Character Transformations

By Sandra Ruttan

If it wasn't for the fact that I'm too old to get down on my knees, I think the events of last Tuesday's episode of Biggest Loser would have had me banging my head against the floor.

Actually, I take that back. It's the events after the show, on Twitter, that had me completely baffled. (And before you dismiss this as a post about reality shows, I'm bringing this around to writing, so bear with me.)

Okay, so I watch Biggest Loser. And Survivor. And American Idol. I am fascinated, on multiple levels. By the willingness people have to completely expose themselves to the world in pursuit of a goal, whatever that may be. The $1,000,000 prize might be enough to entice most of us to try Survivor if we had the chance. If I tried out for American Idol I'd probably be in their audition bombs special, so we'll forget about that.

But this is my first time watching Biggest Loser, and it's a whole different story watching that show. It's really hard to view it as a competition, and we don't see the same type of strategizing and manipulation that you see on other "reality" shows.

At least, not most of the time.

This season, BL has been comprised of couples. Friends, husband-wife, father-daughter, mother-daughter, twin brothers, and there are two sisters in there as well. And in the midst of all these pairs, the show welcomed their heaviest contestant ever, in the form of Arthur.

Now, what's been interesting with this show is that nobody seems to wish ill of anyone else. Since the pairs were split into two teams which competed against each other to lose the most weight each week, having your team succeed in their weight loss goals was important. If a team doesn't win the weigh-in, then (unless there's immunity) they have to vote someone out and send them home.

And early on, the eliminations were almost easy. The twin brothers deliberately blew off the weight loss on the show and gained weight so they'd be sent home. It ticked off their trainers and their teammates, and me, too, because there were other people who wanted to be on the show and didn't make it. These two got on and quickly quit, but they didn't have the decency to just outright quit the game and walk away. They forced everyone to put them through it. And after the first brother went home and the second brother was partnered with another person, he got her to gain weight as well so that their team would lose the weigh-in because he wanted to leave.

Talk about selfish. The people on this show, for them, food is like alcohol. They have a real problem with their weight, and for some of these people learning to control their weight and be healthy really is a matter of life and death, so I was completely offended by the idea that anyone would persuade someone else to gain weight just because they wanted to go home.

So it should come as no surprise that I wasn't too happy with the black team a few weeks ago.

There were going to be two eliminations. One would be by vote. The other would be by red line. The person who lost the least amount of weight that week would be automatically eliminated.

One of the mother's on the black team seemed to instigate a team meeting to conspire together about how to save Arthur. Since the team felt Arthur was at the greatest risk of going home, some felt they should make sure he wouldn't be the one to shed the fewest pounds. Arthur's dad actually got pretty upset about the whole thing, because he felt pressured to throw the weigh-in so that Arthur could stay. After all, both of the mothers were saying they'd throw the weigh-in to make sure their daughters would stay. Shouldn't Arthur's dad do the same for him? And then one of the sisters threw a hissy fit and stomped off.

It was actually one of the very rare behind-the-scenes moments where you saw a team fighting.

Meanwhile, over on the red team, nobody was talking about throwing the competition. One of the dads, Moses, was quite worried about his daughter because she'd already lost a good bit of weight, and she was one of the smaller contestants. It's harder for the smaller contestants to pull a big number and lose a lot. So Moses woke her up extra-early every morning and they did an extra workout together every day and really pushed hard.

And at the weigh-in, they put up some great numbers. Neither came close to elimination. The red team won the weigh-in, easily.

The black team lost, with one of the mothers gaining quite a few pounds. And then, there was the vote.

And the team sent Arthur's father home.

The whole thing was so upsetting. It was really too bad those mothers didn't have the same confidence in their daughters that Moses did. Oh, I understand why they did what they did, but they could have made a better choice for everyone, themselves included.

But it was the episode from this past week that led to the twitter comments that had me stunned.

chimp_phil Phil Kirwin

@Ali_Sweeney @MyTrainerBob @JillianMichaels Just watched#BL11. #Reds have shown no class sending Arthur home! Kick their asses #Blacks!

