Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

fiction

Bad Boys and Nasty Girls: The Unlikeable Characters We Love

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Apparently my lead character in my work in progress is not “likeable” enough. “She’s shallow and materialistic,” one person declared.

I know. I made her that way. On purpose. I’ve also heard this before, about other characters I’ve written. One of those novels is now so overwritten it may never see the light of day. It tries to hard to somehow apologize for my protagonist, in that case a promiscuous young woman with an alcohol addiction.

I’m not dismissing the critiques. Writers benefit from having fresh eyes looking at our manuscripts, and as I work on my latest revisions, I have kept my readers’ valuable comments in mind.

But something bothers me about this likeability thing.

Turning to that vast repository of information and opinion, the Internet, I found other authors who are bothered by it, too. Daniel Swenson of Surlymuse.com wrote a thoughtful piece about this very subject. Roxane Gay also weighs in on Buzzfeed.com.

Granted, characters should be enticing. They should fascinate. But we don’t have to like them.

Take two of television’s most iconic antiheroes: Tony Soprano and Walter White. Believe it or not, I’m just now watching The Sopranos, and we didn’t catch up on Breaking Bad until after the finale. Both men are violent, sociopathic, despicable. Yet these are characters we remember.

Granted, in both cases we are watching the skill of extraordinary actors. In Tony Soprano, we see the lost, wounded little boy who suffers from depression and panic attacks as an adult. We also see, in spite of his mobster lifestyle, a guy having to deal with mouthy teenagers, aging parents, and other life problems we can all relate to. In Walter White, we feel the frustrations of a brilliant Everyman, for whom life has dealt repeated doses of unfairness.

These are also men, though Woody Allen’s caustic Blue Jasmine could give both men a run for their money on the female side. Television has also given us Glen Close’s Patty Hewes in Damages, though methinks the writers tried a bit too hard to soften Patty’s mean streak. She’s a lot more fun when she’s at her worst.

Truth is, my protagonist interests me. In all of my work, there seems to be a focus on redemption, on people growing into better versions of themselves. It feels more like the human journey to me. It’s why I prefer Spiderman and Batman to Superman. It’s why, from a story perspective, I prefer the Old Testament to the New. Those people were messed up…much like we all are.

What do you think? Who are your favorite heroes or antiheroes from books, television, or movies?

Meeting the Shadow

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Normally I wouldn’t discuss a writing class in this blog, but the one I’m taking is more about inner growth work than writing, so I thought I would share! This class, Shadow Writing, is taught by Gloria Kempton, whom I met at a recent writers’ conference. I loved Gloria’s warmth and honesty, and something inside me whispered, “You can trust this teacher.”

For those not familiar with the concept of the “shadow,” it’s the part of ourselves that we keep hidden. We bury it under social masks, and the more we deny that part of ourselves, the more it wreaks havoc with our lives. For writers, denying the shadow self makes for weak and uninspired characters, because as writing brings us closer to our shadow, often we start making excuses for not finishing our work.

I signed up for the course because I have a villain in one of my novels whose head I’ve never quite been able to get into. I’ve also felt that my writing of late has been bland and boring, and I’ve lost some motivation to write — and yet, I know that when I am writing, I am a happier person.

In the past few weeks, I’ve gotten better acquainted with this character. I’ve poked into his childhood to try to understand why he is so cruel and sadistic. I’ve poked into my brain to uncover why I’m so unwilling to let him express himself fully. As a result, I’ve bumped into my shadow on several occasions already. Good thing my teacher feels so safe to me, because I’ve shed many tears in the past few weeks as I get to know this side of myself.

Through my studies, I am encountering the way I envy others who have been more successful at writing. I’ve also uncovered a great deal of ambition that I had pushed aside. No wonder I’m so darn tired all the time! So yes, I am admitting that I would like to sell some books…maybe even a lot of them. No more apologizing for wanting that!

Already I’m spending more consistent and focused time on the novel I’ve been working on, and in December I should be able to dust off the old novel with my problematic villain to try, yet again. The more I embrace my shadow, the more I am at peace.

Do you have any buried longings or dreams?

Random 5 Friday…A Little of This, a Little of That

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It’s Friday, so it’s time for the Random 5! Check out Nancy at A Rural Journal to catch up with a lot of fine bloggers. I’m still making my way through the list, but I’m seeing some quality writing and brilliant photography. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Here’s my five:

  1. Cloris Leachman has the town abuzz. She’s been visiting, and the Cloris sightings are everywhere (she even showed up at an open house for a friend’s birthday). We caught a glimpse of her, too, as we passed by one of our favorite restaurants and saw her sitting at a table near the window. She looks amazing! 
  2. I picked the first figs off the tree. The fruit will keep me busy for the next few weeks. Figs are fragile things and can get mushy if left unpicked for too long. I’ve just put a batch of them in the freezer!
  3. I’m oh so close to finishing draft #2 of my next novel. I have about twenty pages left, though I am sure I will need to add more to the end. I’m wrapping it up waaayyyyy too fast. I was hoping to finish this draft by the end of August, and it looks like I may make my goal, even with adding more scenes!
  4. The sun has returned after two rainy days. We took a walk in the rain yesterday, and it was glorious! It made a mess of my hair, but I didn’t want to put my hood up…it was like getting a nice, misty facial.
  5. Just as I woke this morning, I learned from American Express that someone tried to use my card number yet again. I’m grateful that the good folks at AmEx are on top of these things, but I’m annoyed at what will be the third replacement in just a few years. Worse, it creeps me out that any time someone attempts a fraudulent charge, it’s for something that I might actually purchase. Are these creeps reading my blog? Makes me wonder.

