked as an investigator for another agency (Delta Investigations) (from 2006 until 2008. Then he opened up his own agency). Canon Detective Agency. No job too big or too small. Call....

5ft 11 inches tall.

One blue eye and one brown eye. (Courtesy of his grandfather).

            Father: Bigg Canon. 71 (1942). 5feet 3 inches tall, in elevator shoes, is as skinny as a third world refugee and has a head as bald and big as a cannon ball.

            Mother: Mathilda Canon (ne: Turner). (1944 – 2009. Age: 65)

            Grandfather: Bullseye Canon. (1918 - 1993 at age of 75.

            Grandmother: Mary Canon (ne: Petrowich) (1923 – 1995 at age of 72)

            Brother: Bigg Colt Canon. 1967 – 1992 at age of 25) Car accident.

1988: Lews makes his driver’s license at age 16

1989: Lews buys his firs car: a 1983 VW.

1990: Lews joins the Military

1991: Lews is deployed in Kuwait 

1993: Lews leaves the Military

1993: Lews goes to the Police Academy

1994: Lews becomes a cop

1995: Lews marries Mary-Ann Kilbride (She’s 20 years old)

1997: He traded in his VW and bought a 1994 Toyota Camry.

2006: Lews quits the police force and gets a job with Delta Investigations Inc.

2007: Mary-Ann divorces Lews. She blames his drinking. She marries her attorney.

2008: Lews starts his own detective agency

2010: His Camry is stolen (16 years old).

2011: Nelda starts to work for Lews

            Lews meets Sonya McKinnon, a divorced woman.

2012: Lews makes Nelda his partner

Now he drives a 1993 Cadillac. Got as payment for a job in 2010

He lives in an apartment.

Character traits:

Athletic. Friendly. Good sense of humor. Honest. Committed to his job. A little too good-hearted sometimes. Loves women but can’t commit himself. Doesn’t like guns. Never carries one. Has a bit of a drinking problem.

Note: This history developed as I wrote the story. In the beginning I had nothing but his name, and I changed that later. Right now I’m about half-way into the story. A few things will be added and possibly even changed. This list is just a guideline and not written in stone.

Here is a link to how author Kay Kenyon handles a Character Sketch.

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2014/01/26/tori-harding-a-victorian-heroine/?goback=.gde_2025159_member_5833305446009556995#!

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 8

 Using a character sheet

What is a character sheet and what does it look like? Well, a character sheet is a list of the characters appearing in a story. It contains the names and other information of all or a few of the players. When I start with a new story, I may not have a character sheet, but once I have my protagonist and I begin to know him/her a little bit better, I will start my sheet.

I’ll write down the name, his/her appearance, and any information I think is important to know. I may even write a bit of a background. The list may contain names of family members, relatives, and friends. In the beginning the list may be short, but as I get to know the person behind the name, the list becomes longer and longer.

How long a list is, depends on the importance of the character. A minor player may only have a name and a brief description of his/her appearance. Possibly a short history; and that isn’t even for certain.

Here is a list of things a character sheet may contain:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Title: Economic status (rich/poor):

Location:

Birthplace (Date of birth):

Occupation:

Name of company if self-employed:

Name of employer (company):

Former job:  

Color of Skin:

Nationality:

Height:

Weight:

Eye color:

Hair color:

Length and style of hair:

Bald:

Glasses/contact lenses:

Beard or moustache:

Scars:

Tattoos:

Other outstanding features:

Languages spoken:

Education:

Sexual orientation:

Marital Status:

Name, age, occupation of husband/wife (if dead how and when?)

Names and age of children: (alive and/or dead):

Name of father (alive or dead?):

Name of mother (alive or dead?):

Maiden name of mother:

Grandparents from father’s side: (alive or dead?):

Grandparents from mother’s side: (alive or dead?)

Special people in his/her life:

Zodiac sign:

Religion:

Hobbies:

Manner of dress: (e.g. hat, coat, shoes/boots, jeans)

Manner of speaking and acting:

Special abilities and skills:

Problems: (e.g. alcohol, drugs, smoking, sexual):

Special memories:

This list is not written in stone. You can add anything else that may seem important. Or you can leave things out if they are not needed.

Next time: What a brief history of a character may look like.

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 7

How to find names for characters

How important are names? I’m talking about the names of characters, especially the main character.

For the main character you want a name that awakens feelings of trust and empathy in the reader. You want the reader to identify with the main character. A man needs a strong name and a woman a soft name. A name should also be easy to read and easy to remember. Don’t use a name like Fernando Esperanto Garlokkini Tweedlewood as you main character; not even as any character, unless you write a comedy.

You probably snickered when you read that name. Believe me, I’ve seen similar names, especially in SciFi or Fantasy novels. Some of them were impossible to read, never mind trying to remember them. I’ve seen names with numbers and letters, names with barely a consonant in them, names as long as a whole sentence. I’m sure the writer did not even bother sounding them out. First of all there is no way even the writer can spell a name like that the same throughout the novel. I know I can’t.

So avoid long names, cute names, and names that sound too foreign. Readers don’t want to stumble over them every time they come up. Also, do sound them out. In one my short stories I was looking for the name of a star system. I made one up Arsol. It looked cool, but needles to say after sounding it out I did not use it.

For my trilogy ‘Web of conspiracy’ I named the main character Jeff Chartrand. The name is short, strong, easy to spell and easy to remember. For the secondary characters I used names like Spencer, Stoneman, Sheppard etc. Chartrand partner’s name, a woman, is called Maxine Montana. He calls her ‘Max’. There is a reason for that.

Even in my Science Fiction novels, where I can be liberal with the names, I try to keep them simple. I can’t name aliens with Earth names, but I don’t make them difficult to spell or read. I used names like Sheera, Norgana, and Spreeh. Easy to write and read.

How do I come up with names like that? I use different methods. I may take a regular name like Sheena and change one letter: Sheera. Morgan become Norgana. Harry may end up as Serrie. Or I may drop the h from Sherry and make ie out of the y at the end. Two different approaches. The main idea is to keep it simple. Don’t make Sherry into S5harriiiy2 just because it looks exotic and alien. You’ll forget how you spelled it the third time you’ll write it and I’ll challenge you to pronounce it.

Even with regular names it may become confusing. I keep a printed sheet with the names and background of all my characters beside me when I write. I update the sheet as I add new names and new details about the characters.

Of course, like with anything in life, there are exceptions to the rule. In the book I’m currently writing, I’m using cute names deliberately. That’s because the book is written in a somewhat humorous tone. The main Character, a detective, is called Lews Bullseye Canon. His partner, a woman, is Tusnelda. (I apologize to any woman by the name Tusnelda). I knew a girl once in my childhood by that name, but the character in my book isn’t modeled after her. Anyway, Tusnelda doesn’t like her name and she calls herself ‘Nelda’. I have names like Brandon Brandon in there and Frederick Titman. I would never use names like that in my regular novels.

Conclusion: If you write in English, stick with English sounding names. Refrain from using too many foreign names. In fact the other day I checked for Chinese names and I discovered that Peter, Harry, John, and other English names are quite popular in China.

Many times I use a telephone book to find names for my characters.

More next time