|
Ruby Release: Intrusion!
 Posted by Cynthia Justlin Oct 25 2011, 12:01 am in Ruby Release
Then something weird happened to me as I was writing my first romantic suspense, Her Own Best Enemy. See, I needed a best bud for my hero, Keith—a throwaway character that would come on screen for a couple of scenes and then quietly fade into the background. Cameron Scott leapt onto the page, during a tense scene between Keith and Grace and took over. He broke their stalemate with a quirky sense of humor that came out of nowhere. And when I pushed him into the background, he refused to stay there. I tried to ignore him at first, because, well, I’m just not funny. And Cam…is. He’s got these great one-liners that come out of nowhere and I’ve never been able to put together a one-liner in my life. Trust me on this, I even polled my husband, and his response was, “No, not funny. Not even close.” So, how could I even contemplate writing a hero whose voice was completely different than mine? Not only did I contemplate but somehow I found the courage to jump in and let Cam loose. The more he joked, the more I realized his jokes were really just a mask for his pain—both physical and emotional—and it was his sense of humor that allowed the heroine, Audra, to open up to him. INTRUSION was my 2009 Golden Heart finaling book, and one of the most fun stories to write. Every day I sat down at my computer, Cam managed to surprise me. And I loved that. Especially because he was absolutely nothing like me. So not that I’ve confessed, I expect you to do the same. Have you always believed your characters were real, flesh and blood people, with minds of their own? Or did a character have to take you by surprise to make a believer out of you? Cynthia Justlin is an author of action adventure romantic suspense. Her newest book, INTRUSION, is now available at Amazon and B&N. For more about Cynthia, check out her website. Share:
              
Comments
42 Responses to “Ruby Release: Intrusion!”Leave a Reply |
The Latest Posts
archives
tags
2010 RWA conference
2011 finalists
2012 finalists
author interview
bestseller
characterization
contest judging
craft
digital press
ebook
Free-For-All Friday
golden heart
golden heart finalists
guest author
handling criticism
historical romance
hooks
inspiration
Kelly Fitzpatrick
liz talley
Make It Golden
motivation
muse
nano
Networking
new releases
perseverance
research
rita
romance community
Ruby Release
rwa
submission tips
taking risks
tamara hogan
TV/movies
Unsinkables
Winter Writing Festival
writer's advice
writer's journey
writer's life
writing contests
writing romance
writing tips
writing tools
feeds
|
Wonderful post, Cynthia, and CONGRATS!!!!!! What a fantastic cover and it just sounds awesome.
I have been surprised by my character’s actions as well. I’ve even had to have a good talking to with a couple. They can be like children, wanting their own way, their moment in the sun. I figure it’s my job to wrangle that in and shape him or her as I need them to be shaped. But sometimes, just like with children, that is not always easy. lol
Thanks, Darynda!
Equating characters to children is a great analogy.
I’m not generally a control freak, so I don’t know why I try to be that when when I write. This book taught me it’s more fun to just know what my characters need to learn and then let them go about learning it however they need to. It makes the journey a little more interesting.
Enjoy the day Cynthia! Can’t wait to read it.
And FYI all my heroes have a sense of humor. Jokes are a coping mechanism, for men especially.
Thanks, Kelly! And it’s no surprise that all your heroes have a sense of humor. Because you are SO funny (and I totally mean that in a good way!). But for someone like me whose strength does not lie in humor, it was very cool to have a hero’s whose does. I guess that’s just one more way I get to live vicariously through my characters!
Hi, Cynthia! Congrats on your new release! Cam sounds like a wonderfully layered, complicated guy–I’m excited to get to read his story!
I’ll confess that I’m still in the I-control-my-characters mindset, but it’s possible that my resistance to the other way of seeing it is just a question of semantics. I resist saying “my characters wouldn’t let me do that,” but frequently think things like “I couldn’t make myself write something that felt out of character for them.” Is that just a tuh-MAY-toh/toh-MAH-toh thing?
But I have never had the experience you describe of having a character surprise me. For me, the whole story happens because of the things my characters have been suffering over in my head since I first got the idea, so it feels like I’m taking them where they need to go, even though they will be miserable for most of the ride.
All the more reason why I look forward to “meeting” Cam on the page! He sounds like a force to be reckoned with.
Hi Sally! It’s so nice to see you on the blog!
