What Really Makes A Character Strong?

I’ve seen some posts recently about what it takes to craft a strong character. Specifically, strong female characters. Probably the best stated post about this subject comes from Chuck Wendig over at Terrible Minds. (Go ahead and read his post, then come back here).

What I love about Chuck’s strong character theory is that the key is agency. Strong characters have to have it. Don't know what agency is? Check out his post Just What The Humping Heck Is Character Agency Anyway.

I agree that agency is vitally important in the characters we build. Stories are flat without characters who can enact change in their world. We mortals can relate to characters in stories who have doubt or fear but we look up to characters who choose to act in spite of that fear and doubt. It’s the action that makes a hero.

For me, what makes a character ‘strong’ is their decision to act. It’s what the character faces and chooses to overcome that makes them strong. At least for me.

Some of my favorite ‘strong’ characters in TV:

· Mindy from The Mindy Project – Sure it’s a comedy but Mindy chooses to move forward and chase the things that are important to her (even the silly things). Her choice to follow her dreams is what makes her strong.

· Felicity from Arrow – I’m always drawn to ‘normal’ people in ‘super hero’ shows/movies because their ‘normalness’ makes their choice to act more powerful. Felicity is that powerful normalness. The quiet hero.

· Tara from Sons of Anarchy – She faces horrible circumstances and what she does with those circumstances makes her strong. She's not strong all the time, which I think makes her more interesting. Example, Season 1 Tara would never have said 'I don't need a boy to handle my shit.' She has growth throughout the story which makes her one strong cookie.

· Daryl, Maggie, Glen, and many more from the Walking Dead – I love this show (even though I haven't kept up on the last season). There are so many different strengths to see in this show it's impossible to pick just one fave (but if you made me pick I'd choose Daryl, of course).


Some of my favorite ‘strong’ characters in recent reads:

· Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – a Romance!! Yes, characters in romance novels can be strong. Lola is strong. She chooses to follow her heart – even when that choice means pain.

· Maggie from the International School series by Chanel Cleeton – Maggie travels oversees for school and chooses to have the time of her life. Her choices lead her into some challenging and steamy situations.

· Ava from the After the Rain by Renee Carlino – Ava is haunted by personal tragedies but she chooses to grow and live. It's her choice to bravely love herself again that makes her a strong character.

· Anna from the Sweet trilogy by Wendy Higgins – She faces enormous pressure (internal and external) from both sides (evil and good) and what she chooses to do in the face of that pressure is what makes her strong.

Those characters stand out as 'strong' for me. What do you think?
How would you define a ‘strong’ character? Share your favorite strong characters from books/tv/film here.

How I Keep My Workspace Healthy

I came across this cool coworking company called WeWork. They focus on providing healthy and productive office spaces and I was inspired to share how I stay healthy at work!

Being a writer means spending a lot of time BIC, HOK (Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard). Heck, my Day Job (DJ) requires 8+ hrs a day BIC, HOK and I spend another 1.5-3 hrs a day writing on top of that. As you can imagine, sitting for that length of time can be bad for our bodies (we were made to move). It’s sedentary. Sure, your brain is working hard but your body – the machine – isn’t working all.

It’s important to keep your work space healthy. For me, keeping my work space healthy means balancing function, inspiration, and flexibility. Here’s how I do it:

1. Function – of course you need a comfy chair and a desk. All the work essentials. But it’s also important to keep things ergonomically sound for your body. My DJ has a great program to assess whether or not our desk area is ergonomically sound.

a. Here’s a similar article on ergonomics you can use. Give it a try.

2. Beautify to inspire – First, I worked hard to make both desk areas pretty (IMO). The space at the DJ is a little tricky as we have gray fabric cubes but that didn’t stop me.

I brought toys from home (to remind me work should be play). I brought reminders of my proudest moments (my Dopey Challenge bib, Goofy Challenge bib, some race medals, and pictures from the trip my hubby and I took around the country). And of course, I brought books that inspire me and pictures of my family.

a. Here’s a pic from my home office. You can see I’ve decorated my space to include toys, pictures, books, and things I love. At home I control the color of my surroundings so I choose dark, dramatic bookshelves and desk. (I’m actually thinking of updating the desk with some fab teal but more on that later).

