Walking the Platform (The Author Platform)

     The writer platform. As writers we all strive for one. We tweet, we blog, we communicate on Google+, Facebook, and several others. In between we try to find time to actually write our stories. It's a dizzying dance, a constant stretch of the mind. I enjoy it, to a point. Sometimes I loathe it, but in today's writing culture it has become a necessity to the health of our writing careers. I wrote a guest blog about writing a sequel. I wrote that the author platform is a lifeline, and I truly believe that it is.
     I've read that several writers begin by writing their books and then they attempt to build their platforms, and it's a mistake. Someone on some other blog said, writers should concentrate on building an audience before they write their novels. I can't say what the best way is. I started building mine after I wrote my first novel. Whose to say I wouldn't have had a bigger following, larger books sales. But when I wrote Beyond Gavia, blogging was in it's infant stage. I think I'd signed up for Facebook in the same year I began my novel.
     I want to tell other writers to keep walking the platform, never jump off for too long. Life comes up and sometimes you have to take a break. I say this because I made the big mistake of doing so. I took about a year off from building my platform, and boy did my book sales take a hit.
     I had a ghostwriting opportunity from a friend, which was somewhat of a varying experience. I think I will write about that in my next post. Anyways, I didn't realize what it did to my blossoming career, which was still just a little sprout in a garden full of flowers. I pretty much dried up and wilted over. I see this now that I look back at that year I wrote for someone else. But hindsight is 20/20 right? So never do what I did. I don't really regret it. I try not to regret, but instead learn. I'd love to hear feedback from other writers on the importance of the author platform.

Character Perception

     We all see the world through different eyes. Each experience made is different for each person. People grow up differently, culture, religion, parental guidance, the sway of peer pressure, nationality, ethnicity, race.... The same is for the characters we create for our books. Perception can affect behavior, make people behave in ways they don't even understand. Perception creates perspective.
     When creating characters I think it's important to know where their perceptions stem from. You don't have to explain it to your reader, but you can show it in their behavior, the way they respond to other characters, to challenges. As a writer if you know a character, who could be a supporting character or a main, grew up with an abusive parent, they might perceive violence differently than someone who grew up in a loving family. Your character's perception can define the way they look at the conflict, how they decide they want to overcome it.
     Perception can create tone in characters, in their voices, their body language. It can manipulate the way they order a meal, a glass of wine.
     This reminds me of a friend of mine. She's always enjoyed wine, but within the last few years I noticed she's been drinking more of it, as if it distinguishes her more than her usual Jack. Anyways, she went through a phase where she drank Lambrusco, a sweet red wine that's about $7 a bottle. She enjoyed it, even ordered it at restaurants. Then a year ago she got a job at a winery. The owner imports all his grapes from France. He makes several different kinds of wine, shares his expensive collection with friends and colleagues. She learned much about wine, it's process, the culture of it. I have to smile at this. A few months ago I made a statement that a nice bottle Lambrusco sounded good. She shot me an almost disgusted look and said, "We've got to teach you about wine."

The Human Condition and All Its' Experience (as we write)

     When I write I try to create characters that feel real. I assume this is every writer's motivation. As writers we want our characters to mirror people, not just empty unrealistic templates. We want to dive deep, sift through our own souls and catch what may feel real to our readers, to ourselves. As humans we feel a multitude of emotion. We often act predictable. We often act unpredictable. We are unique, yet the same. It's a balance of projection, a responsibility to ourselves, to our characters, and to those who enjoy them.

Story Problems

     When I was kid I hated story problems, but that was math. As a writer I enjoy the challenge of working through story problems: plot snags, character glitches, flow issues, word decisions. It can be frustrating and hard work, especially during the editing process. Sometimes plot points don't add up, sometimes you over write, sometimes you under write. Sometimes the research isn't supportive enough for what you are writing. Your main character might feel flat. But that's beauty of it, the hard of it. It reminds of a quote from the film A League of their own, "it's the hard that makes it great." Tom Hanks (my favorite actor) said this about baseball, but as writers we can easily apply the quote to the craft of writing. He also said, "if it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." It's a process, a sometimes rocky one, but I love it! What about you?