Photo by Kody Ray Meek

A Cold, Blank Page

It all begins with a cold, blank page. Imagine a cursor blinking back at you, awaiting your every command. What do you tell that cursor to do? Do you begin your story in the middle of the action? Or perhaps a subtle introduction to your vision is the appropriate method. What are you trying accomplish with your story? Are you trying to pull the heart strings of your audience, or is the intention to get the reader to think about life in a different way. We've all read stories that made us feel for a character, or re-think our world view. Putting down a good book sometimes leaves a reader feeling empty, and wanting more; wanting desperately to return to the world they just left behind. In the end, that's what every writer wants - but where does a writer begin?

After I wrote my first book, which I will never attempt to publish, I realized it was lacking something. My wife insisted it was worthy of publication, but I resisted the temptation. It just wasn't good enough. Immediately after writing the book, I went to work on another one. I called it, "The Elements of Writing." Though it was left unfinished, forgotten, and lost over time, I remember taking a step back in an attempt to piece together where I went wrong. How does one create life on a blank page? Where does one start?

Just Start Living!

The most common piece of advice for aspiring authors has been, "Just start writing!" The suggestion is certainly well intention-ed,  and points many people in the right direction. I can't help but think there is more to stories than writing. There has to be more to it than simply putting words to paper. It wasn't until I started looking at the world around me when I discovered what was wrong. Don't just start writing. Instead, I urge the aspiring writer to "Just start living!"

You'll never know when inspiration will strike you, and sometimes it can come from a rather unexpected place. The photo at the top of this article was taken by Kody Ray Meek - a fan who has faith in my writing before he even had the chance to read my first book. Inspired by my upcoming debut release, "Platform 21" Kody went with a few friends to take pictures of East Liverpool. What resulted was a photo that literally spoke to me. I already knew East Liverpool was gem left buried and forgotten by hard economic times. What surprised me, was its strange ability to capture the imagination of others. There is just something alive about the place. Something I can't even begin to comprehend.

On a whim and a desire to find that little extra something for my writing, I visited East Liverpool just about a year ago. All I knew were the stories of an old Navy friend. He spoke fondly of his home town - and now I see why.  What I found was a bit of myself, all accompanied by a piece of the American Spirit I once thought forgotten. It's hard to explain it and difficult to feel on your visit, but the city itself speaks to you. It wants you to feel at home there.

Do Something Adventurous!

I would not have the book I wrote today if it weren't for going out into the world and experiencing things myself.  For a guy who has never enjoyed the paranormal, or ghost stories as a medium for entertainment, I found myself looking at a story that challenged my intuition. Personally, I'm scared of what goes bump in the night and the creepy shadows cast by the moonlight filtering through the trees. Despite this, I needed to experience the history of East Liverpool first hand. Where did I go? I sought out the local Paranormal Investigative Society, Ghosting 12.

Fresh off their search for Big Foot, the group led me deep into the woods of Beaver Creek. We set off at midnight. The moon was nowhere to be found. We were going to Gretchen's Lock, a place that is widely known to be haunted by a little girl who died to malaria in the early 1800s.  We were going to attempt contacting her - Was I out of my mind?! Absolutely, but what I got out of the experience was priceless. The experience not only inspired one of my favorite chapters of the book, but also gave me a mental image to describe for my readers.

Darkness, something as calming as it can be unnerving. Broken by the chilled beam of a flashlight, its round silhouette revealed the scene. The light found gray trees, earth, and brush as a running creek could be heard bubbling nearby. A figure stirred from under my arm, Angela was pressed tightly against me. Adjusting my gaze to the world below, my flashlight exposed tall columns of stone. Like a buried treasure, these stones were ancient, almost mythical. For what purpose they were built, I didn’t know. The structure towered high over the ground, forming a makeshift tunnel. And there we were, Angela and I, perched atop what could have been the remnants of an ancient civilization. 