You make a good point with the “my characters wouldn’t let me” versus “I can’t write something out of character for them.” I think it boils down to the same thing, but sometimes it’s more fun to picture our hero leaning against a wall, arms crossed over his chest, refusing to do something.
I think what was most surprising for me was that Cam sounds nothing like me and I always figured that my voice would be present somewhere in his POV. Maybe it is. But it’s got to be buried somewhere deep, because I never knew where the things he said came from!
That’s so interesting about not knowing where Cam’s voice was coming from–that must have been so much fun to write!! Also, wall-leaning, arm-folding image? *sigh* Yes, I can see how that could be much more fun than methodical character sketching…
This put me in mind of the movie Nim’s Island. The heroine is goaded by the hero she writes into her own adventure. He keeps showing up and pushing her out of her agoraphobic comfort zone. (Having Gerard Butler play both the book hero and Nim’s father is a nice touch, too.)
Loved that movie, Gwyn! Yeah, the fact that Gerard Butler is in it probably has something to do with that!
I haven’t seen that yet, but you and Cynthia have me sold on the idea of characters with their own ideas about what should happen next. Also, I can seriously relate to the need to be pushed out of my comfort zone (gently!) once in a while. I’ll have to check it out–thanks for the tip!
Only after I’ve written them do I tend to feel that they’re real. That creates the problem that I am reluctant to steal characters from old books, even if I love them. They already belong somewhere else.
I did have one character who ran away from me — I guess they all sometimes do that! I like it when they’re so strong that I can barely contain them. I like it when they begin leading ME, rather than the other way around.
So…I guess this means I do think of them as real, even when I’m writing them!
I feel the same way, Jamie! I’ve never been able to take characters out of a book and rewrite them a different story. Probably why I have a couple of manuscripts with characters that I love that I’ve never gotten around to rewriting.
And for some reason I love the visual of your character running away from you!
…and congratulations!
And thanks!
Congratulations, Cynthia, on your newest release! Yep, my characters are very real to me. I actually quoted one of my quirky minor characters the other day when a friend asked for advice. Weird, huh? Again, woohoo on the shiny new book!
How fun that you quoted your character! I love that. It just goes to show how invested we become in them.
Thanks!
Congratulations, Cynthia! That cover is absolutely gorgeous.
My perspective on characters who have minds of their own, or who take me in an unexpected direction, is much like Darynda’s. I have to decide how to shape and control this behavior. I see such events as a sign from my subconscious that there may be story possibilities that I haven’t yet discovered or assessed.
You’re right. It’s important to step back and see why we’re feeling that a direction isn’t right. I’ve recently been reading 90-Day-Novel by Alan Watt, and the book is all about holding the plot loosely and exploring the directions you’re being led to take. He believes the story is in you and you have to let it breathe so it can be told the way it’s supposed to. Very interesting stuff.
I’m so glad you discovered the “life” in your characters! Yes, it can be annoying when they try to take the reins, but it’s also so fun to have them be real enough to do so.
My characters have always had a bit of a dictatorial spirit. It’s led me down some dead-end paths and required extensive rewrites, but they are who they are. I am simply their mouthpiece, the person they use to reveal themselves to the world. Yes, I must guide and corral them to some degree, and the children of my mind can be as demanding as those to whom I gave physical birth, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Congrats on the new release, doll. Cam sound wonderful!
I think one of the reasons I’ve been resistant to letting my characters lead is because I loathe having to backtrack and rewrite. But I’m finally realizing that letting characters have room to surprise me doesn’t mean having to pants my way through the book. It just means giving them enough free rein to explore different directions.
Congratulations on another new release, Cynthia! I love a wise-cracking hero.
I kind of agree with both statements – both that I am in control of them and they are outside of me, if that makes sense. They start out in me and the more I write, the more outside of me they seem to become, so by the end of the book I talk about them like they are real people – and then I feel like an idiot every time I say something like “I love Jo!” because I have to remind myself that I made her up.
And yeah, in real life, I’m not funny either.
Seriously? Because you totally seem like the kind of girl who would be throwing out wise cracks on a regular basis.
And I like how you say that you’re in control of your characters and yet they are outside of you. It *does* make a ton of sense!
