Monday Mystery: Katie Alender

Anddddd it's Katie! She's the author of upcoming novel Bad Girls Don't Die which comes out really soon! You can find her here and my review here.

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Okay, the most random thing I can think of is that when I used to live in a giant apartment complex with an underground parking garage, whenever I was backing out of my parking space, I would think, “If there were a clown driving a tiny car behind my car, I would run him over!” [From Yan: Oh my! Cindy Pon is going to get squashed!] Not on purpose, mind you. But how are you supposed to see a clown in a tiny car? And why would he be driving through my underground parking garage, anyway?

I don’t know what it means… fear of clowns? Fear of small cars? Fear of getting grease paint on my bumper?

Don't think I haven't tried to figure it out.

I’ve always been too analytical for my own good. I can take something simple and spin it into a thousand different meanings. This helps me talk people into things. It also, I think, helps me write fiction.

I’m good at seeing things from other people’s point of views. I don’t necessarily agree, but I can understand that at least they think they’re right, based on XYZ factors. After all, everyone thinks he or she is right. If we didn’t all think that, the world would be a much politer place with far fewer road rage incidents (or "me just shouting at people in the safely sealed off bubble of my car" incidents).

So when I write, I just tap into that. In fiction, you only need, like, one good idea a year (unless you’re Meg Cabot or Nora Roberts, in which case, you need about 33 good ideas a year). You may go through fifteen bad ideas before you settle on your good idea, but that’s still a fairly cut and dry process.

Now, when the idea’s settled on and the writing starts, that’s when it helps to be able to “spin” things. Because you have to take a situation and explain your way into and out of it. And every character needs to act and sound as though she truly believes what she’s doing and saying, which means that, as a writer, you have to be able to get into their head and see things their way. Even if you HATE people who are obsessed with checking email on their iPhones all the time, if you have a character who does that, you need to be able to understand how important it is to her, or when you write the scene where she defends what she's doing, it won't ring true. (Like, maybe she's really stressed because her book is coming out soon... and she's obsessed with Google Alerts... and maybe you should take pity and send her chocolate!)

When you write fiction, you’re basically taking a “fact” (your premise… like “high school girl discovers she’s a princess”) and adding your spin to it—in the case of “Princess Diaries,” it’s the story of an awkward girl who isn’t sure she has what it takes and isn't sure she wants the added complications in her life.

Now imagine if “Princess Diaries” were about a girl who’d always longed to be a princess because she always thought she was different form everybody else? Totally different story. Or a super-rebellious girl who didn’t believe in the monarchy, even if she were a part of it? It's all just a matter of perspective.

Coming up with your idea is the first big way to "spin" your work. Choosing your character/s is the second big way. And making sure you see the world in terms of the character/s is the third big way. And the best way to prepare for this is to constantly be looking for ways to see the world through someone else's eyes. That's a surefire way to help you create realistic characters. (And as an added bonus, it helps teach you compassion!)

So hyper-analytical neurotics unite! Together we will create characters who are just as neurotic and hyper-analytical as we are… and then we will analyze them.

Happy spinning! And watch out for clowns in tiny cars.
k.

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We have a double surprise this Monday! Katie is giving away a "oodles of fun random stuff" to a random winner! But wait, I am giving away my ARC of her book! So that means you lovely readers will have two (2) chances to score a lovely prize.

Katie's prize bag will given away randomly:

Rules:
+1 if you comment under this post
+1 if you start following me
+2 if you were already a follower (google reader counts)
+2 if you post about this giveaway (show me the link!)
+2 if you refer someone
+1 to the person who you referred!

And the ARC will be given away to the "scariest" doll. Bad Girls Don't Die focuses on dolls so I thought that it will kind of cool. Just email me at yan(dot)pocky(at)gmail(dot)com with your picture. I prefer that you somehow own this doll or just found it in a dollstore instead of going to google. If you just take a picture of the doll with your hand in a peace symbol that will work. Mostly I fear that everyone will have the same picture that's online. And plus it'll be funnier if the doll was your own. Remember it does not have to be scary scary hence the quotes.

This giveaway will end on June 15th to give you guys time to take the picture! This is a US and Canada giveaway!

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Katie has just informed me of her awesome plans on her blog! She's going to have downloads, giveaways, etc. So stop by to see what she's planning!