A shadow rushed through the beam of my flashlight. Startled, I directed the light where the shadow flew. Still waters reflected back into my vision. The wind was notably absent, the trees were eerily silent. The light of the moon was concealed by the cloudy night. Not even the faint image of its crescent managed to show through the thickness of the mists above. From the distance, the beam found a large boulder which overlooked the creek below. Darkness blanketed the area behind it. Where the reassuring rays of my flashlight should have exposed the secrets concealed by the darkness, it found nothing. I stopped. Allowing the light to burn into the area, my grip on Angela tightened, as my heart came to an icy halt. In the blink of an eye, two orbs of light reflected back into my vision. Gray, silvery eyes blinked twice more as the shadow took form.                  --Platform 21

Do Something Out of Character!

I've heard of authors talk about going out and people watch. They visit public places, or take public transportation for no reason other than to observe the people around them. By observing others, authors can create characters that seem and feel real. The question I'm left with is, "Are we authentically real out in public?" I'm sure I'm like most people when I'm in the public eye. I watch my behavior, and guard my tongue. Doing my best not to catch the attention of a bystander, I mind my manners and refrain from discussing anything of my personal life. In today's society, we are creatures who worry about what everyone thinks. We hide our true selves, and keep the scars of our personalities from rising to the surface. People watching, in effect, is useless. At least - that is my opinion.

So where does one go to develop real, thinking characters? Admittedly, I'd say the characters reveal themselves to you - as an author you are constantly in the mind of the characters. In effect, you are Role Playing. Luckily for me, no one wants to watch a writer act out scenes in a dark room lit only by a computer monitor - but as an author I have to get into character, much like an actor, and feel out their emotions, goals, and what drives them. I refuse to story board, or stick to a rigid plan when writing for a few reason, but chief among those is that sometimes the characters surprise me, and do something I wasn't expecting. A good writer knows when to let the characters dictate the direction of the story.

Like any other skill, Role Playing and Character Development needs to be practiced in order to be effective. If people watching isn't good enough, where are we to turn? A common criticism is that people on the internet don't have a filter. It's because they hide behind a monitor. When there are little consequences for your actions on the internet, people tend to reveal more of themselves than they'd normally be comfortable with. What's the best place to observe this without reading the comments on Facebook or YouTube (There is nothing to be gained from trying to understand the pure, unadulterated ugliness that floats through the internet)?

 

Image by CCP Games

Yes, I admit it. I'm a complete nerd . . . I can't help it. EVE Online has been one of the longest running MMOGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Game) of all time. Having opened its doors ten years ago, no other game has been mentioned in the news more than EVE. How can a ten year old game with flashy spreadsheets help your writing career? Well, let me tell you a story.

The object of the game is . . . well . . . it's whatever you want it to be. You as a player are literally dumped into the world with very little direction. The game is completely player driven. Do you want to be a Space Pirate? What about a business tycoon? You can even make your way through the game picking away at space rocks if you want to. But from all the freedom is born a living, breathing society entangled by its own politics, drama, and stories. It is all player created content - People, real people and personalities are driving the universe.

When I started playing the game, I wanted to be a respectable business man. The goal was to haul goods through the galaxy, and run trade routes to make money. Unfortunately, a space pirate (A real life player) with a mind for our money changed all of that. He held a group of my friends hostage, and ransomed them for their freedom.  Helpless, and unable to fight back, we were forced to pay a ransom.

My mind went into my character's head. When I play these games, I make it a point to try to role play, even if I'm not sharing the experience with others. In response to the incident, I made the decision to take up combat training, and provide security over my operations myself. In the process, I formed a Corporation with another combat minded pilot, Black Aivo. 

Black was a seasoned veteran, and had seen heavy combat. He had dreams and aspirations of Wormhole Exploration. These were aspirations my business savvy character shared, as there was plenty of money to be made deep space exploration. So, we began preparations to move into wormhole space, but Black was far too eager. He began taking out loans to purchase a Mobile Station. Though I warned him that the corporation wasn't ready yet, he pushed forward with his plans.

