Throwback Thursday: What Do Your Characters Think of Each Other?

Posted on 23/01/202018/01/2020 by Ndrw

Originally published 19/02/2017

Think about someone you know well. Anyone. A friend, a relative, a colleague, anyone. I bet if I asked you what that person was like, you would be able to easily give me your opinion on what sort of person they are.

John? Oh, he’s loud-mouthed, arrogant and opinionated. He’s not a bad person but he’s a real pain to be around…

Jeanie? She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on but she’s a liar and a thief. I wouldn’t turn my back on her.

Willy? Nice guy I suppose, doesn’t say much (but let me tell you, he’s got the sharpest wit you’ve ever come across).

Now ask yourself… would that person’s own mother sum them up the same way you did? What about their spouse? Their boss? Their arch-nemesis? Even though you see John as loud-mouthed, the chances are his mother would focus on some other, more positive qualities, such as how kind-hearted he is. If John has a wife, she would be more likely to emphasis his physical attractiveness than his mother would (or, perhaps, she thinks he’s a lazy good-for-nothing and she can’t believe she married him).

As we all know, characters are the beating heart of any good story. However, no character is an island. How they respond to other characters is often essential in making your plot work (indeed, this arguably is your plot), so don’t be fooled into thinking it’s obvious how your characters will respond to one another. Just because you would respond in a particular way to Character A doesn’t mean that Character B will respond to Character A in the same way you would. Even though you, as the author, know all the facts about all of your characters, you’ll still have your own narrow opinion about what sort of person they are just the same as anyone else. That is why it is vital to know what every character thinks about every other character if you want to create a rich, vibrant and believable story.

Fortunately, it’s easy to do this. Here’s how I like to do it:

Start with a nice blank page. For me, it’s a separate document in my Scrivener project, but whatever floats your boat is fine (if you’re writing on paper, I would strongly recommend having plenty to spare; this could take up a few pages, especially if you’ve got a lot of characters). Now we make a table, as I’ve illustrated below, with as many rows as you have characters and two columns. Only the top row should have a single column, as this will act as a header. In this header, we write the name of the character we are wanting to find out about; Mr. Protagonist, for instance. In the cells below this, we ask every other character in the story for their opinion on Mr Protagonist. I find the easiest way to do this is to write out the answer in their voice, as if they were speaking to me. Even though I’ve only included two other characters to show you how it works, I would recommend you have a much larger table which includes every character in your story so that you get the most out of it.

Mr. Protagonist
Baron Antagonist	Mr. Protagonist is a meddler and a constant thorn in my side. We were friends growing up but it is clear now he does not understand the great work I am doing here. His table manners are appalling but he has great taste in single malts.
Lady Loveinterest	Mr. Protagonist is ruggedly handsome. His personality is quite charming, if a little brash and uncouth. He has a fiercely righteous (if misguided) streak which almost makes up for his poor breeding. Unfortunately, he drinks a little too much.

Once you’ve done it, repeat the process for all of your other characters.

Baron Antagonist
Mr. Protagonist	Baron Antagonist is a snake-in-the-grass. He acts all sophisticated and like he’s everybody’s friend so that he’s got the whole world wrapped around his finger. How do you expose a guy like that? Even the king’s daughter has agreed to marry him. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he beat her.
Lady Loveinterest	Baron Antagonist is a great man; a real visionary and a man who knows how to get things done. He’s got the patience of a saint too. I can see Mr. Protagonist irks him sometimes but he has never lost his temper with him, not once. Mr. Protagonist is fortunate to have a friend like the Baron.

Do you see how this can help you to gain a much deeper and fuller understanding of all your characters and the threads of friendship, enmity, mistrust and devotion which bind them together in an elaborate web which I like to call a “Story”?

If you really want to go the extra mile, why not throw in an extra row on each table telling us what each character thinks about themselves?

