Picking German names and nouns for my new project

My new project takes place in 1800s Germany. I'm having fun finding German words to use in the story. It's tricky to find something that rolls off the English-reading tongue, as you scan the manuscript, but still has the right "feel" to it. 

My favorites so far:

• A pet duck named Kumpel (translation: pal, or buddy)
• A thieving animal nicknamed Schlingel (translation: rascal)
• A zookeeper named Kustos (translation: custodian, or keeper)
• A zoo cage with a real gestank (translation: reek, or stink)

To find the words, I start by using Google translate. But then I also google the words it suggests, to see if I can find supporting translations. Anyone who's used Google translate knows that sometimes its choices are a little... off. 

I'm also using German names for all my characters. Like always, I'm choosing ones that have meaning: little one; guardian; secret; huntress. 

How do you find good nouns and names for your characters? What are some of your favorites?

New project, clean space

BEFOREFor the last year, I've been pouring myself into a complex, big-idea, multi-charactered novel. It's stretched me to the limits of my skills and it's exhausted me. And now, having gotten some honest, helpful feedback from trusted readers... I'm setting it aside for a little bit. 

I'm not giving up, but I am easing up, seeking light and magic and fresh air. I'm going to spend the next few months on drafting a little gem of an idea, a simple idea, one that's been knocking on the door for the last 6 months and I've had to ignore. When I finish that, maybe I'll return to The Big Hairy Novel. 

Since I find visuals so inspiring, the first thing I did was to dismantle my "Beautiful Mind" inspiration walls, as my sister calls it. Down came dozens and dozens of photographs (one of the walls is pictured at left... this is the wall above my desk). As I worked, I listened to one of my all-time favorite podcasts, "The Upside of Quitting" (a Freakonomics episode). Yes, I actually have listened to that podcast a number of times!

Not much has gone up, yet: just a framed print of winter woods in twilight (I bought it years ago and never had a place for it, until now), and two things I always have hanging above my desk. One is a beautiful photograph of the labyrinth at Mabel Dodge Luhan house, by my talented friend Marnie Brooks. The other are two things I scrawled one long-ago day, as reminders to myself, and I still read them daily:

AFTER1. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you're bad at it.

and 2. Degree of difficulty is not inversely related to worthiness of effort.

By the way, if you like that cool mobile hanging in the corner, it's from Pozie Poems. You get to write your own word on the top strip of wood. My sister gave it to me and I love it! Right now my word is POWER.

The next few days will be about inspirations, discovering tone, and getting to know my characters just well enough to start telling their story. I'll also do some outlining, too. And then... I write. 

It feels great to be diving into a brand-new project. I'm going to ride that "baby love" as long as I can!

A chart: a typical editing experience

Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7:16AM

Developing character like an actor

I've been struggling to connect with the main character in my WIP--I can feel myself leaning on sterotypes and easy caricacture rather than developing her as an interesting and unique individual.

Since I love performance and once had ambitions of being the next Julie Andrews (brief, brief ambitions but nonetheless burning), I decided to try finding some videos about how actors develop characters. This helped. A lot. Somehow it's easier to take advice, sometimes, from artists who are NOT in your own field. It forces your brain to churn, to make connections, to make things relevant.

If you find this approach as useful as I do, you may also want to check out the book GETTING INTO CHARACTER, by Brandilyn Collins, which applies acting techniques to developing characters for novels. 

Below are three of the videos that helped me tonight, with a few of my notes about each.

First, actor Estelle Parsons talks about developing character. While I watched, I jotted down a few questions I want to answer about my MC:

• Why am I writing this character? What makes her intriguing enough to me to spend a year, or more, with her?
• Where can I find myself in this character?
• What true and dark parts of myself will I use to write this character?

Next, actor Charlotte D'Amboise talks about developing character through motion. 

After watching this, I want to try WALKING like my character. Sitting like her. Seeing what it feels like to feel like when she lays to sleep at night. How does she hold her body? 

And do I believe what I'm saying, as her voice? 

Finally, acting teacher Howard Fine talks about creating character. Here is some of what I took note of, from this one:

• Get past self-consciousness in portrayal by finding a strong objective
• Never judge your character. Nobody thinks they are a villain.
• Specfics make things resonate for an audience.

Does writing have a seasonal rhythm?

I'm addicted to making goals for my writing--little goals (such as, write 2 chapters this week) and big goals (like, finish my first draft by the end of May). So I just sat down and was working on goals for my latest project, and realized that somehow I have hit nearly the same exact schedule and rhythm as last year. I was cranking up on DROUGHT last January, too--aiming to finish a draft by the end of May.

This means I will hopefully be going to my cherished Kindling Words West retreat, in June, with another ream of printed-out novel to edit. That worked out amazingly well last year, so I'm pumped to think I might be installing myself again at a four-foot table with paper, iPod and a stack of flair pens.

It's a strange coincidence, though, for two novels to be following the same calendar, a year apart. Or is it? Does writing have seasonality? Maybe January is always going to be a month that's perfect for launching new drafts, for me... it is, after all, traditionally a time of fresh starts. 

Can't wait to see what I will be up to next January!