From the Valley Center Writers Workshop

Hi to the Valley Center Writers who have tuned in here to look at the exercise notes that I promised to post!  (And if you're just browsing this randomly, welcome to you, too. )

This is an exercise we did during the second part of the world building fiction workshop on May 12, 2012.  Good luck with your worlds and, once again, you all were fabulous!

A Day in the Life

After every stage, remember to ask yourself how you can make the details of what just happened a little different....

Okay--so you've just written down some notes about a world you're creating.  Let's walk through this world by using a character that you've either created already or a random character.  You can even use yourself, if it's more comfortable.

* Are you male or female?
* What is your name?  (Is it a strange sci-fi or fantasy type name?  "Normal" name?)
*What is your station in life?  (Rich, poor, middle class, something else altogether?)
*What is your job?
*What are the physics of your world (Zero gravity, for instance?  Normal?)

[Look at what you have so far.  How can you make at least one detail of your world a little out of the ordinary?]

Time for your morning routine....
*What do you eat?
*When you look outside (if there is an outside), what is the weather like?
*What are you going to wear?

[Again, look at what you have so far.  How can you make at least one detail of your world a little out of the ordinary?]

*How do you get to work (mode of transportation) if you do work?
*What do you see along the way?  (Different creatures or types of people?  Road signs or advertisements for politics, religious beliefs, signs of what's important to society?  Are there any details you see that will foreshadow what will happen later in the story?  Are there any signs of how society is controlled or not controlled?)
*What is the architecture like?
*How is everyone communicating?

[And...look at what you have so far.  How can you make at least one detail of your world a little out of the ordinary?]

TWIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You run into an event on your way to work (or wherever).  Is this event political?  Holiday related?  Something to do with the history of the town? Is it based on a grudge that two clans/businesses/groups have with one another?
What is happening in general?
*And what is happening to you, specifically?*
(This moment can end up being a springboard for your plot--an "into the special world" marker on the Hero's Journey.  If you're writing a contemporary, this might be where the hero and heroine meet, since it's fertile ground for conflict.  Or would this make a good action scene?  If you're writing a historical, this moment could paint a vivid picture of the times if the author uses a real event and sweeps the character into it.)

******How does your world changes at this point?*****

And there it is.  Have fun, and keep on writing!

Character Interview Questions

Hi, EVA writers (and everyone else)!

At today's world building workshop, I gave a sample of questions I often ask about my characters before I begin my actual writing.  I initially developed these so I could go into deep point of view with each character, but these can also help with world building.  (I'll provide comments after some of them, just as I did during the workshop).

*What do you do for a living?  Why?

This can show the different occupations in your world and help you figure out what your world needs in order to function on a daily basis.  Does your character have a low level job--are they in the "dregs of this society"?  Or is it the opposite?

*What’s your family like and how does your upbringing affect you now?
How a character's family functions in this world is important.  Is it a society in which children are valuable?  Or are kids stuck in a high-tech nursery to be raised in order to become a cog in the wheel of your society?  This question will reflect cultural norms.

*What is your worst fear?  (This one figures into the plot because I try to make sure their worst fears are realized.)
Very important.  You'll want to build the possibility (and eventuality) of this fear coming true *in to* your world.

*What kind of clothing do you wear?  Why?
Does the character wear clothing that conforms to your world?  Or are they a fish out of water, and does their clothing reflect that?

*What is your “foil”’s hair/eyes, etc. like?  (Here, I work up descriptions from the hero or heroine’s POV—How would the hero describe the heroine’s red hair, for instance?  What does this description say about him or his experiences?  Is the color somehow reflective of the heroine’s personality as he perceives it or is it reflective something the hero has experienced in his own life?)
As for world building, are there "different" things about your world that can be worked into a description?  For instance, if the hero's eyes are gray, maybe they're the gray of a postapocalyptic sky, and since that's from the heroine's world experience, you're building some of your world right there.


How would you describe your own appearance?  How do you feel about your body?


(I'll leave the rest to you guys!)


*What is your favorite saying/motto?  (This is usually the character in a nutshell. Maybe it’s a cliché, like “What comes around goes around.”  Or maybe it’s something different, like “Screw me once, yea for me.  Screw me over, you’re gonna pay.”)

*What kind of hobbies do you have?  (Anything quirky?  How do these round you out as a person?  Any evidence of them in your apartment or workplace?)

*What would people have written about you in your high school yearbook?  (What’s written beneath your picture?  Any awards or dreams that have since died?  How did other people view you?)

*What is your love history?

*What would you find in your purse or wallet?

*What tangible object would symbolize you? (This could tie in with the theme of the story.)

*What kind of education do you have?

*Where do you live?  Why?

For those who attended the workshop on Saturday the 5th, thank you!  I hope these questions help you.  I hope they help all you other writers out there, too.

Happy writing!

Latest Winner!

Congratulations to Audrey Larson, who won the most recent contest.  She'll receive a Priority Mail box full of books.  :)

I just want to mention that my email has been very wonky, so if you've tried to reach me (or if you've been expecting an email from me), I've either answered or the email has been lost.  You can always get a hold of me on this blog in the latest comments section, though.  So sorry about this--I'm checking into my options.

