Tag: Secrets

Back from the Wilds… with an Award

Awards, Blogging, Kim Koning
Image courtesy of puilee
Image courtesy of puilee

I am back from the Wilds of life with no blogging for a month. After blogging almost every day in December it felt very strange to go a month and a bit without blogging. But the rest was well needed. Life outside the world wide web was very busy with a house move, buying new battery for the Macbook and various other family emergencies, chores and errands. It has indeed been a busy start to 2012. But I am back. Well rested, ready, willing and able to get back to the business of blogging. This month I am going to give you more of a glimpse into my WIP with teasers of my cover, interview with my Amazing cover artist and background into the back story and inspiration of this trilogy. As I was without a computer due to my Macbook battery giving up its ghost, I got a lot of reading done so I will be sharing and linking to the reviews as well as featuring some exciting debut books coming out by my talented bevy of writing pals. So I am truly back in the business of online communication! Hello 2012 and Hello February.

But first…I am come back holding aloft my two-time nomination and win for The Versatile Blogger Award. My good friend and cp, Melissa Pearl nominated this blog and this blogger for The Versatile Blogger award a couple of weeks ago. I love receiving awards – who doesn’t? But I love it even more when the award comes from another writer I adore and respect. Which is the case in the case of Melissa Pearl – YA author and time travel specialist. Thank you Mel! 🙂

So I am supposed to list five things you didn’t know about me…Mmmh scratching head commences.

1) Everyone who knows me knows I am a confirmed gypsy at heart and love nothing more than a new stamp in my passport or at the very least the open road and a new road trip to Destination Anywhere….but what you maybe didn’t know is that I always travel alone. There are three main reasons why I travel alone.

i.) I am very independent and impulsive and all my trips whether just down the road or overseas are spur-of-the-moment whims. This tends to leave nobody else anytime to prepare to go with me. But then those that love me know that I am a free spirit when it comes to travel. Plans are just so mundane. Much better and more exciting to just up-and-go when the desire hits.

ii) I am a very independent and adventurous traveller. Again you would think this would make me a fun traveling companion and people would be queuing to sign up to travel with me. Think again. When I say adventurous, I mean adventurous. I don’t stick to a plan, I never go to the “tourist spots” and I love nothing more than hitting the unknown spots, leaving urban areas behind me and going out and exploring.

iii) The last reason why I am a solo traveller is probably the one I shouldn’t state here as it will definitely ensure my solo-travelling days. But in the interests of full disclosure…The third and final reason why I am a solo traveller is for the safety of any would be companions. You see, natural disasters tend to haunt all of my travels. I am not kidding here. Earthquake, cyclone, snowstorm, flood, 3 day hailstorm in a desert that usually only sees a couple of days of rain a year…these are just a few of actual natural disasters that have occurred when I decide on a whim to travel somewhere. So if you are a daredevil thrill-seeker, you may want to sign up to be my traveling companion. If you are an armchair traveller who loves nothing more than a relaxing holiday at the beach with a good book in hand – don’t pick me as your travel companion.

2) My favourite desert is cut up banana in custard. Oh I love chocolate cake, cheesecake, and other such scrumptiousness but my tried and true guilt-free pleasure is and will always be banana in custard. Guilt-free? Yes guilt-free because it is a healthy dessert. No, I swear it is. Think of it. Banana + Custard = Fruit + Dairy . So tell me how that is not healthy for you. Got you there. If you have not tried this dessert nor heard of this dessert, do yourself a favour and try it. You will not regret it. Mmmh think I am going to dish up a bowlful for myself after this blog is done.

3) My two guilty pleasure programs on television: All things Kardashian and Vampire Diaries. Yes I can see all the tsks tsks and head-shaking. But I don’t care. The Kardashian family is a family you can’t help but watch whether you want to or not. As for The Vampire Diaries…..I love the storyline, love the characters, love the back story and before you wonder whether I am Team Damian or Team Stefan I will tell you that I am both. Although to be fair in the current season I am little more slanted towards Team Damian. Who does not love a delicious bad boy vampire?

