Ever Wonder?

[lit_gal]

Okay, I need a bit of a break from writing, so we're doing something different. A lot of writers have been doing these wonderful little "DVD extra" type commentaries. Um, yeah, I know I'm not that interesting when writing about writing, so I figured I'd do it a little different. If you have a question about any of my stories, why I included certain points or how I write, ask here. I'll give an honest answer.

Comments

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

When I started, I stuck with just writing Xander, so it really was all one person. No problem. Now that I write from more men's point of view (Xander, Jim, Blair, TricksterXander, Spike), I guess part of the way I keep them separate is keeping one core motivation clear. For Jim, it's maintaining control--defending himself; for Blair, it's making a difference in the world; for Spike it's belonging. Knowing what motivates them helps me to sort of leave them alone to react to situations without me having to plot and outline it all out ahead of time. In fact, outlining gives me writers block faster than anything else. I keep the end in mind, and let the characters react the way they would react. I'm also a little obsessive in that I have elaborate backstories and universes in my mind. Someone in some comment said that she didn't like how my Xander in Learning Curve had resorted to his 10th grade vocabulary. Well, the truth is that I have this whole backstory where Xander suffered a great trauma in Africa and when he came back to England, he truly was suicidal, which is why Buffy couldn't trust him on his own. But I never wrote that backstory, so the characterization felt "off" to the reader. So, sometimes my big backstories help, and sometimes they hurt.

So, the short answer is that my characters don't blend and I don't have any more trouble writing a man than a woman. I hope this made some sense.