Mr. Protagonist
Mr. Protagonist	I’m a cook and an employee of my former friend, Baron Antagonist. I have to say, I feel a bit out of place living in such a splendid house. The other servants don’t talk to me ’cause I don’t live in the servants quarters. I think that’s why anyway. But I’m more a man of their stripe than the Baron’s. I wish they could see that.
Lady Loveinterest	Mr. Protagonist is ruggedly handsome….

Not only is all of this an effective means of fleshing out your story, it can actually be a pretty darn effective means of coming up with a story idea, similar to (in fact, arguably better than) auditioning characters. The above example, for instance, is only that: an example. I made it up as I was going along purely for your benefit. And yet, without intending it, I actually found myself getting quite involved in the story – a story which did not exist before I started filling in those tables. The embryo of a plot began to form in my mind as I learned more and more about each character from the lips of those people who knew them best. Who are these three people? What is the Baron’s ‘great work’ and why is Mr. Protagonist so distrustful of him? Will Mr. Protagonist ever get together with the slightly snobby Lady Loveinterest?

Give it a bash. I think you’ll find it helpful.

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Every Tuesday, I post a new edition of Spotlight: a short post which shines a proverbial spotlight on a published novel or collection of short fiction. If you would like to have your book considered for a future edition of Spotlight, drop us an e-mail including a short synopsis of your book and a link to where we can buy it. Better yet, send me a copy of your book and I can include a mini-review.

I’m still looking to interview fiction authors here on Penstricken, especially new or indie authors. Whether it’s books, plays, comics or any other kind of fiction, if you’ve got something written, I want to hear about it. If you’re interested in having your work featured on Penstricken, be to sure to drop us an e-mail or message us on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest.

Please be advised that due to a recent surge in interest, I am presently committed to a significant number of reviews/interviews over the next couple of months. If you would like an interview or review, I would still love to hear from you, though it is unlikely that I will be able to begin work immediately.

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Monday Motivation

Posted on 20/01/202018/01/2020 by Ndrw

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Author Interview: H.L. Walsh (part 2 of 2)

Posted on 19/01/202018/01/2020 by Ndrw

SPOILER ALERT

While every effort has been made to avoid spoilers in this post, anyone who has not read From Men and Angels by H.L. Walsh is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.

‘From the dawn of man, the war between Demons and Angels has ravaged the land. Two thousand years of peace has lulled the people into a false sense of security. Malach is on a journey to find his place in the world and pick a side in the war that is quickly approaching, meeting unlikely allies along the way.’

H.L. Walsh is the author of From Men and Angels, the first in a trilogy of fantasy novels in which humans live and sometimes even fight alongside corporeal angels and demons (you can check out my review of From Men and Angels here).

I had the pleasure of chatting with H.L. Walsh about From Men and Angels, his writing process and the calorie content of caffeinated drinks. I’m delighted to add that H.L. Walsh has also given me the honour of revealing the title of the sequel to From Men and Angels. Be sure to read on to the very end of this post to find out what it is!

This is part two of our interview. Missed part one? Click here to catch up!

You mention in the book’s acknowledgements that the idea for this novel came to you while listening to a sermon in which your pastor mentioned spiritual warfare. Is there a peculiarly Christian theme or message in From Men and Angels?

Starting out it was never meant to be a ‘Christian Fantasy’. However, I found that I couldn’t stay away from it when I was writing because of how close to my faith the themes were. I don’t want people to be scared off by the Christian themes in the book. I’m not trying to beat anyone over the head with a Bible or push my own beliefs on anyone. I hope people take this book and enjoy it for the story that it presents and not judge it for the Christian themes in it. That being said, if anyone reads this and is curious about the Christian faith I would encourage them to learn more about our beliefs. I am a Christian and won’t hide that fact, however, my next few planned projects most likely aren’t going to have the Christian themes like this first trilogy. I wouldn’t say I’m a ‘Christian author’, I’m just an author who is a Christian.

Did you find anything particularly difficult about writing this book?

The world building. I found it very hard to weave in the world building without losing the reader. Both my wife and my editor, two separate people by the way, helped me a lot with this, cutting out a lot of unnecessary details or making me rewrite things. In the editing process, we ended up cutting about 25,000 words out of the manuscript which made the story much better. To hear people say that they loved the world building is amazing since so much care went into that aspect of the story.

