 | Have I mentioned before how much I love including guest posts and author Q&As on here? In addition to providing you with content that comes from a variety of sources, I also get to meet other great authors out there and (at least in my mind) form an online community with other indie- and self-published authors out there. Take this week's author, for example. I really love how S.L. Saboviec approaches her character development, and I feel like I would really like her if we were to ever meet in real life (but maybe that's just the Iowa connection ;) ) |
Do you outline before writing? How do you prepare for a book?
I start with fleshing out about seven to ten main plot points, and then I go into detail until I get approximately a chapter-by-chapter breakdown. Sometimes it'll be 2-3 chapters in one line, but mostly I try to break it down to chapters.
After that, I flesh out the characters and their relationsihps with one another. I talked a little bit about how I relate characters to one another in another blog post. I like to focus on character backstory against the story rather than miscellaneous details (where they grew up, their siblings' names, or whatever). I do try to give each one a distinctive feature plus two or three others, but I like to focus on who they are as a person rather than physical attributes.
After that, I flesh out the characters and their relationsihps with one another. I talked a little bit about how I relate characters to one another in another blog post. I like to focus on character backstory against the story rather than miscellaneous details (where they grew up, their siblings' names, or whatever). I do try to give each one a distinctive feature plus two or three others, but I like to focus on who they are as a person rather than physical attributes.
Are the names of your characters important to you? How do you choose a character's name?
Yes, they're very important. It's one of my annoying quirks--annoying to myself. I'd like to get started writing right away, but before I do, I spend a bunch of time naming my characters.
For main characters, I can't write until I've come up with their names. For secondary characters, I'll probably come up with a name and change it six times before the book is finished. For minor characters, I'll use "***" in the text and go back later to name them, but it's tough--I really like having a name. And sometimes I will spend more time coming up with the name of minor characters than I will on developing them.
I know, it's a little silly.
For main characters, I can't write until I've come up with their names. For secondary characters, I'll probably come up with a name and change it six times before the book is finished. For minor characters, I'll use "***" in the text and go back later to name them, but it's tough--I really like having a name. And sometimes I will spend more time coming up with the name of minor characters than I will on developing them.
I know, it's a little silly.
Do you have a "day job"? How does that influence your writing style?
In my day job, I'm a project manager, which requires me to be highly organized and keep a ton of spreadsheets. I do love my spreadsheets, and that's probably the one thing that influences my writing the most. I have spreadsheets for plot, spreadsheets for characters, spreadsheets to keep track of where I've submitted things, spreadsheets to help me plan my writing schedule.
When it comes to the actual writing, once I have all my outlines and characters figured out in my spreadsheet, I feel comfortable splashing words across the screen. I usually stay within the confines of what I've decided--but not always--and then I just go crazy. What I organized ahead of time helps guide me.
Between writing sessions, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about Chapter 23 (or whatever) and that XYZ needs to happen, and I start to think in the details rather than worrying about the high level "Where is this going?" Since I figure it out ahead of time, during my writing time, I just sit down and write.
When it comes to the actual writing, once I have all my outlines and characters figured out in my spreadsheet, I feel comfortable splashing words across the screen. I usually stay within the confines of what I've decided--but not always--and then I just go crazy. What I organized ahead of time helps guide me.
Between writing sessions, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about Chapter 23 (or whatever) and that XYZ needs to happen, and I start to think in the details rather than worrying about the high level "Where is this going?" Since I figure it out ahead of time, during my writing time, I just sit down and write.
What's the best experience you've ever had?
The most life-affirming, hardest, scariest, most amazing experience I ever had was giving birth to my daughter. I've never felt particularly feminine or motherly, and I was a bit frightened of the entire idea of childbirth. But through that experience (and the support of some online baby groups and some birthing books), I discovered what an awe-inspiring experience creating a life can be.
If you could commit the perfect murder, where would you hide the body?
If I could commit the perfect murder with infinite resources at my disposal, I would throw someone into the sun. Their body would be annihilated into individual atoms, so there's no chance of them being found floating around in space (however minuscule that chance would be).
What three resources have helped you the most in your writing/publishing process?
The Absolute Write forums. When I was starting out, they helped immensely. Just about any information you're looking for can be found there.
Writing craft books. If you're a moderate to advanced writer, anything by Donald Maass is golden. Here's my Goodreads Writing Craft shelf.
Twitter. This is the place to meet and commiserate with your fellow writers. Use the #amwriting hashtag or check out some of the contests, like #PitchWars. I've found that it's less of a resource to find readers, although once you have the readers, a lot of them want to connect there. You can find me @Saboviec.
Writing craft books. If you're a moderate to advanced writer, anything by Donald Maass is golden. Here's my Goodreads Writing Craft shelf.
Twitter. This is the place to meet and commiserate with your fellow writers. Use the #amwriting hashtag or check out some of the contests, like #PitchWars. I've found that it's less of a resource to find readers, although once you have the readers, a lot of them want to connect there. You can find me @Saboviec.
What is one thing you would suggest as advice to an aspiring writer?
If I had to pick one thing, it would be to make friends with other writers and exchange mutual critiques. The first time you go through the process, it can be scary, but once you've got a few under your belt, you move from "my work is getting torn up!" to "my work is going to be so much better!"
Absolutely nobody can get away with writing without a critique partner. (I will fight you, Bestselling Celebrity Author, if you tell me otherwise.) If you haven't had someone critically look at what you've produced and objectively try to make it better, big gaping holes will be evident to the reader. In every single one of my novels, a CP has pointed out something that would never in a million years have occurred to me but that is a huge, obvious hole once I see it. Sometimes it's simple to fix, sometimes not so much, but my work is always stronger for having been poked and prodded.
Absolutely nobody can get away with writing without a critique partner. (I will fight you, Bestselling Celebrity Author, if you tell me otherwise.) If you haven't had someone critically look at what you've produced and objectively try to make it better, big gaping holes will be evident to the reader. In every single one of my novels, a CP has pointed out something that would never in a million years have occurred to me but that is a huge, obvious hole once I see it. Sometimes it's simple to fix, sometimes not so much, but my work is always stronger for having been poked and prodded.
ABOUT S.L. SABOVIEC
S.L. Saboviec grew up in a small town in Iowa but became an expat for her Canadian husband, whom she met in the Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing Game Star Wars: Galaxies (before the NGE, of course). She holds a B.S. in Physics, which qualifies her to B.S. about physics and occasionally do some math for the sci-fi stories she concocts. Her dark, thought-provoking science fiction and fantasy contains, flawed, relatable characters and themes that challenge the status quo.
Her short fiction has appeared in AE and Grievous Angel. Her debut novel, Guarding Angel, received an honourable mention in the 23rd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. The sequel, Reaping Angel, is out now.
Her short fiction has appeared in AE and Grievous Angel. Her debut novel, Guarding Angel, received an honourable mention in the 23rd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. The sequel, Reaping Angel, is out now.
