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PART 6: Sketch and Outline

Learn the mechanics of character development.

Now, you might ask...what mechanics are you talking about?

Mechanics means understanding character development.

Are your characters memorable? What makes them tick? Can people relate to them? Do they go thru a period of struggle and redemption? Are they multi-dimensional? Blahzay Blahzay.

If your book is more storyline based, then of course, make the joint entertaining as possible with an easy flow. Otherwise, you would need to make people FEEL the characters as if they're reading about real folk.

Not for nothing, before people remember the story, they'll remember the CHARACTERS...the characters are there to move the stories and force people to relate to them.

Me personally, I write the storyline FIRST...then when I feel more comfortable with how the story is written after figuring out the plot, I create a sketch for each character in the book.

My sketch of each character may consist of their habits, likes-dislikes, moods, how they act in certain environments, the type of slang some of them use, their own individual behaviors, style of dress, etc...it's almost as if I'm a psychologist when I create my characters.

I outline my story with plots, sub-plots, symbolisms, etc. once I have everything in place as far as content.

To put it in a simpler way, find ways to make your characters stand out as opposed to readers forgetting about them...it's like how New Yorkers will always remember the naked Cowboy on 42nd street than the average Joe.

Let me remind you, there's a thin line between memorable and over-the-top

This note has been approved by King Dhakir @ www.kingdhakir.com

Peace

-King

PART 5: Thinking Outside the Box

What kills me is when people write a certain genre because it’s hot at the moment. Back in the 90’s, everybody and their mamas wanted to write about relationships because the “chick-lit-sista-girl” novels were poppin’.

I remember hittin’ up Barnes and Noble around my way back in the late 90’s. Finding novels other than stories that copied the Waiting to Exhale formula was like finding a Black man at a Klan rally.

Fast forward to 2009, and all you see is pretty much street fiction and erotica. I’ve asked myself before writing my first book, “There has to be more to the Black experience than sex, crime, violence, and poverty with a positive message weaved between them.”

I’m not here to tell people what the hell to write. What people eat doesn’t make me shit. However, my philosophy in life is, if everybody’s wearing white in the room, I’m rockin’ black.

In other words, I made a conscious effort to add some socio-poltical topics in my book like gentrification to separate myself from the rest of the pack.

Gentrification is pretty much another way of saying, “We kickin' your ass out if you can’t afford the land and tax increases.” And as a native Chicagoan who’ve experienced gentrification second hand, I thought it was only right for me to shed light on gentrification that is CURRENTLY happening in Harlem and Brooklyn, as well as in other urban cities in America.

If everybody in Black fiction was on some Black Power tip, best believe you’ll see me hit em off with some erotica just to mix it up a bit. I don’t like to do what everybody else is doing. It’s bad enough that I get tired of negroes keep telling me I look like Neyo every time I rock fedora hats.

...but that's another issue.

I’ll be pissed the hell off if those same authors who currently write nothing but street fiction and erotica ditch those genres if politically charged topics all of a sudden became popular, especially when they had to chance to drop jewels to the masses earlier in their literary careers.

So on that note, legacy is everything in whatever you do. There were several other Street Fiction writers back in the 60’s and 70’s, and even earlier than those times. Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim are the only two who stand out.

Enuff said.

This note has been approved by King Dhakir @ www.kingdhakir.com

Peace

-King

PART 4: Silence is Golden

One technique you can use to develop the realism of dialogue in your story is watching DVD movies with sub-titles.

One of my dudes in Chicago had put me on to this technique; watching movies with the sub-titles on so he can feel like he’s reading a story.

Watching movies with sub-titles not only help you develop a realistic dialogue between characters in your book, it also help you to know where to place quotes, commas, periods, and other punctuation marks in the dialogue.

Sub-titles also spell out sound effects, like when a person say "pfft" when he/she hears something that's bullshit...LOL

Checking out movies on mute is also a special technique of mine. Yeah, it looks hella weird, but hey, a writer gotta do what a writer gotta do to perfect his art and discipline.

Watching flicks on mute not only draws out the moods and body language of characters, but the technique also helps me focus on real-life situations where I study what people DO NOT say that can be contrary to what they DO say.

85 percent of communication is non-verbal...a person's smile might not match the handshake or hug.

This note has been approved by King Dhakir @ http://www.kingdhakir.com/orderbook.htm

Peace

-King

TEN Reasons Why You Should Buy I HATE MY JOB

What's wood, folks? (“wood” is good in Chicago *smile*)

The weather is getting colder, so that means you’ll cuddle up in the house looking for something to do. Leave it to me to help you out by showing you why I HATE MY JOB should be considered for your “things to do” list.

1. The story is FAR from boring. Within some instances where you may receive some sort of message, best believe you’ll also laugh your butt off from the comedy as you read.

2. You can relate to AT LEAST one character in the joint. And if you cannot relate to any of them, you’ll either love ‘em or hate ‘em.

3. RESPONSIBILITY is one of the underlying main ideas of the book. You can pass the book down to your nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, or any faction of the youth once they turn 18 (Maybe younger if they can understand adult situations.) They can learn about responsibility from the characters due to the circumstances they face.

4. Gentrification is one of the main themes of the book. If you don’t know the meaning of gentrification, then look at the Starbucks in the middle of the ‘hood. If you still don’t know the meaning of gentrification, just check out the book and see for yourself.

5. The book has a mixture of erotica (intimacy without nastiness), drama (conflict without buffoonery), comedy (laughter without corniness), suspense (twists without predictability), and socio-political content (knowledge without boredom).