What’s the best author fuel: Tea, coffee or ‘other (please specify)’?

For me its definitely coffee, although I try not to drink too much of it since I tend to like the sweeter stuff. I don’t want to drink all my calories.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Absolutely! I really try to be prepared for writer’s block but I have gone a week plus with it hanging over my head. At first to get over writer’s block I would just write anything that came to mind, which included main characters being killed off and other crazy things that I never intended to include in my book. That helped me to get some creative juices flowing. Now I swap manuscripts to a totally different project and write there for a while until I have a break through. Then I jump back to my main project.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

J.R.R. Tokien, Terry Brooks and C.S. Lewis have got to be a few of my all-time favourites but recently I picked up a book by Cole Fox, who is an indie author and really enjoyed his writing.

Any goals for 2020?

Originally, my goals were to publish the sequel to From Men and Angels, launch my website, and publish the first in a novella series I’ve been working on. However, I recently went back to work full time and have checked some of those lofty goals. I’m now hoping to get all of the drafting done for my sequel and have it ready to start editing by the end of the year and launch my author website.

And finally, what’s your number one piece of advice for any new authors out there thinking about writing their first novel?

Just start writing! Get your thoughts and ideas on paper, or word document. Yes, planning has its place but don’t get so caught up in planning that you postpone writing. The great thing about writing is that you can change things and polish it later. My original outline looks nothing like the finished book. Also let the story take you where it wants to go. Don’t be so rigid in sticking to your plan that you miss a good creative idea that comes to you mid-story.

TO ASH AND DUST

Book #2 of the Deliverance Trilogy

by H.L. Walsh

COMING MAY 2021

MISSED PART ONE of this interview? CLICK HERE TO CATCH UP.

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Throwback Thursday: 50 Quotes About Writing

Posted on 16/01/202011/01/2020 by Ndrw

Originally posted: 28/01/2018

Well, we’ve already had fifty quotes about fiction in general so today it’s time for another fifty quotes, this time providing advice, encouragement and general reflections on the process of writing. So without further ado…

‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.’ — Douglas Adams
‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’ — Maya Angelou
‘There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.’ — Ernest Hemingway
‘Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.’ — Mark Twain
‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.’ — Stephen King
‘It’s hell writing and it’s hell not writing. The only tolerable state is having just written.’ — Robert Hass
‘We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.’ — Anaïs Nin
‘Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.’ — E.L. Doctorow
‘A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world.’ — Susan Sontag
‘You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.’ — Madeleine L’Engle
‘If a story is in you it has got to come out.’ — William Faulkner
‘You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.’ — Saul Bellow
‘I’m not a very good writer but I’m an excellent rewriter.’ — James Michener
‘You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.’ — Doris Lessing
‘It is a very cool thing to be a writer.’ — Bryan Hutchinson
‘You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.’ — Ray Bradburry
‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ – Toni Morrison
‘Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.’ — Louis L’Amour
‘Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very”; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.’ — Mark Twain
‘The only writer to whom you should compare yourself is the writer you were yesterday.’ — David Schlosser
‘Step into a scene and let it drip from your fingertips.’ — M.J. Bush
‘Growing up is highly overrrated. Just be an author.’ — Neil Gaiman
‘Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have “essential” and “long overdue” meetings on those days.’ — J.K. Rowling
‘What doesn’t kill us gives us something to write about.’ — Julie Wright
‘There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.’ — W. Somerset Maugham
‘When asked “how do you write?” I invariably answer “one word at a time.”‘ — Stephen King
‘Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.’ — Isaac Asimov
‘Writing is show business for shy people.’ — Lee Child
‘It is perfectly okay to write garbage –as long as you edit brilliantly.’ — C.J. Cherryh
‘If you’re writing stuff, you’re a writer. If you’re not writing stuff, you’re not a writer. If you publish ten thousand best sellers, all of which get made into films, then stop writing, you’re no longer a writer… Similarly, if you are writing with any kind of regularity, you are a real writer. You might be a professional or only an amateur, but you are a writer. Really.’ — A. Ferguson
‘If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.’ — Martin Luther
‘Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else.’ — C.S. Lewis
‘Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.’ — William Wordsworth
‘Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.’ — Philip José Farmer
‘I write to find out what I’m talking about.’ — Edward Albee
‘Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.’ — Raymond Chandler
‘You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.’ — Annie Proulx
‘Don’t be a writer. Be writing.’ — William Faulkner
‘Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the computer screen.’ — Katrina Monroe
‘Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.’ — Natalie Goldberg
‘To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.’ — Aristotle
‘You can make anything by writing.’ — C.S. Lewis
‘I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of.’ — Joss Whedon
‘I need solitude for my writing; not “like a hermit” — that wouldn’t be enough — but like a dead man.’ — Franz Kafka
‘Writers don’t make any money at all. We make about a dollar. It is terrible. But then again we don’t work either. We sit around in our underwear until noon then go downstairs and make coffee, fry some eggs, read the paper, read part of a book, smell the book, wonder if perhaps we ourselves should work on our book, smell the book again, throw the book across the room because we are quite jealous that any other person wrote a book, feel terribly guilty about throwing the schmuck’s book across the room because we secretly wonder if God in heaven noticed our evil jealousy, or worse, our laziness. We then lie across the couch facedown and mumble to God to forgive us because we are secretly afraid He is going to dry up all our words because we envied another man’s stupid words. And for this, as I said, we are paid a dollar. We are worth so much more.’ — Donald Miller
‘Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written.’ — George R.R. Martin
‘A word after a word after a word is power.’ — Margaret Atwood
‘A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.’ — Thomas Mann
‘Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.’ — David McCullough
‘Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration.’ — Ralph Keyes

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Monday Motivation

Posted on 13/01/202011/01/2020 by Ndrw

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Author Interview: H.L. Walsh (part 1 of 2)

Posted on 12/01/202011/01/2020 by Ndrw

SPOILER ALERT

While every effort has been made to avoid spoilers in this post, anyone who has not read From Men and Angels by H.L. Walsh is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.

I had the pleasure of chatting with H.L. Walsh about From Men and Angels, his writing process and the calorie content of caffeinated drinks. This is part one of our interview. Be sure to check back next week for part two!

When did you first catch the ‘writing bug’?

In short, I’ve always had the dream of becoming and author. I wrote my first short story when I was in Middle School, however I don’t think I ‘caught the bug’ until I was fifteen years old. I started writing my first novel. That project took me a while but then I got distracted with college and my career. Although, I never lost that want to write and become an author. I started writing several projects but they never seemed to go anywhere until I started From Men and Angels. I just knew from the time I started writing that story that it would be my first novel.

What’s your writing routine like? Do you have a schedule you stick to or any particular habits or techniques you find help you get things done?

My wife is a travel nurse and because of that, our life is very fluid. We move and things change a lot. It’s hard to find a routine in all that change. That being said, I do like to be outside when I write if at all possible. When it’s not possible I will try to find a cozy place to settle in with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, especially when it is cold outside. As far as techniques when I start to write for the first time that day, or the first time in a few hours, I reread the last few pages of what I’ve written to get my mind back into the story. That helps me know what I was thinking before and where I was going with that scene or story over all.

So let’s talk about your novel, From Men and Angels: a tale of hunters, thieves, angels and demons and many more besides. Who were some of your favourite characters to write?

Of course Malach was one of my favourites, he is the main character and all. He’s kind of a grey character. He has a moral compass but doesn’t mind doing the hard things to get the job done. However, my absolute favourite character to write was Amara. The fiery young thief who just seems to do whatever she wants. She is very quick on her feet and extremely quick on the comebacks. Her story was just fun for me to write and I found that I couldn’t wait to get back around to her story when I was writing from Malach’s perspective.

