Into A Special Forces Character

Posted on 05/08/2012 by n2n

As I was coming up with an idea for a story, I paired the lead female with a military man with a lost soul. But I didn’t want him to be the typical mentally unstable person, I wanted him to be someone who is aware enough to be on a search for the meaning of his existence.

The thought of a soldier with skills and characters brought me to the world of Special Forces. My knowledge about it came from TV and movies, obviously a crash course is needed.

Since I had no interest in anything war related (though I do admire people in the forces), I started with short romance stories about special ops fighters. I did enjoy the stories but those didn’t show me how these special soldier are made or what traits would get them selected and trained.

Then I found One Rough Man by Brad Taylor. The hero, Pike Logan, is a man with characters and brain.

He, too, like the lead male in my story, was lost for a while after he lost his wife and daughter. I see in Pike, someone who is physically agile and mentally flexible, coming up with ideas when all seems impossible. Though he usually has a plan to begin with. That tells me, he is smart, smart enough to never become arrogant.

As I was reading that, I picked up Inside Delta Force by Eric L. Haney. Being one of the first Delta Force members, he described through his own experience how an Delta operator is selected and train. He told his story with great skill of words, I learned that it also takes someone with wisdom and unusual presence of mind to become a Delta operator. I think I would have enjoyed Pike Logan’s story much more if I had finished this first.

One other thing. I realized I usually read books by female writers. Reading these books is helping me finding the voice of the hero in my story. Can’t have a special force guy sounding like a girl, can we?

The character is still taking shape in my mind but I’m sure he would be someone I can trust, love, and admire, whatever imperfections he might have.

Debunking Classic Writing Myths by William Kenower

Posted on 04/13/2012 by n2n

You’ve been clicking away on the keyboard or leaving legible ink on paper but you keep hearing (from inside your head or from people around you) “writing is hard”, William Kenower says differently.

I had a chance to hear his talk on myths of writing, it was illuminating. As he spoke, I checked against my own experiences. Here is what I learned.

I’m most definitely a writer. I would write even if I won’t make money from doing it.

I was writing someone else’s book. Since last November, I’ve been trying to write a romance/sci-fi novel but I stopped completely in mid-January. At first, I thought that was because my heroine didn’t have a clear motive. Now I know I shouldn’t be writing romance since I will never love romance as much as mystery.

When I’m writing, I’m almost always writing. I seldom hear my inner critic when I write, especially during the first draft. I always know I’m in the zone when the world around me simply fades into the background. When I’m stuck usually it’s because the story feels wrong not that I feel wrong. Though I do get frustrated when English gets in my way.

At the end, William Kenower said not to be afraid of the publishers, they need good books to put out there, they want to love what we write.

He said things I’ve never heard from other writers or writing materials. I am glad to know someone out there also believes writing is not hard.

Joy of Writing Is Not Enough

Posted on 03/25/2012 by n2n

“Isn’t the fun in the writing enough? Why do you dream about having fans?”

joy of writing is not enough She asked as I talked about the bio I wrote for my first assignment in “Shape, Write, and Sell Your Novel” (Offered by Long Ridge Writers Group).

“I want to share those fantastic worlds I created with people. It’d be too lonely to be the only one living in those worlds,” I said without having the time to consider more. After we parted, I thought about it some more. A better response I think would be to compare it with cooking.

I love to cook, not only for the process of making steam rolls or flans, the experiments I did to hit that perfect spot. I am the happiest when I see the first bite of my creation sends the taster to another dimension.

And like cooking, what will send me over the moon is to witness readers get transported into the pages, oblivious to the going ons around them, much like the state I am in when I write.

Am I seeking for approval? If my stores are real-life tales about my life, perhaps. But “my stores”, to me means the fictional places, people, and happenings I used to bring readers out of their usual realm and all without the danger of time or space travel at high speed.

So, I’ll say it again. Joy of writing is not good enough, good stories (by anyone) are best shared.

The Agency 3: The Traitor in the Tunnel by YS Lee

Posted on 03/21/2012 by n2n

Did you know New York and San Francisco are not the only cities with Chinese populations in 19 century? If I didn’t read The Agency trilogy, I’d never know there were sailors in London during the Victorian Era.

It was a time when being a Chinese is not a good thing, being Chinese, Irish and parent-less made it impossible for the main character Mary Quinn to survive. But with help from two amazing ladies she was saved and thrived.

YS Lee not only gave us a view of the upstair/downstair at the time, she gave us powerful and smart female characters who find ways to use their disadvantage into something incredible.

I like the series not only because the idea is original, YS Lee writes only what’s needed, I was never tempted to skip a paragraph. This is what I value the most as a person who reads as a writer.

The last Agency book not only sped up the pace compare to the previous two volumes, it shows how Mary finally came into her own after what she went through in the book. Mary like everyone could have choose to sink into darkness but she choose to not only stay strong, she wants to live doing what she love to do.

We all do, as Mary, have choices, it all depends on what you decide to see.

Although The Agency series has ended, I hope to follow Mary into her new phase of life which I’m sure will still be a thrill a minute.

Tell Me. What Could He Be Thinking?

Posted on 01/16/2012 by n2n

Though part of writing a romance novel is to create fantasy, I still want the male lead to be someone we might know in real life. In my pursuit of understanding men (much easier to accept as a writer, not a girlfriend/wife), I read No More Mr. Nice Guy! and found examples of men who are not yet ready for a healthy relationships.

In What Could He Be Thinking? by Michael Gurian, he opened my eyes to things men do that seem strange and sometimes even illogical to women. Here are a few things that jumped out at me.

A marriage ends when both:

lost their compassion for the other’s pain
no longer have the knowledge of the other’s nature

That is sad to me because 1 tells me that they no longer to care for each other and 2 tells me they are married to a stranger. How did any couples get to this point from being close enough to get married? I cringe at the thought of it.