In other words, the diversity in the book makes the storyline fluid and a representation of reality.

6. The book is written in a poetic form, which means words in some of the paragraphs rhyme with each other as if you’re reading a song. I just wanted to do something different from the norm.

7. You’ll receive inspiration to go after your vision. I won’t say dream because you dream when you sleep. I say vision because you’re conscious of what you have to do in order to reach the ultimate fulfillment in your life.

8. Dictionary words are sprinkled throughout the book. They say reading increases literacy, so I used at least 30 words (for example, ossified) that folks normally don’t use in their daily conversations to possibly enhance anybody’s vocabulary.

9. The book pushes you to THINK instead of giving you mindless entertainment. Yes, there’s plenty of entertainment in the book. However, it would be a disservice to not only me as a writer, but also you as a reader if you don’t take anything out of the story once you reach page 358.

10. And finally, it’s worth EVERY penny. The book is so good, you’ll want to give me an extra 10 dollars on the strength of its dopeness.

With that being said, please treat yourself to a copy of I Hate My Job @ http://www.kingdhakir.com/orderbook.htm

Peace

-King

PART 3: When Showing Goes Wrong 

If a section of the novel is important to the story, then SHOW.

If a section of the novel is a bridge to another scene or doesn’t hold any importance, then TELL.

There's no reason to give a long-winded account of what's in the bedroom of a particular scene if those items don't serve a purpose.

The difference between showing and telling is shown below:

Johnny coughed in a room filled with smoke: TELLING

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed: SHOWING

There’s no wrong way of knowing when to show or tell, but the reader needs to at least FEEL a part of the scene.

You can also fit the description of a scene in between a story or dialogue.

Instead of stopping the flow of the novel by using a paragraph to describe a scene, you can also fit the scenery with the action.

Small example, using the same excerpt from Part 2:

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed.

 

“Damn, Terry,” Johnny pounded his chest while coughing up spit. “What kind of shit you’re smoking?”

 

“Man, this that Cali bud. I got this out west from my cousin.” His lips hugged onto the joint, as the wind blowing through the open door pushed the smoke away from Johnny while sending chills across his flesh.

You can feed two birds with one crumb by describing the tavern and using character interaction at the same time.

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Part 2: The He Said-She Said Crap

Even the smallest things in a book can either turn on or turn off a reader. And dialogue is one of them.

Dialogue is very important to engage the reader and allow them to feel each character. I use "said" sometimes after a quote, but it's rare.

You could use... "he blasted", "he shot at", "he whispered", "he asked", "he yelled", "he shouted", etc. Make the quote an action where the reader can see the emotion behind the words sometimes.

Small example:

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern, and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed.

"Damn, Terry." Johnny pounded his chest while coughing up spit. "What kind of shit you smoking"

"Man, this that Cali bud. I got this out West from my cousin."

Terry's lips hugged onto the joint, as the wind blowing through the open door pushed the smoke away from Johnny while sending chills across his flesh.

Now, which quote can you picture the most; me writing, "Johnny said", or "Johnny pounded his chest"?

But the trick is to not going overboard when using this technique. Sometimes it's good to say "he said/she said" as long as the reader know you're capable of writing a good dialogue.

The more you write, the better you'll figure out when it's necessary to use action quotes. Switch up this technique so the reader can imagine the scene sometimes.

This has been approved by King Dhakir @ www.kingdhakir.com

PART 1: It's All About the Style, Baby

I always ask myself,

What can I do that'll separate me from other writers?

As an MC, I incorporated a rhyming style as part of my writing technique in I Hate My Job. Many of the paragraphs have rhyme patterns and are poetically written. Other paragraphs also have sound effects to draw out the scene.

Short example taken from page 337; Chapter 25: Retired Jersey

[I strived for a greater ambition to leave the hellish conditions that left others in peril. Some brothers around my way lost their religion when hell was in their faces with a step from prison. The test of faith only made them more cynical, as ghetto scholars only Biblical quote was, "In God We Trust" on dollars.]

Note the rhyme words of ambition, conditions, religion, and prison...then I rhymed scholars with dollars in the second sentence.

There are literally thousands of writers, or aspiring writers out there in the world. If you wanna separate yourself from rest of the pack, I suggest that you read OTHER books so you can know what's out there. Then develop your OWN voice instead of following what's popular.

If your story is similar to others, I say write from a DIFFERENT perspective.

For example, my next book is broken apart in five short stories. One of the stories is about a crack dealer.

Looks familiar, right?

Well, I am NOT writing from the perspective of the crack dealer...I am writing from the view point of the ACTUAL DRUG.

It's like how Nas wrote "I Gave You Power" from the view of a gun, and how Pac wrote "Me and My Girlfriend" as the boyfriend of a gun.

However, there's a flip side to being different. Do not become TOO innovative. People are habitual creatures, and it's important to give the public a taste of the past with your own style.

I wanted to rhyme the ENTIRE story of I Hate My Job. I knew most readers aren't used to that style, so I cut it down to a few paragraphs until they get used to me as a writer.

I'm about pushing the envelope. Even if I don't make major bread as a writer, or win as many awards, I can honestly say that I'll go back to the essence a happy man since I've put forth my ideas out to the universe.

And on that note, I'm out like my book.

Please support...PEACE!!!

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I'm putting together some lessons for all the aspiring writers-authors-novelists out there...

Gimme a week, and I'll be good

Until then, enjoy the rest of the site

PEACE!!!

-King