One of my favourite things about From Men and Angels is the world-building. How do you go about creating a world so vivid and unlike our own?

That was a challenge for me for sure. My original thought for the book was if ‘angels and demons where physical beings how would that change our world?’ So originally, I tried to keep this world very similar to ours changing only the things that pertained to the angels and demons. So that helped me create the basis for the world. From there, I changed things and took a few liberties like the lifespan of the people/animals and the angels blades. On a tangent, the idea for the sentient blades and the first scene with Malach and Reckoning actually came to me in a dream. I, of course, couldn’t remember the whole dream when I woke up but I jotted down everything I could remember before my wife yelled at me for waking her up at 3AM.

Speaking of the angel blades, I have to say: it’s maybe just my suspicious nature but there’s a small part of me that doesn’t quite trust Reckoning. I know you won’t want to give too much away but can we look forward to a bit more on its past in the next few books?

Hehehe, I believe it is mentioned in the first book that some of the angel blades fell with the demons and some were turned later. This will definitely have a role to play in then next couple of books. Let’s just say by the end of book two you will know for sure where Reckoning’s loyalties lie.

COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR PART 2

(Plus a special announcement!)

Buy From Men and Angels on Amazon

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Throwback Thursday: D. Wallace Peach Interview Omnibus

Posted on 09/01/202004/01/2020 by Ndrw

Originally published 16/06/2019 and 23/06/2019 under the title ‘Author Interview: D. Wallace Peach’

SPOILER ALERT

While every effort has been made to avoid spoilers in this post, anyone who has not read Soul Swallowers or Legacy of Souls by D. Wallace Peach is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.

Diana Wallace Peach is an accomplished author of quality fantasy with seventeen books to her name. Her most recent offering, the ‘Shattered Sea’ duology consisting of The Soul Swallowers and Legacy of Souls, is another masterpiece filled with rich characters, political intrigue, and top notch world building.

I had the pleasure of chatting with D. Wallace Peach, whose books, including the ‘Shattered Sea’ duology, are available to buy now on Amazon.

What made you decide to become an author?

I never really planned on being an author, though I always enjoyed writing. A decade ago, my husband and I made a temporary move for his job. Our planned stay was too short a time frame for me to find work. He suggested that I write a book, and I said, ‘Okay.’

Well, that was that. I was hooked and I’m still writing.

I’ve been reading The Shattered Sea duology, Soul Swallowers and Legacy of Souls; two thoroughly enjoyable books. There’s plenty going on in them both; family conflicts, slave trading, imperial politics and, of course, a fantasy world where people consume the souls of the dead. I wonder, how did this story first come about? What was your original inspiration for writing?

I’m curious about the invisible world and the nature of the soul. I think there is a lot more to this world than we can possibly imagine. Just think of the inventions in the last one hundred years that would have seemed impossible or magical. Do souls exist beyond death? Is reincarnation possible? Is possession a real thing? I simply took those questions and applied a ‘what if’ question. Then I added the rules that would bind this practice – physically, mentally, and through social norms. The rest simply fell into place as a rough outline that took further shape as I wrote.

Is that your preferred way of writing, planning while you write (‘plantsing’)? Or are you normally more of a planner or a ‘pantser’?

I always have a rough outline. Otherwise, I’m filled with writer-anxiety. That and I have no problem wandering off on tangents for hundreds of pages, which then need to be edited! Outlines keep me on track, but they’re loose enough that my characters can be themselves, and I will readily change a plan if my characters can convince me that it makes good sense.

I’m glad you mentioned your characters because the meaty characters you’ve created were one one of my favourite things about this series. The protagonist, Raze, for instance. I really liked the way this chap developed as an individual over the two books. How did you go about developing him?

I love reading books with strong characters, and so I strive to write the same. My background is in mental health, and I’m fascinated by the incredible depth behind every human face. Prior to writing, I pen each character’s biography in quite a bit of detail. I understand how their lives were shaped, their fears, weaknesses, and strengths, how they compensate, what they hide even from themselves, what they need to learn about themselves to grow. A significant part of my plotting a story takes into account the characters’ arcs.