4) I am addicted to my collection of Archie comics….Not heard of them? I am shocked! Really shocked. I am talking about Archie, Bettie, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead and their adventures in the town of Riverdale. I still have 2 suitcases of these comics and digests and reread them any chance I get. They usually live in my bathroom so that I can take them out and read them while soaking in the tub. In fact I love a lot of comics or should I use the more pc term of Graphic Novels. They bring out the kid in me.

5) I am Carrie from Sex and the City when it comes to writing, dating and friends. Writing – like hers – is a passion of mine and many a time I have toyed with writing about the escapades of my dating life. As for dating, while that is an entirely other story but suffice to say I have had the disastrous dates with internet dates, millionaires, bad boys, weird guys. I have also had my Mr Big and my Aidan. But all of the dating and relationship woes and dramas have led me to rely on my friendships. Like Carrie I have AMAZING friends. They can be called upon in all times and like Carrie I have come to the conclusion that: “Maybe our girlfriends are our soul mates and guys are just people to have fun with.”

So ta-da there you have it…five things you may not have known about me.

Now to award fellow bloggers I find worthy of The Versatile Blogger Award…Drum roll please musicians…

Annetta Ribken’s Word Webbing

This lady is snarky, straight-talking, no BS, hilarious and as if that is not enough a very talented freelance editor and writer. Quite simply it is my diagnosis that you have to take a spoonful of Annetta’s word spinning on her blog at least once a week for good health and good humor.

Jessica McHugh’s No Vacation from Speculation

Those who know and love her simply call her The McHugh. She is a talented writer, poet, lover of speculative fiction and horror. She also has a wicked sense of humor and a wicked sense of the macabre. I love her because her blog never fails to entertain me. You will love her for the same reasons.

Eden Baylee’s Exciting, Exotic, Extremely Erotic

Eden is one of the kindest and most generous erotic writers you will ever meet. She is a very talented erotica author and a tireless blogger and social networker. Everyone that knows her loves her. What’s not to love? Like she says: Exciting, Exotic and Extremely Erotic. Follow her. Now.

Al Boudreau

This writer is a tireless Indie author promoter as well as a top thriller author as well. He is also my good friend and one of my favourite men in the writing world. His blog is a smart and intelligent take on the life of an indie author. You will want to read this Charming Gentleman’s blog immediately. Go now.

Paul D. Dail’s “A Horror Writer’s not necessarily Horrific Blog”

I got to know Paul through two blog hops we took part in 2011. The CoffinHop and Creepfest. Since then I have become not only friends with Paul but also a fan of both his blog and his writing. I enjoy each of his posts and love his style of writing. Follow his blog. You will not be sorry.

So there you have it folks….my first blogging back from the wilds….award in hand and passing it on to these five worthy bloggers, authors and friends. Follow them. That is my prognosis for a healthy day.

Watch this space tomorrow for the featured and much awaited interview with my AMAZING cover artist. I would love to keep her all to myself but she is just too amazing and talented a cover artist to not share with the world. And I am in a generous mood so tomorrow I will share her with you. So come back tomorrow for the featured interview. You will not want to miss that post.

Have a lovely weekend 🙂

Characters and their secrets

Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Postaday / Postaweek 2011, WIP, WIP Teasers
Secret Passageway
Image by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

Have you ever had reticent characters? Many readers and some writers believe that once you have written a book and created characters it gives you an omniscient presence in your character‘s world. For some this may be true. In my experience though, the opposite is true: instead of being creator and puppet master, I – the writer – am the servant and puppet. For me, my characters lead me down the twists and turns of their story. You see they have already walked it and lived it or are right in the thick of it, if anything I am an observer or a recorder of what they want me to tell the reader.

In my interviews on Warrior Wednesdays I always ask the question: What is most important or what comes first in your writing? The Story or the Character. You may wonder why I ask this. I ask this because in my own writing whether I think I get a story idea first or whether a certain character pops into my thoughts and hearing, ultimately it/they come from somewhere. I could say that I am brilliant and have a million and one stories within me but that would be false. I believe that as a writer we are a medium and a vehicle for our characters to tell their stories when, where, how and why they want to.

OK, I hear you say: so are you hearing voices from the deep dark and beyond. This is getting a little loopy! While if your right brain – creativity – rules you then count yourself loopy. Now don’t worry or look all shocked. I mean that yes you are loopy by the definition of a society where left brainers are the majority. I mean you imagine worlds, people, events, places in your head. By left brain definition you are deluded or hallucinatory or in a simple term loopy.