Meanwhile, one of Black Aivo's old contacts had hatched a plan of revenge against him. He intended to infiltrate our corporation and steal all the assets we purchased for deep space exploration. When we discovered his intentions, we immediately removed him from the corporation - but this wasn't enough to save us from his scheming. The would-be infiltrator hired a Mercenary Group to declare war on us. We were easily out gunned, and a war would shut down all of our operations. So - we made the hasty decision to retreat to Wormhole space. With little resources, and a green fleet, we tucked tail and entered the wormhole. 

Though we were safe from the mercenaries, we found ourselves in deep space. The hole leading back to home was closed. Separated from the rest of civilization, we were trapped in the far reaches of space. It was there we met the sharks of the universe. Old pirates long lost to civilization scour the belts looking for easy targets. We lost ship after ship to those who would prey on our situation. Our corporation was losing assets, and our members began losing faith. Throughout it all, Black Aivo remained unconcerned of our predicament, and did little to protect his corp mates. Showing no intentions of paying back his debts, the crew became anxious.

"We'll follow wherever you lead," said one corp mate of mine. Little did he know that others had already begun whispering notes of mutiny in my ear. There I was, facing a situation that would turn me, a respectable business man, into an unsavory pirate. Our assets measured into the billions of ISK (EVE online's currency). My corp mates worked too hard, and lost too many ships to remain stranded in deep space forever, something Black forced down our throats. Suddenly, I felt compelled to act against the morals of my character. Though on a personal level, I would've found other ways to resolve the conflict, the character I played was somebody else entirely. Channeling the character's personality, I let him make the decision.

All we needed was the right moment to strike . . . 

One day, a wormhole back to civilization opened up. Our explorers reported that the wormhole dropped us in the solar system Rens, which was home to one of the biggest trade hubs in the universe. Had the Gods of EVE spoken? The situation made it all too easy for us. While Black was away on other business, the team emptied the corporate hanger of all of its assets, and delivered the goods to willing trade partners. Having access to the corporate wallet, I stole every single red cent from it. In the end, we made billions. But we weren't finished yet . . . 

You see - In EVE, if you turn your back on your allies, they tend to want to get revenge. Simply leaving the corporation would have been enough to incite Black's wrath. So, we had to cripple him. Not only did we steal every penny he borrowed, we also stole all of his personal assets he left at our station. Then, after everything was cleaned out, we took the station's fuel, and powered down the shields. Once we were safe in High Security space, we alerted every space pirate we could find that there was an undefended Station in deep space, just waiting for them to loot, pillage, and destroy. What scavenger of the deep would ignore such an opportunity?

By the time Black discovered what happened, everything was either stolen, or destroyed. The deed was done, and I had become a pirate. Though he hasn't attempted revenge yet - My allies and I are waiting patiently for the day he comes to find us. 

But what was the point of all this? What did I gain from this? Well, I was people watching. I got see the effect my corporation's politics had on others. I got to see just what line needed to be crossed to turn a respectable business man into an unsavory pirate. Though it was role playing, I felt what it was like to execute the plan. I felt what it was like to betray an ally. This is just one such story in EVE, and there are so many others out there waiting to be told. It has endless potential, and for me, has been the best method for sharpening my character development and role playing skills.

In Conclusion

You can't expect to bring life to a cold, blank page unless you know what it is to live. How can you expect to tug at the heart strings of your audience if yours haven't been pulled for ages? Writing by itself is an exercise in precision, like math. In order to turn those words into art, you have to reflect on your own personal experience. So get out there - see the world and experience all it has to offer. As for me, I explored a forgotten city, went ghost hunting, and became a space pirate. That has made all the difference. 

Would you like to join me in EVE and make some stories of your own? Follow this link for a free 15-day trail of EVE, and find out for yourself what you would do in such a situation.  This isn't a sponsorship - it's an invitation. Feel free to look me up. My name on EVE is Jesseria DeSayge.