I suppose that must be doubly important when you come to write a character who is a practised liar, like Benjmur? He weaves such an intricate web of deceit around all the other characters– how do you keep track of it all?

I wanted to write a different kind of character than I have in the past– one who is extremely duplicitous and able to keep the other characters off kilter. The biggest challenge was to make his lies believable without the other characters coming off as naive (except perhaps for his daughter who simply doesn’t want to think ill of her father). I don’t like books where the characters are ridiculously stupid simply to serve the plot. I kept track of it by writing twenty drafts. Ha ha.

I was quite struck by some of the big themes this story explored. The distinction between slavery and bonded labour (if there is one) seems to crop up time and again in this story. Was that a theme you were keen to explore?

I’m a political monster, and like exploring these issues. To support the book, I did a bit of research on the ‘justifications for slavery’ that were shared around the time of the American Civil War. I incorporated those into the characters’ arguments about slavery as well as Raze’s arguments for freedom.

Obviously in a high fantasy series like this, building a world like the Shattered Sea is no mean feat. Any world-building tips for prospective fantasy writers?

Just like I write bios for the characters before I start a book, I write a complete “bio” for the world, including maps. I go back about 300 years into the world’s history. I write about gender roles, politics, religion, societal norms, geography, world view, relationships with other nations/provinces, technology or the lack thereof, clothing, even the shape of their roofs! I try to take a couple real-life norms and turn them on their heads if I can. Some things develop as I write and some change, but I usually start with a good sense of the world and how the character meshes or rebels against it. In a way, the world is another character in the book.

Looking through your blog I noticed you’ve done a bit of flash fiction. How do you find writing shorter fiction compares with novel writing?

I rarely write short stories, but I enjoy flash fiction. The big difference for me is that I don’t need to think about what came before or what comes after. It’s a slice of time, a glimpse, versus a novel that has a history and a future. An interesting tidbit. The opening scene of ‘Shattered Sea’ duology started as a flash fiction piece in response to a prompt. So you never know where those flashes will lead!

What’s next for you then? Can we look forward to more books in the near future?

I’m working on a trilogy (as yet untitled). I’m obsessive about the cohesion of my stories and therefore write the entire series at once, holding up the first book until the last is ready to publish. This trilogy is daunting and the first draft is taking me forever to complete. I’m probably a year away from publishing. When they’re done, I’ll have 20 books, and hopefully, number 21 brewing in the back of my mind.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT D. WALLACE PEACH’S AUTHOR PAGE.

Soul Swallowers and Legacy of Souls by D. Wallace Peach are available to buy now from Amazon.

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

You can check out our previous interviews here:

Monday Motivation

Posted on 06/01/202004/01/2020 by Ndrw

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My Thoughts on Kindle Paperwhite

Posted on 05/01/202004/01/2020 by Ndrw

After a whopping ten years of blissful happiness, my trusty old third generation Kindle Keyboard was finally starting to show its age and so I decided it was time for an upgrade. New decade, new Kindle and all that, and so I asked ~~Santa~~ Karen and she very kindly obliged by leaving a shiny new Kindle Paperwhite under my tree.

So, I hear you cry, what has it got that the old Kindle Keyboard hasn’t got?

Well the hardware itself is certainly easier on the eye. As well as being smaller, the Kindle Paperwhite has no physical keyboard, page turn buttons or any buttons of any kind save a titchy little power button and despite being smaller and thinner, it also feels a lot sturdier than the Kindle Keyboard. It is, apparently, waterproof and although I have no interest in personally testing that claim, I could certainly believe it to be so. There are no obvious cracks in the hardware for water to seep into when compared with its 3rd Gen progenitor. According to Amazon, ‘Paperwhite is IPX8 rated to protect against accidental immersion in up to two metres of fresh water for up to 60 minutes.’ How you could accidentally leave your Kindle under two meters of water for as long as 60 minutes is a mystery to me, but it’s reassuring to know if that does happen, I still won’t have to fork out for a new one.