Have a great week, and you can enter the new contest at http://crystal-green.com/contest.php !

Contest is back up!

My contest at crystal-green.com is back up!  So sorry for the error.  :)

Sorry about the contest page...getting on it...

Hey, you all,

I've been informed that my crystal-green.com contest entry isn't working, and I've let me page designer know.  I hope to have this fixed soon, so please bear with me, and thank you so much for your patience.  I'm also waiting for the last contest winner to respond to my email, so hopefully I'll have her name for you soon!

Thanks.  ; )

Great E-Read Recommendation

Did I tell you all how much I love my Kindle?  One of the reasons is because I get to read books that aren't necessarily available in print, such as Mary Leo's amazing TRUSTING EVIL (a book about Richard Speck's influence on a group of young girls in the neighborhood where the massacre occurred and how one of them grew up haunted by the killings).

Here's another fabulous tale available as an e-read only.  It's a novella called THE VAMPIRE PENDANT and it's the first story in the BLOOD GENIES series from Sheri Whitefeather.  I'm her critique partner, so I got a preview--and, let me tell you, it's hot.

Sexy.

Evocative.

Hotness.

As you can tell from the series title, it's about a hybrid vampire and genie, and the action takes place in old school Hollywood.  It's a highly emotional story, too, which you don't find often in erotic fiction.

I highly recommend this for a romantic and steamy weekend read!

Click here for a buy link!  http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Pendant-Novella-ebook/dp/B007XIFQZG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335531383&sr=1-1

New Book Deal!

I can finally announce that I sold a new series to Ace!

From Publisher's Marketplace:
Chris Marie Green (AKA Christine Cody)’s “Jensen Murphy: Ghost for Hire” series in a three-book deal with Penguin. The urban fantasy trilogy features a justice-seeking spirit who takes on assignments to haunt/punish humans for the crimes they have committed. Editor: Ginjer Buchanan, agent: Pamela Harty of The Knight Literary Agency.


Back in October, I blogged about how this idea came about...

Sometimes ideas for new books/series are slow in coming. They evolve, pieced together bit by bit--a magazine article here, an experience you've had in life there...

And one day, it coalesces, and you flesh it out until it's ready to hit your editor's desk.

Then there are some ideas that run you over like a freight train.

That's what happened to me last week, while I was at the World Fantasy Con in San Diego....

My fellow paranormal writer Linda Thomas-Sundstrom and I were having lunch with a wonderful fantasy author who shall remain anonymous when we got into a powerful conversation about the death penalty. When Linda and I were walking back to the workshop area, we exchanged thoughts, as you do, then veered into a related subject: true crime books, like the ones written by Ann Rule. I asked Linda if she had read any John Douglas books, in particular THE CASES THAT HAUNT US. I told her about the stories in it--Jon Benet Ramsey, Jack the Ripper, OJ Simpson.... Linda paused, then referred back to the title of the book as well as our main topic, saying something that jerked me toward this new idea (and, yes, I am remaining vague here on purpose. ).

I blurted out the concept of the book, because it was triggered that quickly, and Linda and I stared at each other for a second then started laughing maniacally. She said jokingly, "If you use that, you have to acknowledge me." I said I would dedicate the book to her, LOL.

What Linda said, after I repeated the name of the John Douglas book, THE CASES THAT HAUNT US, was "People like that *should* be haunted."

And that's when I immediately pictured a ghost who works with an organization/agency that hires out spirits to exact vengeance on people who might be guilty of committing a crime. Boom--just like that. While I was walking home that day, I kept stopping, whipping out my notebook and fleshing out this ghost character, Jensen Murphy. She's a ghost who died in the 80s, and I kept picturing her, not as a Valley Girl, but more as one of those cool heroines from a 70s or 80s horror movie, like Sue in CARRIE or Ginny in the second FRIDAY THE 13th flick. Also, I knew I wanted to set the action in Southern California, and I thought of Elfin Forest in North County--the perfect place for Jensen to die.

(If you don't believe me, do a search on Elfin Forest. Perfect!)

I'll be working on this project after summer, since I've got other books to finish before then. Until that time, though, there just might be another big announcement coming down the pike. In fact, I guarantee it!

So stay tuned....

Tucson Festival of Books

Just a reminder: I'll be at the Tucson Festival of Books (tucsonfestivalofbooks.org) this weekend with some friends, Judy Duarte, HelenKay Dimon, and Linda Thomas-Sundstrom! I was able to get on a couple great panels as well as have a signing with Mysterious Galaxy. Here's where I'll be:

Saturday, 11am
Booth #255 Mysterious Galaxy signing

2:30pm, ILC Room 141
Who Loves Ya, Baby?: Embracing the Bad Boy Hero panel
Brenda Novak, Rachel Gibson, Me (AKA Chris Marie Green)

Sunday, 10am, Koeffler Room 216
Villains, Vixens, and Vipers: The Role of Evildoers panel
Brenda Novak, Shayla Black, Me (AKA Chris Marie Green)

After the panels, we're scheduled to be at the Tucson RWA booth. They'll be giving free books away there for as long as they last, so you'll probably want to hit their booth first. :)

If you're planning to go, please say hi! I'm really excited to meet new people and catch up with old friends, as well as to sit in on some of these fabulous panels....