CounselorMusing Karolina

@

Me too. I felt sad...in general they are not as respectful...RT @irunlikeagurl Disappointed in the Red Team this episode #BL11shame on them

irunlikeagurl Melissa

Disappointed in the Red Team this episode #BL11 shame on them

fattack Lady FaFa

Regardless the red team are horrible creatures. Good luck @ArthurBL11 - you SHOW them!!! you can do it! #bl11

bluedani01 Danielle

The Red Team has shown themselves for what they really are. I hope they watch this back and are disgusted. I know I am.#BiggestLoser #BL11

bluedani01 Danielle

Justin, go fuck yourself. You disgust me in so many ways I can't even say. #BiggestLoser #BL11

niicoletraceyy nicole whelan

Just watched this weeks episode of #BL11 not impressed, at all. BS elimination!!!

And it goes on and on and on.

Why did this have me pulling my hair out?

Several weeks ago, the couples faced a temptation. They were locked in a room with all their favorite foods. Fried chicken. Mac 'n' cheese. Pizza. Monkey Break. Geez, I'm making myself hungry just typing it up. The couples that ate the most calories got to pick who left their team for the week and went with the other team. Couple after couple walked into that room and resisted the urge to eat.

And then Arthur and his dad went in. Dad wasn't tempted at all. Arthur was concerned about leaving their fate in someone else's hands. Dad said it didn't matter, if they went with the other team for the week they were going to do the same thing they were doing where they were - train and work out and lose weight. Yeah, Arthur's dad got it.

But Arthur had to be in control, so he ate. He was the only person out of all the couples who ate.

Then there was the Valentine's challenge. There was an opportunity for whoever ate the most, again, to move players onto different teams.

And who do you think ate the most?

In both cases, Arthur was single-handedly responsible for switching teams for other players. His decision in one case directly contributed to the elimination of a contestant who otherwise would still be there. And in the other case, he blatantly stated he'd switched the teams so that he could bring a weaker player onto his team so that if his team lost weigh-in he wouldn't get voted off.

Arthur's been the only person who's really played BL the way you see people scheme on shows like Survivor. But he's big and needy and cries, so all the women on the black team have adopted him.

And apparently, so has America. Now, don't get me wrong. There are things about Arthur I like, too, and he definitely needed the assistance of the show to help him lose weight.

However at the end of the day, it's a show, and a game, and you can't ask people who have exposed themselves to the world via TV, people who've shown off their love handles and then some as they've been weighed in, people who've been that vulnerable because their weight is such an issue and they're so desperate to do something about it, to just walk away for someone else.

But that isn't the real point here. What this all got me thinking about was why people cared so much about Arthur. A few weeks ago, I'd been ready to throttle him. Week after week, Arthur had pulled some pretty low numbers at the weigh-ins, which suggested he hadn't really embraced the program. He had the odd better week, but at his weight his rate of loss should have been higher. Several contestants who'd weighed less had already lost more than 100 pounds, while Arthur was eating to ensure control in temptation challenges and first he sent the strongest players on his team to the other team, and then he did it again to bring on weaker players so that someone else would do worse than him on the weigh-in.

And yet you need to look no further than twitter to be convinced that Arthur has developed a following, and I was also choking back tears as Arthur went home.

What Arthur reminded me of is the fact that flawed characters are often more compelling. This is often true in fiction. We can actually buy in to the idea that they're going to change, and that's often what we become more interested in. People love the idea of change. Whole TV shows and book series have built an audience on the Will they, won't they? question alone.

Imagine how boring a show or book would be if nobody changed anything in their life ever because everything was perfect.

Now, meanwhile, over on Survivor, Russel has been regarded as one of the most evil people ever to play the game, but I'm so ticked that he was voted off. Oh, his lying tribe probably thought they were protecting themselves and making the smart move, but damn. Watching Russel lie, cheat, steal and fight with other players was entertainment. Nobody tunes in for group hugs and campfire songs. They watch to see what he'll do next.

Frankly, without a villain, the show is dull. And without someone you feel needs to change, and want to believe in, really want to see succeed, BL is just a show. Don't get me wrong. I'll be watching to the very end, and I like the red team, and there's really only one player that I can't stand. It's almost more of a family feeling, wanting to tune in and see these people succeed.

But for a lot of people, it seems if the black team gets eliminated and only reds are left, they might not stick around. It's the power of connection with your audience, and it's also the desire to see a successful transformation that drives that show.