So back to the question: Do I hear voices from the deep, dark and beyond? To be honest, yes sometimes I have and do hear a voice. It pops into my thoughts and starts speaking. I know it is not me because it does not sound like anything I would say. Sometimes the voice is loud and sometimes it is quiet. For me though, I tend to stop and listen. I have tried the ignore button, even tried the mute button but then I end up with sleepless nights and eventually I just learn to respond. All that is usually needed is for me to listen and then a picture forms in my thoughts of who is speaking. Sometimes this is done by showing me a place first and sometimes it is like staring at my reflection in a mirror and slowly see a figure emerge from behind the door that is closed behind me. Then the who of them becomes a basis of their story. They live and breathe so they must have a story. That is when I put the pen to paper or finger to keyboard, whichever is in the closest vicinity, and write. Voila` a story is born and a character is on the page.

But some stories are different. Some characters like to keep secrets. They may even keep their identity a secret. You may be able to picture them but they do not tell you who they are. This may be because they enjoy the game or the control they have over you and your curiosity at this point. It may even be a method they are using to firstly get your interest in a story and then to keep it by leaving you with mysterious threads. For me this is very frustrating. I am a type A personality and like to be the one in control (blame my german roots) and I do not like surprises. If I am being honest here I also struggle with patience. So this character is like a double-dare and a red flag all at once for me.

In my new WIP, new in that I am at the start but not brand new story in that this story and these characters have haunted me for a while now. I knew I had to get this story written no matter how difficult the telling may be but somehow was coming up against a block. Then last weekend I had the epiphany to switch tracks from the German Professor Perfect to the train conducted by the 6-year-old curious and emotional Kimmi. Voila` the flood gates of inspiration started opening. But I still had a major problem. I did not know the identity of the antagonist. I kept on bumping up against this character. I could see the character but could not get a feel for this one like I did for the other characters. So I set it aside for a while and concentrated on talking to my characters in my NaNoWriMo novel and having a lot of fun with them on Facebook.

In the meantime I had also begun work last night on two writing workshops hosted by Savvy Authors. In one of the lessons, I had to write a full-page synopsis/outline via question and answer mode. So I decided to do the synopsis on my difficult WIP. It was late last night when the email had come through with the first lesson. So I looked at it and thought I would sleep on it and write it up first thing this morning. Well, the sleep idea soon turned out to be turned on its head. The synopsis kept on playing over and over in my head like a stuck gramophone. It got to the point that with 2 hours of broken sleep, I decided enough was enough. I would have to get this synopsis out my head and onto the screen. (The Macbook is never far away.) As I started answering the questions and the synopsis started fleshing out, I felt what could only be termed as a CLICK like something had locked into place or been opened. Suddenly as large as standing right in front of me, I met my antagonist. Just by finally knowing who this character was, a myriad of loose ends that had me stumped were tied up and the whole plot revealed itself to me. You see I could not see past the middle to the climax or the end because this story’s antagonist had hidden their identity from me. Suddenly I also knew why the identity had been hidden. This identity is the secret key to the whole story and demystifies both the protagonists as well.

Now I am not saying that I enjoyed meeting this antagonist as the character is the most sadistic and cruel character that I have yet met in my own thoughts. Just by this I know that I have not created this character. I have never actually known someone this… lets call it shadowed  or darkened. But as much as this character scared me to the depths of my soul, I suddenly had the key.

So yes characters keep secrets. Sometimes you find out through clues. But sometimes all of a sudden the secret is unlocked in an instant and it becomes a Pandora’s box. You will not be able to put the secrets back in the box once it is opened. Instead, try to rein in the secrets into one place: Your Characters’ Story. They know who you are. Now it is up to you to find out who they are.

So I ask you now, in light of my character unveiling, what comes first character or story?

Are you – the writer – the creator and puppet master or are you a mere medium and servant?

Ask yourself do you really think you just imagined some of those characters in your head and in your stories? Or are they the Storytellers and you are just a pen and paper?

– Kim

© All rights reserved Kim Koning.

Related Articles