Once a year, as part of my job, I have to pull out an electric typewriter.  It brings back memories of typing class, the old clunky manual typewriters, and the thrill of sitting down to my first electric version.  It felt so high-tech and futuristic.  Like ‘The Jetsons were real.

Today, I plunked out a few test letters to make sure the machine was still working, and found myself typing away.  Nonsense sentences that meant nothing but made my fingers move across the keys, pushing them down, listening to the unmistakable sounds of a typewriter.  Of course the first sentence ran off the page because the margins hadn’t been set so there was no warning beep that I needed to hit the return key.  Remember when the key said ‘return’ and not ‘enter’? 

At first I thought it might be fun to write on a typewriter again.  But after playing with it I changed my mind.  First, there is a deep intimacy between my brain and the pen and paper.  When I hand-write, I slow down, feel the letters and words, and immerse myself in the form.  Which is fine until the story takes over and the pen can’t keep up.  Then it’s time for the laptop because my fingers type faster than they write.  So why doesn’t a typewriter sound enticing?  Because I noticed when I was typing that more effort goes into pushing those keys down then in typing on a computer.  And that minute effort, as little as it is, feels like a barrier between me and the story.  The more I typed the more tense I became, as if I needed to somehow break through that block between fingers, keys, and paper.

So even though the typewriter was fun, I’m going to put it back in its dark hole for another year and stick to a medium that allows no barriers.  In other words, nude writing.  Which is not the same thing as writing in the nude…

Have you found writing mediums that block the words?  What is your preference for writing with no barrier between you and the story?  I know writers who swear by computers only, writers who have to have paper, writers who need the computer to create and paper to edit.  Let me know what works for you.  Maybe there’s even a typist out there.

A friend asked me this morning how to write a book.  He has some ideas and has been jotting them down and is now at the point where he’s thinking about creating. After a long phone conversation that left me excited for him, I started thinking about competition.

Writing seems to be one of the few jobs where competition exists in the higher echelons, in the marketing realms, in that thin ozone layer populated by big names and big dollars.  Down here on the ground level, competition isn’t as apparent.  I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, but rather that it’s not as common.

Almost every writer I come across is excited to help other writers. It’s like we get just as enthusiastic to support another as we get when we start one of our own stories.  There’s something about seeing the magic we feel bloom in another.

It’s one of the reasons I love editing and talking writing, and sitting in on writer’s groups, and attending conventions and classes and…you get the idea.  Just being around writers, no matter what level, is inspiring.  Maybe that’s a type of competition because the inspiration makes me want to jump into my own writing.  But if so it’s not a negative competition.

I like the idea of being immersed in something I love, in something that I see in others, and in something I can support another in.  Not once have I paused and thought, ‘damn, that’s a better idea than mine’ or ‘crap, they’re a better writer’.  Instead when I come across writing that shines, I’m inspired to write better, to learn, and to work.  Confess; don’t you get a thrill when you realize the person you’re talking to writes?

Maybe I’m bordering on being naive here, but my friend’s excitement about beginning makes me only want to support him and see him soar.

How about you?  Do you feel a sense of competition when it comes to being around other writers?  Can you tell me what that competition feels like?  Do you want to support beginning writers, or make sure they don’t pass you up?  Does competition inspire you to work harder, or threaten you?   Any other thoughts?

Creating antagonists can be challenging and fun for writers.  The challenge of course, is creating villains that are believable.  Gone are the days when you immediately recognized the villain because of the black  hat.  Last week I picked up a book I had read as a child.  The cover had a storm-shrouded house on a cliff edge, with the young governess running from it, lit by moonlight, and looking back over her shoulder in horror.  I got so much enjoyment out of re-reading that book.  Took me about five minutes.  These days, though, the villain must be realistic, believable, and with recognizable reasons for doing what he/she does, even if the reasons are insane.  Jessica Page Morrell has a great book called Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches, about creating believable antagonists; it’s well worth reading. 

One odd question I’ve received lately, is for suggestions on ‘evil’ names.  It appears some beginning writers think that a villain’s name must be evil, although I’m not sure what an ‘evil’ name sounds like.  I usually respond that the character makes the name evil, not the other way around.  ‘Ted’ wasn’t an evil name until associated with Ted Bundy.  Most writers already know this, and know that a truly horrific and terrifying antagonist is one that could live next door and not be recognized as the wearer of the black hat. 

Personally, the antagonist is, for me, my favorite character.  I think it goes back to highschool days and secret crushes on the bad boys.  Plus, that character can be the most challenging to write.  A story I wrote had a character based loosely on a relative.  As my own private retaliation, the character died in the first draft.  Oh, the outcry in the writer’s group!  Turns out that character was their favorite and many recognized aspects of the character from people they knew.  I took their advice, resurrected the character and ended up with a much stronger story. 

A character who creates strong reactions in the readers is one to hang on to and not kill off, which sounds obvious to writers until we have a character we really want to do away with.  Antagonists can be the character who holds the whole story together, keeps the reader turning the pages, and can be more important than the protagonist.  Which can actually be something to watch out for if you don’t want that antagonist taking over. 

So what antagonists remain with you after finishing a book, and why?  Do you prefer developing the protagonist or the antagonist and why?  Have you learned more about the craft of writing through the protagonist or the antagonist?  How do you develop an antagonist that is believable?