I think writers can learn a lot from these types of shows. About conflict, drama, tension, and what it really is that makes people connect with someone. Some of our most loved characters in our genre have obvious flaws; Jack Taylor's an alcoholic, as is Rebus (and I suppose if I were to list the alcoholic protagonists in crime fiction we'd be here for quite a while).

Here's the conclusion I've drawn about character development. External conflict is one thing, but if your character has no internal conflict, they will become static. And that's why Arthur tugged so many heartstrings. He was still working it out, and we could all see his needs. He was wrestling with his demons.

He handled his elimination with a class that put him in a league of his own. For the first time, Arthur wasn't the one everyone else was protecting. He stood up and took it like a man, and didn't point fingers or lay blame at anyone. He was gracious and grateful.

In that moment, he became a leader and, as Ali Sweeney said, an inspiration to us all.

If you could create a character people cared about half as much as they cared about Arthur, you'd have a multi-book deal and TV series to follow. Never underestimate what you can learn from watching how people respond to others.

This week, from the #onlyinCanada file: Man dies after igloo collapses.

And a teaser of things to come...

Back when I was starting out in the mystery genre, I deliberately set out to write about protagonists who were fundamentally decent people. I wanted to know if it was possible to make them as interesting as characters who were obviously flawed. Could I create two good characters people would want to spend time with, and leave the readers wanting more?

It takes a village

by: Joelle Charbonneau

I had a couple different ideas for my blog post this week. Then I read Frank Bill’s post from yesterday about the road to his publication and I changed my mind. The post is a wonderful story about how it took only 2 weeks to sell his book, but years and years to get to the point where he could be allowed to take that step.

It got me thinking about the practice of writing. When I first sat down at the computer I believed that writing was a solitary practice – me, my computer and my imagination. Did I think I’d get to The End? I had no idea. I was writing for me and me alone.

And yet – writers are never alone.

I am only a writer because I was a reader first. Every book that I read influences my writing no matter if I say “Wow, I wish I could write like that.” or “Yikes, how did that book get published?” Each book that I have read has impacted me as a writer. All of those authors have taken my writing journey with me whether they wanted to or not.

My family and friends have taken the journey, too. My husband, mother and mother-in-law were all big cheerleaders in my quest to finish my first novel. They even read it. (Poor them!) However, everyone I have come in contact with, whether they are aware of my writing or not, is sitting there with me when my fingers touch the keyboard. Writers are observers by nature. We have to be in order to create characters that feel real and three dimensional. Who else are we going to use for inspiration if not the people we come in contact with?

Once I discovered my passion for writing, I then sought out other writers. This journey would not be as fulfilling, and it would be a whole lot more frustrating if not for them. I’ve met countless writers in person and even more online. So many have become amazing friends. Whenever I find myself sitting in front of a blank screen worrying if what I am writing is good enough or if the story is working, their support keeps me going. Even if they don’t know it. Sometimes all it takes is logging onto twitter and listening to other writers talking about their own work to help me know I am not alone in my frustration or in my celebrations.

On top of that there are the agents and editors, the PR staff and the marketing teams that are all working to help all writers both published and unpublished. They write blogs, the judge contests, they attend conferences and sometimes they even talk on the phone. And of course there are your friends and family again as well as librarians, book sellers and book bloggers that you hope will spread the news about your book so that your words get read. And the readers…those wonderful, fabulous, faceless people that we imagined reading the story from the moment we first typed THE END.



All these people are taking my writing journey with me and I am so glad to have them. Yes - writing is about you and the page. Yes – only you can put your butt in the seat and fill the pages. Only you can chapter by chapter take the journey to the best words you’ll ever type – THE END. But on the days where the end seems so far away, it is good to remember that there is a village of support surrounding you when you wonder what you are supposed to type next.

Making Faces

by
Scott D. Parker

Can you imagine watching Van Halen shred a guitar solo without contorting his face to match the music? Itzhak Perlman? Reba McEntire? Even non-performers like conductor Gustavo Dudamel or host Johnny Carson react to the music they’re hearing.

Music is one of those funny things. For the countless hours spent alone in a practice room, there is always the release of performance. If you were to peek in on top performers during one of those practice sessions, you’ll likely see a remarkable thing. Alone, with no one watching, their faces still contort. They are moved by the music and their artistry. Truth be told, once the stage light flare, they put a little extra out there just for the audience, but they still react to the music. The audience does, too, raising their hands at a rock concert or bursting forth with “Bravo” at the end of a symphony. They are moved just like the musician.

As a reader, I react to the book I’m reading all the time. Whether incredulity or joy or anger, I’ll talk back to the inanimate object, fuss at it, and, on occasion, throw it across the room. It’s my way of interacting with the text on the page.

Here’s the real question for you writers: do you, as you are composing your material, make faces? Do you react, when no one’s looking, to the thing you are creating? I do. I’ll smile, get giddy, and start typing faster (thus making more errors). If I’m writing while standing, I all but hop from one foot to the other so glorious is that mother lode of inspiration into which I have tapped.

In my first novel, there’s a series of scenes before the big finale where all the characters, most of whom are in separate locations, start to put the pieces in place. I outlined the book so I knew exactly what was coming down the pike. Still, as I wrote those chapters, I had butterflies in my stomach. I was the first reader AND writer and I was so, so excited. What surprised me later, in my revision stage, was that same thrill and those same butterflies returned at just the same point. It surprises me each time. It’s the joy of creation as well as of reaction.

So, writers, do you “make faces”? If so, how?

The Write Stuff

By Russel D McLean

This week, with thanks to the wondrous Scottish novelist, Kirsten McKenzie, I attended a writing class as a “visiting speaker” or some such thing. Basically I went in and answered a lot of questions. It was informal. And it was fun. Lots of great questions.

But one in particular stuck with me above all the rest.

“Are classes like this worthwhile if you want to write?”

I admit I was stymied by the question. Because I couldn’t say yes considering I’d never attended a writing class, never been part of a writer’s circle (at least for long) and had never really advised anyone to do so. And yet I couldn’t condemn courses because, here I was, talking to one, trying to help these people.

In the end I think that the question is perhaps a moot one. Writing classes are perhaps only useful if you find them useful. They cannot make you a writer. But nothing in the world can except for luck, perseverance and a tiny amount of natural ability. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t do everything you can to make learn the craft.

For some people, like me, that’s all about immersing yourself in literature, in learning through doing, in making mistakes on your own terms. If you’re like me – that is, if you’re a grouchy hermit-type – then a writing probably isn’t for you.

But if you need structure, routine and support, then I think writing classes can be incredibly useful and productive environments. And sometimes they can even help you if you’re on your way in the craft, too. One writer I know is doing a course simply so they can teach and has been discovering all kinds of truths they had never been able to get to before simply through the rigours of the learning process. That’s great, and it’s done a huge amount for them.

But it’s one individual case.

I think I said it to the class multiple times, but the truth is that when it comes to writing and publishing – hell, just about any art form – nobody knows anything. Or, to put it in the words of one of the 20th Centuries greatest unknown poets*

What might be right for you might not be right for some

It sounds like a cop out of an answer of course. And maybe it is. But the fact is that writing is a very strange business to be in. And especially fiction writing. There is no one tried and true route to success. Everyone’s experience varies wildly.

And that’s part of the joy of writing and the reason I love it. Every writer I meet has their own take on the business, their own utterly unique war stories that couldn’t have happened to anyone else. They all come from different backgrounds. And I think the only thing I could to back up my non-answer to the question is this.

Ask each of them whether a writing course is worth while.

And see the number of different, conflicting and plain crazy making answers that come flooding back.



*The dude who wrote the Diff’rent Strokes theme

Kindle Reading Strategies

By Dave White

Reading on the Kindle.

Yeah, I've been doing a lot of it lately. Have you?

A few of the things I've realized about it.

I don't skim as much. I think it has to do with not knowing exactly how long a chapter or book is. I see the percentage at the bottom, yes, but I don't have a feel for the weight of the book. I don't like to flip ahead and see how long a chapter is. I just read it. And therefore, if I'm just trying to get a chapter done before bed, I'm less likely to skim.

At the same time, I read faster. Not sure why. I read the book with more clarity. I don't rush, but my eyes cross the page much much quicker. I've heard other people say this as well. Any thoughts on why?

On the other hand, I'm not drawn to reading as much. I love to read and when I do read on the Kindle, I read for long stretches at a time. But if my Kindle is on the shelf or put away, I'm not drawn to it. With hardcopy books, I'm more likely to have it within arms reach. Just the way I organize, I suppose.

What are your thoughts on the experience of e-book reading vs. hardcopy reading?

PS: Sorry for the short post this week. Been a long week.

Entire Precinct Made Up of Loose Cannons

by
John McFetridge




LOS ANGELES—Thirty-four lone-wolf detectives and beat officers from Los Angeles' 77th Police Precinct received unpaid three-month suspensions Monday for unprofessional and insubordinate conduct that their chief said he's tolerated for the "last goddamn time."

The police officers have been subjected to scathing public criticism over the years for their tendency to play by their own rules, which include refusing to obtain warrants, beating up junkies to extract information, and hurling corrupt city officials through plate-glass windows on more than 60 occasions.

Yes, of course, it's from The Onion.

But it got me thinking how the myth of the “loose cannon,” the “lone wolf,” the “break all the rules to get results hero,” is still such a staple of crime fiction.

And how there aren’t any in my books.

If there’s a common theme in my writing it’s about how we organize ourselves into groups, something that’s constantly changing, I think.

So, my writing tends to be about groups of characters – the police work as a group against the criminals who are organized into groups. Sure, there are lots of individuals (too many, according to some reviewers) but what interests me is how they fit into groups – communities.

Of course, this makes the whole “hero’s journey” thing a little problematic but I find that whole concept a little outdated anyway.

Maybe it’s because I’m not American and I live in the frozen north where we have to huddle together for warmth, but that whole, “rugged individual” thing never rang true for me. Even the old westerns with their stories of lone heroes often had an undercurrent of the pioneers “pulling together” to help one another.

Now we’re starting to see the teamwork inherent in police work show up in TV shows, everything from The Wire to CSI to Criminal Minds. Even a show like Castle has been using the cops more as a team to solve crimes.

But mystery novels still seem to be dominated by lone heroes.

So, what are some of your favourite mystery, crime, noir, whatever novels that are more of an ensemble instead of a lone hero?

The British Are Coming

By Jay Stringer

It's almost time for you to get your hands on this years edition of The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime. My initial disappointment at the books lack of an actual Mammoth was soon washed away when I saw the list of contributors. Who needs the come back of a long extinct prehistoric creature when you can sit and read all that crime goodness?

There are stories in here from Ian Rankin, Christopher Brookmyre, Stuart MacBride, Declan Burke, Ray Banks and the tartan ninja himself, Allan Guthrie. And that's just the start. Reading the full list of writers involved shows the real depth of talent in crime writing right now, including such friends of DSD as Nigel Bird and Paul D. Brazil. And they even let me in.

The details I have right now are for the British edition, from the folks at Robinson Publishing, but I'll have details soon of the American release. Lucky Limeys can get our hands on it in April, and it'll make it's way over to the states sometime in May.

Here's the official bit;

This is the must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan - the year's top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski. This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. It is packed with top names such as: Ian Rankin (including a new Rebus), Alexander McCall Smith, David Hewson, Christopher Brookmyre, Simon Kernick, A.L. Kennedy, Louise Walsh, Kate Atkinson, Colin Bateman, Stuart McBride and Andrew Taylor.

The full list of contributors is as follows: Sheila Quigley, Nigel Bird, Jay Stringer, Paul D. Brazill, Adrian Magson, Colin Bateman, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Lin Anderson, Christopher Brookmyre, Ray Banks, Declan Burke, Liza Cody, Simon Kernick, Stuart MacBride, Allan Guthrie, Ian Rankin (two stories, including a new Rebus), Nick Quantrill, Edward Marston, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey, A.L. Kennedy, Roz Southey, Phil Lovesey, David Hewson, Amy Myers, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, Keith McCarthy, Paul Johnston, Alexander McCall Smith, Stephen Booth, Denise Mina, Mick Herron, Kate Atkinson and Louise Welsh.

And it's made possible every year by the hard work of Maxim Jakubowski, writer, editor, bookseller and all-round doyen. Maxim's shop, Murder One, used to be one of my favourite bookshops, and a must-visit whenever I was in London. The store lives on here on ye olde worlde wide webbe.

So, on your marks, get set, PRE-ORDER.

And while you're at it, why not buy yourselves a second copy of TERMINAL DAMAGE, and then, just incase it gets lonely, pick up DISCOUNT NOIR.