A man feels by DOING.

I guess that’s why they try to fix women’s problems instead of listening. The author suggests for the ladies to have a group of girlfriends to talk things out. This makes total sense to me. I think most women would appreciate a man who takes action than the one who doesn’t. Besides, by talking his ears off, he might not hear your request for him to jump into action for your sake.

Male Mode of Feeling

Delayed emotion reaction.
Years ago, I asked my then boyfriend a serious question, he didn’t react. I thought he was ignoring me. After a few days, he answered and explained he needed time to consider his response because he didn’t want to take it lightly. So, I’d say this is true. Give him time to think is a really good tip.
Respond to emotion by being physical.
When he’s emotional, he might go for a run, take a drive, or can’t stay put.
Masking emotion while processing emotion.
- leave me along – needing time to recover
- let’s fight – become dominating
- it’s nothing to worry about – recalling amplifies the hurt. This should go for women as well. If all we do is retelling the same issue and not making any changes, what we are doing is the carving a deep groove into the pain we already feel. And still no actual improvement in the end.

I’m only half way through the book but I am already a bit more confident in writing more complete male characters.

No More Mr. Nice Guy!

Posted on 12/16/2011 by n2n

A character has just arrived on the scene in a story I’m writing. He seems like a all around good guy who is liked by both men and woman. In a conversation with the leading lady, he reveals that he, as he is now, didn’t come easy. He was a Mr. Nice Guy who never says no to his girlfriends but they left him anyway.

I had to stop writing at that point. What is it about him that he allowed himself to be treated that way?

A friend mentioned the possibility of childhood trauma and suggested that he only got better after finding a new hobby or sport to develop his self-confidence. While I agree with his view, I needed to learn more about Mr. Nice Guy before I can complete the backstory of this character.

No More Mr. Nice Guy! by Dr. Robert A. Glover explained the making of a Mr. Nice Guy.

As it turned out, Mr. Nice Guys do and say nice things with strings attached, however unconscious their actions may be. They never voice their needs or wants, thinking that’s a sign of weakness. Mr. Nice Guy lives in a fantasy that by doing everything “right”, their life will be problem free and his needs will magically be fulfilled. Then he suggested ways to transform from being a Mr. Nice Guy to being a Mr. Real Guy.

The funny thing is, I can see a bit of myself in Mr. Nice Guy as well.

I’ve always pride myself as a “low maintenance” woman. Now I know I’m also a Mr. Nice Guy. We think having a need makes us bad. So, while we appear to have no needs, we were only denying that part of ourselves. It’s ironic that this behavior also kills the opportunity to receive love and kindness from others.

As I read on, I found more traits that I share with Mr. Nice Guy.

Avoid new situations / Stay with the familiar
Give what I want to give instead what’s needed
Try harder to fix an old issue but use the same ineffective method (which Einstein defined as insanity, how fitting!)

I am pretty sure I’ve grown enough to repeat that last two patterns. Now I just need the courage to move away from my comfort zone.

No More Mr. Nice Guy! not only helped me create a character who had “lived”, I also gain some insight into my own unhealthy thinking and belief.

So to all the Mr. Nice Guy and Miss. Nice Gal, accept your imperfect self and you shall prosper!

The Reluctant Metrosexual

Posted on 12/15/2011 by n2n

While browsing in the Men-Psychology section on the library shelf to research for a story I’m writing, I found The Reluctant Metrosexual by Peter Hyman.

I pulled it off because I was curious to see if a metrosexual man thinks like the fashion challenged men. I read the first few pages and found his writing funny. Of course the situation he was in was already weird but I don’t think anyone can paint the picture as well as he did.

In the chapter about being unemployed and attached to a successful woman, he wrote about his mistake and about being “a typical man” by doing hair brain things to deplete her love and support. Here is my favorite quote in this chapter:

… you realize that you are now poor, jobless, and heartbroken (three states of being that, taken together, create a Doppler effect known as the “Triple Crown of Unemployment Loserhood”).

According to his web site, he is married with children now. He must have learned from his mistakes. I can’t wait to read about what other painful lessons he had to endure before he won the heart of his wife.

Out of Ink

Posted on 11/25/2011 by n2n

O, oh, I’m running out of ink.
The ink trail is fading fast.

Don’t die yet,
let me finish this heated conversation.

Ah, thank you for your service.
I’m so proud to have finished you off.
The end of you may not spell a bestselling book.

But, to me,
writing a pen out of it’s ink
is the best proof of my perseverance.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be taking it on with another pen.
I’ll not give up until I see the ink trail runs dry again.

A Method Writer

Posted on 11/21/2011 by n2n

cups with heart shape handle I think I may be a method writer.
Writing a rom-com (or least trying to).
Don’t remember what it’s like to be in love.

So, what does a writer to do?

Listen to love songs,
Watch silly movies,
Psych oneself into a pseudo-romance.

Don’t worry, I know it’s only real on paper.

Seems to work so far,
Hope this lasts,
until the last period.

A Design for Creativity

Posted on 11/15/2011 by n2n

creative juicer hand stitched notebooks My last post on the book 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman was on happiness. This time I was inspired by the chapter on creativity.

For this notebook called, the creative juicer, I combined two of his suggestions.

Using the color green and a repetitive pattern with one altered element. Both have been scientifically proven to increase creativity.

So, I made these to take with me everywhere. And whenever I need to get my creative juice pumping, all I have to do is first think of the problem at hand then glance at the front cover of my Creative Juicer.

Vuala! That’s all it takes.

Like to have your very own creative juicer? Leave me a note and I’ll be in touch.

Needs to Note

Quests to Satisfy My Curiosity, Metaphysical and Otherwise