Congratulations on the new release, Cynthia!! Boy, does Cameron Scott sound like my kind of hero. I love guys with a sense of humor, and the fact that there are depths to him where pain lurks. Sounds like a great book!
Thanks, Anne-Marie! I love a good tortured hero. They’re my favorite to write. But until INTRUSION, I’d wrote one who relies on humor to pretend he’s okay.
I love the opportunity we have as writers to explore all different kinds of personalities!
Intrusion looks delicious! Congratulations, Cynthia! And thanks for giving us non-funny people hope that there is a chance we can be funny on paper!
Thanks so much, Miranda! And, yes! There is hope for the non-funny people of the world! LOL.
Oh, oh, love this cover, love the idea of a character taking over (so understand this!). When things settle down I’m gonna grab it!
Thanks, Diana! Take care of yourself! That’s an order.
Congratulations on the release of Intrusion, Cynthia! I’ve got to read this book because I love heroes with a sense of humour. Your cover’s fabulous, too.
I do have some awkward moments when characters want to take over the whole show. I’ve learned to let them have their way because they do know their own minds!
Thanks, Vanessa! So cool that you have strong willed characters! Mine tend to be quiet and stubborn, but every once in awhile I’ll get one who’s not afraid to give me a piece of his mind–like Cam!
Woot! Congratulations. Geeorgeeous cover!
Lordy yes! My main characters live here and secondary ones come and hang out. I’ve actually bought a shirt for a hero. I was giving a secondary character some hero traits when the heroine had other ideas. Now he’s a scumbag. One heroine has odd taste in food. A favorite is a thick slice of deli bologna smeared with peanut butter wrapped around a dill pickle. I tried it. You know those videos of babies tasting pickles for the first time-that was me. Last month I went to brunch with a friend. I stopped and turned in the parking lot. My friend asked who I was looking for. I realized it was a character I was writing about. Eeep!
Great Post!!!!!
LOL! That is too funny, Rita! Thanks for sharing.
I had to learn this the hard way too but having two daughters that were actors helped. Listening to them and their friends discuss character back story and development, for various plays was so helpful. I wrote about it on the Carina authors Here Be Magic blog recently, in fact. I have had a character try to take over the entire story when it wasn’t his, as other people have mentioned. Nice thought that this is a sign there are more story possibilities waiting! Great post, thanks!
Thanks for stopping by, Veronica! Great point about the whole actor frame of mind. I think when you understand that process it does really help with understanding our characters. Hope your character gets a chance at his own story some day! He obviously wants you to tell it.
Cynthia:
Congrats on the release – happy book birthday!!!
Cam sounds like a wonderful hero – I’m so looking forward to reading this book!!!
Addison
PS
I LOVE your cover!
Thank you, Addison! I’m quite in love with my cover too!
Woohoo! Another Rubie book. Congrats on the release, Cyn. I can’t wait to read Cameron story.
And yes, my characters grap the steering wheel all the time. Sometimes they really take me for a ride. It’s fun.
Thanks, Autumn! I love the driving analogy! Spot on.
I’m afraid I’m like you (big shock). I’ve always controlled my characters. Until now. Remeber when I emailed you and said, “Lucas just did four things in a row that I wasn’t expecting”? I felt stupid just typing that. But it was totally true! I’m hoping that means he’ll be a great hero like Cam, because Cam is awesome. He makes me laugh every time I reread Intrusion.
I haven’t had a character take over yet…but I have had to learn to stop forcing certain actions on my characters that they would never, ever actually engage in. That would be the plotter in me: I think, “Well, the next thing I need to have happen is this. Hey character, go do it.”
But whenever I make a character do something…well, out of character, the scene doesn’t feel right. And the story doesn’t flow as I move away from that scene. Everything gets stuck.
Over the last few years, I’ve tried to pay a lot more attention to my characters, trying to listen to them instead of railroading them. I still have to remind myself to listen–it’s like they’re speaking in whispers–but it is getting easier. Maybe someday they’ll shout at me. I think I’d like that.
Big congrats on your release, Cynthia! The cover is fabulous (as is the title) and Cameron definitely sounds like my kind of hero. Can’t wait to read it!
Congrats on the release, Cynthia!!! Can’t wait to read it!
I LOVE the idea that this hero with a great sense of humor has sprung from your subconscious…. yes, our brains are much deeper and more complex than we realize.
Many, many happy sales!!