3. Let there be light – natural light is a huge morale booster for me. I hate the feeling of working in a closet. I’m lucky enough on the DJ that I have a cube with lots of windows. But it took time to work up to a window cube (What’s the old saying in corporate America? ‘First you work for a window, then you get a door’ meaning you start in the center cubes with no window and work your way, eventually landing an office with a door *be still my corporate heart* *chokes back sarcasm* *cough, cough*). If you are suffering away in an inside-cube try bringing in a live plant. A lot of my coworkers do this and really enjoy it. The real, living green plant helps break up an otherwise artificial space.

a. At home I set my desk up in the old dining room area. Our eat-in kitchen is big enough that we don’t need a formal dining room so it became my office. The great thing about using the formal dining room as an office is that the window is large. Yay! The down side to using the dining room – no door.

4. Flexibility – This is so so so important. Your brain works better at better times. You are more productive in different environments, different times, different moods. For me, the key to producing high quality is understanding how and when I work best and adapting my work space to fit my needs.

a. I’m a morning person – sort of. I work best from 8-noon. I kick out words fearlessly and tackle obstacles with abandon during 8-noon. After that, it’s an uphill battle to maintain concentration for periods of time greater than 45 mins.

b. I’m an ambivert – half introvert and half extrovert. Being an ambivert means I half like people and half like books…wait, no. That’s not what it means at all. LOL. Being an ambivert means some extroverted activities refuel me and some drain me. Same with introverted activities: some refuel and some drain. I love ambient noise. I love people watching. I need minor distractions from time to time to spark new ideas. But remember, I’m also easily distracted in the afternoon.

c. Walk breaks – I take walk breaks from time to time to get the blood flowing and to get steps in (yay Fitbit). Sometimes a walk break means walking the long way to the women’s bathroom. Sometimes a walk break means taking my doggie for a walk.

What does this mean? Well, I like working in public places but also need quiet space. I like observing people and ambient noise but I also need to be somewhat distraction free (especially in the afternoon).

So I change my work space from time to time. I work from home one day a week for the DJ and that helps (note – I do not do DJ work in my home office. My home office is dedicated to writing). Also, I take my laptop to nearby café’s when I’m writing. Yes, even though I have an awesome space dedicated to writing at home. Sometimes you just have to mix things up.

Some writers in bigger cities use coworking environments where they can rent work space (like WeWork). You rent space to meet your personality/productivity needs. Sounds pretty awesome (especially if you need something a little more structured/dedicated to your professional needs than a Starbucks).

Staying flexible to meet your individual productivity needs is healthy and helps avoid burnout. Check out these posts on burn out:
Avoiding Book Burnout
Cross Training to Avoid Burnout

Want more inside scoop on writing spaces? Check out this post:
Author Interview with Karen Rock
Chuck Wendig's post about his writing shed
And Neil Gaiman's Magic Writing Gazebo


How do you keep your writing or work space healthy? Share your stories here:

TBT: Showing vs Telling - an 'ah ha' moment

For today's TBT I'm sharing Showing vs Telling - an 'ah ha' moment. For me, this was as significant as my first kiss, my first love, my first....well, you get the picture. The moment when the 'showing v telling' advice finally clicked and made sense was the moment my writing changed forever. Now, I'm not saying I never tell. I do. But I tell far less and I actively edit out my telling far more. So, in the spirit of #amediting I thought it was a perfect post to share.

Enjoy!

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We've all heard it before, 'show don't tell.' And if you're like me, this is how you respond:

'Duh, I totally do that.' And you might be right - but I wasn't. I kept getting feedback form CP's time and time again about showing. Needless to say, I was as frustrated as this little guy:

It wasn't until I received a crit during a recent LitReactor class that I realized what I believed to be showing was, in reality, telling (with lots and lots of pretty adjectives). Luckily, the comment I received in class clicked.

*Cue beams of light* It was my aha moment. *Cue angelic singing* - Wait - No - It was more like a punch to the gut. The impact of this new understanding left me spinning. Will I need to toss my current draft and start over? Yes. Will I be a stronger, better writer because of it? Yes. Am I happy about it?

I guess so.

This article is very similar to the advice I received. If you haven't had you're Showing v Telling aha moment I encourage you to check it out. Here is the highlight:

To transform our 'telling' into 'showing' we need to become adjective detectives. We must pounce on them like this awesome fox:

Attack the adjectives currently telling the story and create action or dialogue to illustrate their meaning.

Is your MC boy crazy? Don't call her boy crazy - show me. Show the MC moving from one hottie to the next. (Hello!)

Is your setting isolated? Don't tell me - show me. Maybe they don't have modern services like internet, trash pick up, etc.. Maybe they get no cell signal. Maybe the characters get no house guests.

You say you're MC is tough? Show me through her reactions to the obstacles in her path.

What was you're 'aha' moment?