Category Archives: Training Time (WIP)
O is for… (#AtoZChallenge 2012)
O is for Oak Tree (and Occupation)
(Post 15 on my WIP)
Jane, over on the other side, had spotted the great oak tree from which Skye’s leaf had probably fallen. She loved the gnarled wood and age spots and how each leaf seemed to be hanging on by a delicate thread. She captured the carpet of colours of the fallen leaves in a more abstract way.
In ‘Training Time’ Jane is re-introduced to her love of painting and the first thing she draws is an oak tree in a ‘secret garden’ in the grounds of the academy. Today I had a go at drawing an oak tree myself (sans fallen leaves) and realised that I do not share Jane’s talent. I do love trees for some reason and remember we had an orchard at my first school, that we built nests of cut grass under in the summer, and played with acorns with their little hats.
So it seems that my day job has crept into my novel in terms of highlighting and discussing one of the main character’s most meaningful occupations. I wrote about this for last year’s O so I’ll just refer you to that post instead. For now you can just sit back and ‘enjoy’ my tree drawing ;O)
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N is for… (#AtoZChallenge 2012)
N is for Names
(Post 14 on my WIP)
I mentioned in my L post that Scrivener has a name generator that I haven’t used yet. I have used baby name books in the past though (and kept back a few for the real thing if/when it happens).
I currently have about 30 named characters in my novel and I can’t really remember how I came up with many of their names but oddly I think they fit and I wouldn’t want to change them now. So Shakespeare I’m just not sure if I agree with you.
I’m just going to highlight a few of them now.
I chose Jane Thomas as a plain ordinary name even though she is the heroine of the book. I think I wanted to highlight that anyone can be placed in an extraordinary situation and also (considering my M post) that anyone can experience mental health conditions.
I already mentioned naming the Forensics teacher after two of my friends and another few friends’ or friends’ kids’ names have slipped in the book, sometimes just because I love the name but often by virtue of a name check. I’ve still got a few to get in maybe, though it would seem odd to have them all as main characters, and in some respects would destroy the world building a bit (if you don’t end up named in this one I am hoping this will be a series, plus you’ll be in the dedication).
Skye (who you’ve yet to meet) is a name I just really like (a shortened version of Skylar). When I decided her character was a bit of a hippy her surname popped up and Skye Rain was born.
The biggest name related comment that came back from the beta-readers was about the Commander’s surname being Trainer and him being, well, a trainer. The Academy is set on a block named after him ‘Trainer’s Place’ and I just can’t let go of it. I know it maybe seems a bit cheesy but I find it hard to hear him have any other name. I guess another thing is because Jane doesn’t take his name it almost makes it hurt twice as much that it starts with the same initial.
It’s not just people that get named but places and things. There’s a club called The Rainbow Room, a hamster called Schwartz and some medication named after Ian Rankin (because randomly I’d just started following him on Twitter and his name stuck in my head). So one of the drugs Jane takes to control her mania is called Rankinex!
The other name thing I want to mention is pen names. Am I odd in wanting to use my own birth name? Even if I’m married by the time I publish it (you never know miracles might happen)? I could use my twitter/blog handle but that would just be odd!
How do you come up with your names (character or pen)?
Do you find the same ones popping up in different stories that you’ve written? (I have a Skylar and the surname Trainer in a short story that I sent off at the same time as my Novel sample).
Have you ever been made to change a character’s name and how did you handle that?
In preparation for Thursday’s Q post I’m asking for your questions here.
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M is for… (#AtoZChallenge 2012)
M is for Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder)
(Post 13 on my WIP)
I obviously can’t stop letting my day job (as an Occupational Therapist) creep into my writing. My main character Jane has Bipolar Disorder, which is more colloquially known as Manic Depression. This is a psychiatric condition that results in severe shifts in mood, from depressive lows to manic highs.
My hope is to present this condition in the book in a balanced way. For Jane it is not her ‘defining feature’ but just another part of her and, in fiction terms another barrier for her to overcome, but not an insurmountable one. One incident happens in the book that happened to Silver’s character in 90210 – I was really annoyed when I saw it because I’d already thought of the idea and obviously my version will now come later. Just goes to show there are no (or at least very few) truly original ideas in fiction.
The Time to Change campaign aims to end the stigma experienced by those with mental health conditions – why not show your support by Liking them on Facebook or by visiting their website to find out more. 1 in 4 of us is likely to experience some form of mental health problem at one point in our lives but we are still too scared to talk about it for fear of being seen and treated differently. Often those who have never experienced mental health conditions are also scared to talk about it because there is fear of the unknown. Will you pledge to at least start talking?
Writers and creative people in particular seem to, at least anecdotally, experience mental health problems frequently. I know I personally find it difficult to manage stress and have always been a very emotional person who tends to cry a lot (often when I am frustrated rather than always to do with low mood although some people struggle to understand this). I have felt judged at times when discussing this with others. One of the people on the Time to Change blog discusses the suggestion that people think you ‘can’t cope’. I also think that far too often in life people are pressurised to withdraw from stressful situations rather than the stressful situations being addressed and managed. There needs to be a balance between looking at the person and looking at the environmental aspects (as well as looking at occupations – but that discussion’s for another post).
To find out more about bipolar disorder why not start here at the Royal College of Psychiatrists website.
Do you think there are enough ‘positive’ portrayals of characters with mental health conditions in fiction?
kirstyes 