Usual Suspects (#atozchallenge)

PS (in this case, pre-script)--My Mondays and Wednesdays have me running around without good internet access all day until 9pm EST (US). I'll get back to you, but it might be late tonight. 

Today's post is a little different from my other 25 for the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, because I'm trying to do double duty. I know, I know. Shame on me. Maybe I'm cheating a little, but I don't think so. Maybe it's more like positive time management :)

Anyway, today is U for the A-to-Z Challenge.

It's also the Now Starring... Blogfest.

So, today, I give you my Usual Suspects.

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Here's my ideal cast of Fighting Fate, my work in progress. These are only the major players for Book 1. Anyone else I'll have to save for another time.

Anabelle Lindsky, played by Emma Roberts. 
Anabelle, 19, is a lively girl, impulsive and playful. Emma Roberts physically looks the most like how I picture Anabelle in my mind. I'm not positive I've ever seen Roberts on screen, so I can't say much about her acting. She just needs a pair of blue contacts.

Prince Marcus, played by Chace Crawford.

Marcus, 21, has little interest in what the royal family wants from him. He's rebellious, but in his own subtle way. Not only does Crawford look like my ideal Marcus, but his attitude and his acting making me think he'd do well.

Admittedly, it was a toss up between Crawford and Zac Efron, but Crawford won out.

Lily Yasukawa, played by Aya Ueto.

Lily is spunky and nuts, and drives Anabelle to do things she wouldn't do of her own accord. She puts up with not nonsense, and it's in your best interest not to lie to her. She has her ways of making you regret it.

Roger McKilthy, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Roger is Marcus's bodyguard. Serious and stoic, and, well, hot. Yup. Roger's muscle and hotness, and I can't think of anyone better than Gyllenhaal to do that. Oh, yeah, he's a good actor, too :)

Betsy Lindsky, played by Charisma Carpenter.

Anabelle's mother is beautiful and spunky. Who better than Carpenter to play that role?

Then again, it's hard for me to think of Carpenter as her own age after habitually watching Buffy. To me, even at 41, she's a HS student! But in my WIP, she'd be playing her actual age.

Queen Renee, played by Helena Bonham Carter.

I think Helena Bonham Carter is so incredibly beautiful, even when she's playing an evil Death Eater. The woman has so much poise and charisma, she would be a perfect Queen. 

Eric and Camilla, Archduke and Archduchess, played by Alan Tudyk and Gina Torres.

They have such great chemistry in Firefly and Serenity, and they both fit the bill physically for my mental image, so I'd love it if they could play my Duke and Duchess, too (just in less cowboy-meets-outer-space-type clothing).

Princess Natalie, played by Summer Glau.

Okay, I never watched the Terminator series. My devotion to Glau comes from all things Joss Whedon. Natalie's character is a little crazy, a lot blunt, and just enough off the mainstream that Glau seemed the perfect fit. Plus, Glau's dance experience could come in handy in Book 2. *wink* 

Lady Zoe, played by Amanda Bynes.

Zoe is blonde, beautiful, and voluptuous. Of all the characters I've listed here, she's about the only one who hasn't changed.












Who would you cast for your novel?

For the Love of Character...

Based on a particular comment on yesterday's post (i.e., I must be crazy if I'm a writer—which is quite observant), I've decided not to hide my weirdness.  There's no need to pretend I'm normal or mature. 

Though I doubt I've hidden it from you until now.

(This is not actually the point to this post.  The digression stops here, folks!  Insert poorly written segue...)

What is a story without strong characters?  There are many answers to this question, but the one that's vital is, it's unpublishable.  This is hardly a new concept.  Characters are bread and butter in this industry.  A great story can be written with little conflict (though I wouldn't recommend it), but a story is nothing without its people.

Tying all of this together now, my crazy brain likes to dream in wild ways that are so far from reality that the Milky Way looks no bigger than it's candy bar counterpart.  In this fantasy anti-reality, my current WiP comes complete with a soundtrack and full cast.  Well, not full, but close.  And by cast I mean actual contemporary actors who would play a certain role well.

Now we understand why I write fantasy—nothing in my head is real :)

This morning on my walk to class I got to thinking about my cast.  I'm a little embarrassed to tell you who's in it, but there are some definite highlights from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl (ten points to whoever can identify the actor in both).  One actor I've never even seen act, but only seen him in commercials for movies and television, or on the cover of something akin to Teen Beat while waiting to pay for my groceries. 

While trying to keep my balance on the worn, slick brick path through the woods on campus, I had a startling, painful, depressing realization.  I have no actor for my MC.  The story's told in first person.  My MC should be the person we know the best.  So why couldn't I pick an actor to play her?

Okay, there are two possible answers to this.  The optimistic one: I don't watch a lot of teeny-bopper TV and movies (Gossip Girl aside) and therefore don't know of a good actor to play this 19 yr old girl.

And the pessimistic one: she's not developed enough.

I just about needed a triple bypass after that thought.

I've been nervous about this ever since I received some preliminary notes that said the reader didn't get a strong sense of who my MC was and that she was a little too perfect.  I mentioned this to another reader, who responded that my MC is a normal teenage girl thrown into an awkward situation, and acts more or less appropriately.  I've been trying to rough up my MC a bit during this round of editing, but I'm questioning everything.  Is it enough?  Is her response here too predictable or not predictable enough?  Should she be good at this task on her first try or not?  Is she being honest enough about this awkward situation, or too honest?

Ack!

Then a fleeting thought raced through my head (crashing desperately just above my ear, preventing its escape), whispering that there are examples of first person narrators in literature who have little to no personality, and who are merely there to enjoy the boozy partying.  I won't name anything specifically because I wouldn't dare want to imply any comparison between me and said author(s), but it exists.  Do I think it's publishable in today's market?  Hell no.  I have no illusions here.

I really wish that thought had flown right out of my ear before I could hear what it said.  Hmph.  It shouldn't have been talking on its cell phone....

Okay, enough rambling from me.  I should get back to destroying my overly perfect, goodie-goodie narrator.


What do you do to further develop your characters?  Do you write diaries or external scenes that should never see the ink of print?  Do you outline or chart different characteristics?  Do you simply listen to the voices in your head? (This may be the only industry where that's not considered unhealthy.)


PS—I want you to know that I'm a member of GGWA (Gossip Girl Watchers Anonymous).  It's been six months since my last viewing.  There's a meeting tonight at 9pm EST/8pm CST.