So, let’s turn it on. At first glance, the home screen appears a lot busier than the Kindle Keyboard, which essentially just gave us a list of all the books we owned. The home screen on the Paperwhite, on the other hand, displays both your own library and reading lists as well as key lists from the Kindle Store, such as book recommendations. The menu bar along the top of the screen provides links to everything you’ll need to start reading right away, while everything else is tucked away neatly in the side menu. You can link into your GoodReads account, listen to your Audible books and even browse the internet on the ‘experimental browser.’ Book covers and other images are also beautifully rendered in crystal clear high-resolution.

The front-lighting is very nice indeed. One of the things I liked about my old Kindle Keyboard was how easy it was to read the screen for hours on end without hurting your eyes, even in brilliant sunshine, thanks to its unlit anti-glare screen. I was a little bit concerned that by introducing illumination, it might become a little less kind to my eyes (as someone who wears glasses and suffers from frequent headaches, this was not something I wanted). I needn’t have worried. I don’t know exactly what sorcery they’ve used to illuminate the screen, but the illumination is soft, milky and even, giving it just enough of a glow to make it visible in the dark without any harsh glare. When reading in a well lit room, the screen appears just slightly more luminescent than would be natural if you were reading on white paper (hence the name, I guess) and when reading in the dark, it does not flood the rest of the room with light, meaning I can read in bed even while the wife is trying to sleep. Of course, if you find the front-lighting a little too brilliant, you can adjust it to just the right level for your own needs (though it took me ages to figure out how to do).

The complete lack of any physical buttons means everything is controlled by touch screen. If you are familiar with using touch screen on your phone, you’ll already know the basic principles: tapping, swiping, long pressing and so forth. It all works the same as on your phone and I personally find it a lot smoother to use than physical buttons, especially when it comes to typing notes. The majority of books that I read on Kindle are books that authors have gifted me for author interviews or book reviews, and so I often want to add notes to what I’m reading. You could do this with the Kindle Keyboard, but the tiny little buttons were just so fiddly and awkward that I often resorted to a crude form of short hand and wilfully ignored all my typos because it just wasn’t worth the fuss. Not so with the Kindle Paperwhite! The on screen keyboard is a breeze to use and I can write long winded notes to myself until the cows come home.

If I was being hypercritical, I would say the touch screen takes a little bit of getting used to while reading. It’s not overly fiddly, just takes a bit more practice than its predecessors. For instance, you need to tap just the right point on the screen to bring up the menu bar and if you tap anywhere else by mistake, it turns to the next page. In a similar way, you turn the page back by swiping left but if your swipe isn’t quite swipey enough, you’ll find yourself turning forwards instead of back. It is possible to temporarily display touch screen while reading so all controls are locked save the ability to turn to the next page, however this is probably more trouble than its worth since you have to lock the Kindle and then unlock it again to turn this feature off. You can’t even turn the power off without first turning touch screen back on, so it’s not really worth the trouble. Hardly a deal breaker though.

All in all, a fantastic piece of kit. I fully expect it to provide me with another decade or so of reading pleasure (and audio-book listening pleasure, if that’s your bag) and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a snazzy new e-book reader that won’t burn your eyes out.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Throwback Thursday: What Villains Want

Posted on 02/01/202028/12/2019 by Ndrw

First published: 07/01/2018

For me, antagonists are often the most fun characters to create. However, most of the usual rules apply and it’s especially important (as it is with all characters) that your antagonist’s motive and goals are clearly established in your mind. More often than not, these will form the whole basis for the conflict your protagonist has to deal with, so it’s vital you get this right.

If I was to boil it down to a single rule for antagonists, it would probably be something like this:

An antagonist’s motive can be anything at all, but their goal should bring them into direct conflict with the protagonist.

