Monthly Archives: June 2013

Writing Life: Characters in Fiction

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee
© by Raymond Alexander Kukkee     [caption id="attachment_1624" align="aligncenter" width="584"]Characters drive both shadows and light... Characters drive fiction in  shadows and light...[/caption]

Characters in Fiction are Essential

"In writing fiction, characters drive everything  --plot, action, direction, reflections, flashbacks, natural selection --and in some cases  doing so, eliminate, break or stretch rules, inhibitions, morals and logic. The author is merely the messenger. "

Characters in fiction are the backbone

With careful analysis, it is easy to see that characters are the backbone of any novel or short story. The writer merely has to ensure a few ribs, arms, hands and legs --and a brain--become attached for display purposes to bring them to life.  Characters drive both shadows and light in any story,-- in fact characters  drive other characters, and  passion in all of it's forms. Unusual characters add incredible value to perhaps otherwise mundane content. Carry on, write as your characters in fiction direct.  To not tell the story your characters wish told  may be hypocrisy,  less than honest, or perhaps, in the extreme,  even unethical.  Be brave.  Your readers will not kill the messenger, although a work of fiction may not seem agreeable,  with a premise disliked or misunderstood completely, some individuals may be outraged, indignant, and unforgiving. "Some" being the key. Others will passionately enjoy your story line, your premise, and  your characters, either loving or hating them--but at the very least, understanding them.  The point is, they touch the mind of the reader --which is the name of the game.   Bottom line, as an author, be fearless; be unrepentant; be true to your characters--and most importantly,  be true to yourself as a writer. #   Is that Incoming I hear? Photo by author #
Posted in Crafts and skills, Ethics, Publishing, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Writing Life: Discover a Treasure

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee
© 2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee   On the middle of the floor there was an open treasure chest and with two horrible trolls sitting

What do You write about?  Discover a treasure.

The mind deludes and fantasizes;  the eye deceives.  On a daily basis writers come to wonder what to write about, how  we may discover something new, anything that may be fascinating.   Surroundings in reality may be mundane,  even dull.    We may be tempted to introduce the unorthodox or outrageous in an atmosphere that is serene.  We may  introduce fantasy and excitement into the ordinary, magically create the  unusual,  and  pretend to see what is spectacular myth.  I'm not really a troll-believer or a fantasy writer.  The muse suggests we search for  the gem instead; discover a treasure,  that special something that may be just outside the box when the writing mind balks. The dreaded writer's block enters the fray. Which form of writing do you consider worthy of your time? Fiction, poetry, screenplays, or short stories?  No matter--choose and enjoy. Discover a treasure within the mind. Where in life should the effort of everyday writing  be concentrated? I wish to officially savour a process;  the investigation, a correlation and assembly of fact and fantasy.  I  take pride in organizing diverse subject matter with relish. In the writer mind, disconnected facts easily  leap gaps of time, logic, and comprehension. It is late spring, not fall. The garden is planted. No colored leaves, dappled sunlight on red apples among them, but it can be if we make it so. Let us allow distraction for a moment.   Let us create time and place, and discover a treasure. Wide-eyed kids giggle and happily check out what first may appear to be a line of dull, ordinary vendors at a country fair,  music,  tools, tractors, vegetable displays. Horses and chickens, pigs and peacocks. Antique, brightly painted motors run; old iron,  the smell of burning oil, wood-carving clubs demonstrating proud carvings of elephants, swans and moose.  Little old ladies knit but eat hot dogs,  ice cream, smile and nod at passing candied apples  and elephant ears, floppy pastries white with dusty icing sugar. Chatter rises and subsides with the music....  We write about country fairs with relish, after all,  the main course was imagination, wasn't it? Wait. Wait....think....maybe I know more trolls than I thought.  They terrify fair maidens in castles.  Trolls guard the drawbridge --and a fabulous treasure chest, the air is cold and damp down in the dungeon. Water drips,  it works on the mind...a skeleton slumps from manacles on cold stone, death  in chains. When will they come?

See what happens? Distraction.  Disconnection.

Place yourself in any location, at any time. On a skateboard out of control, on a Harley, the open road, or climbing a volcano on the Ring of Fire.  The unexpected must be expected; the unknown is required to encourage the mind to work. Curiosity, temptation, experience;  all push exploration of the mind. Stretch the limits, ignore comfort zones, and discover a treasure.  Plead insanity. Sneak past the trolls. [caption id="attachment_1613" align="aligncenter" width="800"]The Hoxne Hoard -Treasure Chest The Hoxne Hoard -        Discover a treasure...[/caption]   Interestingly, how valuable your treasure becomes depends on what is done with the jewels and coin when the rusty lock is broken. The treasure chest of the mind is opened. The treasure is in sight--spring or not. I should have stayed at the fair. My chains rattle.  They are coming...the mind deludes and fantasizes; the eye deceives.... # Is that Incoming I hear? Photo credit 1     Artist  John Bauer 1910 2     Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). +
Posted in Life, Reflections, The Human Mind, The Unknown, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments