Talking to the Voices

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

I have returned!  I was away most of January, so that I could participate in my final residency at the Stonecoast MFA program.  I graduated with many mixed feelings, which I will talk about at a later date.

I actually came away from residency with many ideas for this blog o’ mine, which I will mention at the end, but first, I want to get into today’s topic.  The voices in my head!

A lot of people ask me how I come up with my characters, but the truth is, I don’t really know.  They almost always start as a nagging voice in my head (at least the main characters do).  It’s going to sound crazy, but I talk to these voices and most of them won’t go away until I write their stories.  I talk with them for many reasons, not just to learn their stories, but to learn their voices.  Their likes and dislikes.  What kind of person they are.

I fully admit that this can be both a blessing and a curse.  Sometimes, I get attached to certain voices and put off writing their stories, because I don’t want them to disappear.  I’ve only really mourned the loss of a couple of voices, but it’s still a sad process.  On the other hand, it makes for some unique characters.  I have less trouble getting into the voice when I’m writing.

Do you talk to the voices in your head?  If not, I certainly encourage it.  Yes, we might come off as a bit eccentric, but what writer isn’t?

I think I’ll leave it at that for today.  Before I sign off completely, I want to talk about “what’s next.”

1.  I’m seriously considering moving my blog to a different platform (most likely WordPress).  Would anyone have any objections to that?  I know I don’t have many readers, so I feel like now would be the optimal time for such a switch.

2.  This will soon be a weekly blog!  Every Wednesday, I will be posting, starting on February 11th.  People have requested that I post my graduation speech, so that’s coming up next week.

3.  I’m hoping to form a more cohesive blog, so forgive me as I dabble in different topics until I find the one for me.

That is all.  If no one has argued otherwise by February 11th, I will see you on WordPress!

Why Don’t I Hate the Bad Guy?

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone celebrates responsibly.  May the new year bring you many adventures and much good fortune.

To ring in the new year, I wanted to talk a little bit about my favorite type of character–the villain.  Some of you might find my love of bad guys a bit odd, but I know a number of you who completely understand.  It’s certainly not that I want to “change” them (Is that still even a stereotype?  Girls who thnk they can change bad boys?).  I’m just incredibly attracted to complex characters.  A villain, done right, can be the most complex of all.  Not to mention the fact that I’m drawn to the darker side of the human psyche when reading and writing.

So, what makes for a good bad guy?  Well, in my humble opinion, one of the most important things is that he (or she) know he’s perceived as evil, but he doesn’t care because he feels he’s fighting for something right.  Don’t get me wrong, a villain who’s a villain just because he likes doing bad things can be fun, but he won’t be memorable.

Think of your favorite bad guys!  What were they fighting for?  I bet the majority were fighting for something similar to the hero, not just the opposite.  Voldemort, for example… On top of being an evil douche, he was fighting for the survival of his kind (purebloods), because he thought them the most worthy.  Harry fought for the survival of his friends and everyone else, because everyone deserves to live.  They’re fighting similar battles, but one is based on negativity and exclusion (with a bit of megalomaniacal world domination sprinkled in), while the other is based in positivity and inclusion (with a little revenge motive).  It’s been a while since I read the books, so I’m probably missing a lot.  Feel free to chime in.

I also really enjoy bad guys with some kind of psychological disorder.  It doesn’t have to be explicitly stated, but I like it when I can pick up on symptoms and form a diagnosis.  It’s not something that most people will notice, but for me, it gives extra depth to villains.  I always try to know what is going on with my villains (all my characters really), so that I know their realistic responses to situations.  So yes, I definitely suggest studying psychology at some point in your writing career (or any career, because psychology is fun).

I could keep going, but I think that’s enough about bad guys for one day.  This month is going to be very busy, so I can’t promise I’ll get a post up on the fifteenth.  If I can, I will be talking about the voices in my head, but if I can’t, I’ll be sure to talk about it February first!  Until next time!

My Stonecoast Experience (Part 1)

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

In May 2012, I graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor’s of Art in English, specializing in creative writing, and minoring in psychology.

About halfway through my stint at SMU, my Dad talked me out of majoring in psychology (he reminded me that I’m not a people person), so I was left without a plan beyond graduation.  Luckily, my adviser introduced me to the concept of low-residency MFAs.

I applied to five of the top ten programs.  At the time, I had little to no hope about getting in (I wasn’t very confident in my writing).  Of the five that I applied to, Stonecoast was the only one to offer popular fiction.  I had only ever really studied literary fiction, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace, but it wasn’t very high on my list of desired programs.  Of the three that accepted me, Stonecoast was my second choice.  However, this opinion quickly changed.  When I got the call, not even two weeks after I had sent in the application, I was shocked to say the least.  I was already feeling like a potential member of the Stonecoast family after that call.  Add to that the plethora of e-mails and phone calls from faculty and students and I was starting to believe that maybe this place really did want me.  When the acceptance packet came in the mail and it was purple (my favorite color), I was sold.

At my first residency, I had no idea what to expect.  The one thing I did know was that I wanted to hole up in a corner and treat it like every other school experience I had had.  Get in, get the degree, and get out.  My fellow Stonecoasters had other ideas.  They decided we needed to be friends, and since my Dad was with me, he needed to join us.

It was an experience like no other for me.  I was used to Texas, to Dallas, where people ignored my existence for the most part.  Being invisible was a super power I had grown to appreciate.  I don’t know if it was the weather or what, but in Maine, my super power didn’t work.  People expected me to socialize.  Me!  In all honesty, it was pretty damn creepy at first.  Then, it slowly dawned on me that I was making friends and that was kind of cool.

Aside from the weird socialization aspects, I had another new experience.  I learned things.  Throughout high school and community college and undergrad, I had grown accustomed to teaching myself.  It was extremely rare for me to come out of a class (except for Japanese) with that fulfilling notion that I had learned something useful.  At Stonecoast, I was learning things left and right.  Things that would improve my craft.  Things that would improve me as a person.  It was everything I was looking for that I didn’t know I wanted to find.

That was January 2013.  For the past two years, my experience at Stonecoast has continued to exceed expectations.  I’ve even reached a point where I can look at my work and admit that it isn’t horrible.  That’s a huge step for a writer.  One I couldn’t have taken without Stonecoast.

My time at Stonecoast is drawing to a close.  I will be graduating in January, which I have mixed feelings about.  I should be proud and happy to have come so far, yet it’s the first time I’ve ever felt sad to be leaving a school.  I will be exploring these feelings more after graduation, so look forward to that in February!

Next time, I’ll be discussing villains!  Come back and see me in January!

Introduction

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

cherryblossom

Hello!  As you may have gathered, my name is Shawna.  Rather than jump into an official blog post (whatever that may be), I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself a little less formally and a little more thoroughly than the website allows for.  I apologize in advance for any repeat information.

I am a writer, curently working on a supernatural YA novel.  I dabble in all genres, but my true love is horror.  Much of my work touches on the darker side of human nature.  I minored in psychology as an undergrad, which was when I developed an attraction towards the stranger psychological disorders.  Even my more fantastical stories tend to draw from such disorders.  I feel that even villains need to be human (not literally, of course), so I try to formulate a diagnosis to work with when creating them, even if it’s never mentioned on paper.  The psychology of different types of characters is something I will be exploring more in future posts.

I admit that I’m not as avid a reader as I should be, but hopefully that will change after I finish my MFA and actually have time to read.  I’m not picky when it comes to books.  I do prefer horror and fantasy and the like, but I’ll try anything once.  Please feel free to send me recommendations!  Occasionally, I will post a review of works that strike me in a particular way.

As far as the rest of my interests go, they are wide and varied.  I love all things Japanese: anime, manga, the food, the culture, etc.  Food and music (in general, not just Japanese) are two of my favorite things in the world.  I enjoy drawing as well.  Movies are fun, especially since I’ve taken a liking to writing screenplays.  Don’t be surprised if you spot a random post about any of these things and more (though I will try to keep them at a minimum and focus on writing related issues).

I think that’s enough about me for now.  Please, introduce yourself!  And look forward to a glimpse into my experience at Stonecoast (my MFA program).  That’s what’s coming up December 15th.