Let’s start by thinking about the first part of that rule: ‘An antagonist’s motive can be anything at all’. Motives are simply what drive a character from day to day. When it comes to your bad guy, this could be something sinister such as megalomania or it could be something far more ordinary– perhaps even laudable. For instance, in The Count of Monte Cristo, the antagonist, Fernand Mondego, is in love with the protagonist’s fiancee. As a result, he falsely accuses the protagonist of treason so that he can marry Dantès fiancee instead.

So, Mondego’s motive is that he is in love with Dantès fiancee. His goal (in the beginning, at least) is to get Dantès out of the way. Loving a woman is not a particularly evil or unusual thing, nor is it a motive common only to antagonists. Plenty of good guys in other stories (especially romances and romantic comedies) are driven by the exact same motive.

Ahh, but he was in love with the protagonist’s fiancee! I hear you cry. That’s bad!

Well, I agree it’s not an ideal situation, but in and of itself it doesn’t make him an antagonist or a ‘bad guy’. There are plenty of stories out there with characters who refuse to behave inappropriately when they’re in love with someone else’s partner. What made Mondego a bad guy was his goal, not his motive. His motive (which he arguably had in common with the protagonist) drove him to carry out a sinister plot against the protagonist. That’s what made him a villain and an antagonist. It is highly unlikely a good guy would act on this motive the same way Mondego does (though remember, not all protagonists are good guys; some protagonists are bad).

Which brings me neatly onto the second part of our working rule: ‘[the antagonist’s] goal should bring them into direct conflict with the protagonist’. It’s worth mentioning that this is not the same as saying their goals must be inherently immoral.

Oh sure, they can be. They often will be. Personally, I love it when an antagonist is really bad. Murdering the hero(es), stealing something valuable and violently taking over the world are just some of the more common goals antagonists sometimes strive for. But remember, an antagonist is not necessarily defined as a morally evil character; they are simply a character whose goals conflict with that of your protagonist. They can be morally evil, but even then, their function is to present the protagonist with a real and significant problem that cannot simply be ignored. They are, if you like, a walking, talking conflict for your character to face.

giphy — When you’re so evil you want to blow up all reality. Image source: http://gph.to/2AhoZVE

Take C.S. Lewis’ story The Screwtape Letters as a radical example. This story is written from the perspective of a senior devil (Screwtape) writing to his nephew (Wormwood), giving him advice on how to lead a human into eternal damnation– a morally objectionable goal to say the least. In it, Screwtape makes frequent references to their ‘Enemy’ — namely, God. In this story, Wormwood is the protagonist. His motive is his natural diabolical nature and his goal is to secure the damnation of his unsuspecting human ‘patient’. Even though God is clearly not portrayed as evil in this story (C.S. Lewis was a Christian), nevertheless he is still the antagonist because his goals are in direct conflict with those of the protagonist.

“He (God) wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself: the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.”

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (parenthesis mine)

Which brings me neatly onto my third and final point: the audience’s sympathies. This can sometimes be a sticky issue when you try to create an antagonist of any real depths, as I previously discovered.

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis presumably wanted us to sympathise with God’s goals instead of Wormwood’s, even though God is the antagonist. After all, The Screwtape Letters is as much as Christian Apologetic work as it is a story. Under most circumstances, however, you will want your audience to support the protagonist’s goals instead of the antagonist. I know of only two ways to do this effectively:

Make your antagonist at least a little bit immoral (optional – but usually a good idea)
Create a strong protagonist with goals and motives the audience really cares about (mandatory)

Remember, an antagonist might provide the vital point if conflict in a story, but he is not the sum total of the story. If all you have is a really complex antagonist who threatens to take over the world and some half-baked protagonist to fight him just because that’s what good guys do, you’ll not hold onto your audience for very long. Remember this rule:

Your story is about your protagonist, not the antagonist.

The antagonist is the point of conflict for your story, but he is not the story in and of himself. Take the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. She is a persistent hindrance to Dorothy throughout the film. Without her, it would be a frankly boring film about a girl who gets a bit lost (okay, very lost) then goes home. But none of that would matter if it wasn’t for the fact that Dorothy wants to get home. If we didn’t care about Dorothy and her plight, the Witch would be pretty redundant.

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