Here’s a bonus for friends who may be going through menopause. I’m going to be listening to a webinar this coming week. If you’re interested in learning more about “The Powerful Transition of Perimonopause and Menopause,” take a look at this video here. I hope it’s helpful!

Random Five Friday

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Thanks to my friend Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD, I have hooked up with Nancy’s A Rural Journal for Random Five Friday. Don’t know what I’m getting into yet, but I’ll see how it goes! I invite you to visit these blogs and participate in Nancy’s Random 5 if you so choose.

My Random Five for the week:

  1. It’s been a great harvest week for the garden. Blueberries, onions, artichokes, and lots of tomatoes! I’ve had a bumper crop of peas and have frozen several batches, but they’re just about done for the year. The pumpkins are blooming and zucchinis are forming. 
  2. I volunteer at the office of our local public theatre, Key City Public Theatre. We’ve had a hectic week, selling lots of tickets to a musical history of the world, The Big Bang, and getting ready for Shakespeare in the Park. My husband is an actor who will be performing in Much Ado About Nothing.
  3. I didn’t write a regular blog post this week. Well, actually I wrote several, but nothing feels ready for prime time. Bear with me. I’m hoping that by doing this Random 5, I’ll get back to a regular routine, including book reviews and blog recommendations.
  4. My latest novel concerns a Manhattan-based financial planner who gets unwittingly swept up in the Madoff scandal. At the same time, her estranged aunt has died and left her a house on *cough* the Olympic Peninsula. Soon I plan to start sharing my draft with you.
  5. I’ve learned that it’s impossible to predict the weather here on the Peninsula. When we lived in Houston, we would not only know that a storm was headed our way, but we would know when it would  arrive. Here, the forecasts are useless. The other day we had a predicted high of 81, but it hit 63. There was no rain in the forecast, but my deck was wet this morning. Go figure.

Have a great weekend! See you next week!

Cover Crop

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The garden is quiet; most of my vegetable beds are empty, and the fruit trees have gone dormant as the winter darkness descends. I have many plans for the garden and dream eagerly of spring when I can load the beds with fruit, vegetables, and herbs. In the meantime, the beds beg for cover crop, a mix of plants that fertilize the soil and protect it from winter conditions. “Green compost,” it’s called. One of the eight beds has a thriving crop, while the others wait for my loving attention. Come spring, I will chop up the cover crop and turn it into the soil, where it will work its magic.

Gardening creates a balance for my writing. The physical work and time outdoors offsets the hours spent hiding behind a computer. Every time I harvest a vegetable or clear out a weed, plot problems resolve more easily. Scenes appear that provide juice for the story. It’s as though the ideas are in the very soil, and I need only dig my hands in to pull them out like so many beets.

I have avoided the garden lately for reasons I cannot detail here. In my absence, weeds have cropped up, and the remaining greens wonder when I will harvest them. The naked beds call to me to protect them from the winter elements with cover crop or mulch. I long for the day when I can once again dig my hands into the dirt without looking over my shoulder in fear, and I long for the day when I no longer feel the need to restrict and censor what I write here.

Being a spiritual sort, I have puzzled about this, asking myself and my higher power, “What is the lesson here?”

Yesterday I took a deep breath and walked outside, bucket and trowel in hand. I dug up weeds. I planted my cover crop. Is it too late to do that? I don’t really know, but all I can do is try. Somehow it felt that as I created protection for my garden, I was protecting myself as well. By confronting my fears, I could start to take my power back.

One of my fictional characters is having a tough time of it these days. She’s unwittingly gotten involved in a scandal that has cost her her job and her relationship. I’ve toppled her from a high perch, and now she will have to find out what stuff she’s made of. She’s going on her hero’s journey, and I’m not sure how I’m going to dig her out of her many jams just yet. All I know is that for her to have her journey, I must have mine.

As I dug in the dirt, I had a plan. If anything bad happened, I reminded myself, I could walk away without a word and return another time. Thankfully, though, the negative force was nowhere to be found, and I had sweet peace in the garden. I nearly wept with joy, as though reconnecting with a dear friend. I wrapped my cover crop of self-compassion and protection around me, reminding me that I am strong. This, too, shall pass.

 

Book Recommendation Tuesday is Back!

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Hey, everyone! I’ve spent much of the summer with my nose in Vietnam-era fiction and memoir as research for the upcoming Blood & Loam. I’ve also read a lot of fiction and nonfiction set in the Pacific Northwest, as a way of acquainting myself with this area and its unique, rich culture. The net result is that I haven’t read a lot of books to recommend that fit in with this blog’s primary audience. In spite of all that, I have some books lined up that I can talk about, and I’m glad of it! I’ve missed these Tuesday blogs.

I’d like to take a moment to address anyone who might want me to review his or her book on this site. First, I’d love to consider each book that comes my way. As a working artist myself, I am soft-hearted toward other writers and artists. If you have a book for me to read, send me a query through the “Contact” section of this website. Here’s the deal, though: you must let me know how your book fits in with the subject matter of this blog. Don’t just tell me how much I’ll like it, tell me why. I’d also like a sample, maybe a chapter or two. If I like it, I will purchase it and read the rest. Bear with me, though. I have a big pile of books, so it may take me a while to get to yours — though I will try to not keep you waiting overlong.

The same thing goes for guest blogging. I get inquiries on occasion, and I’d love to host guest bloggers…but your content needs to be compatible with this blog. I promise to be flexible if you promise to show me that you did your homework and are acquainted with the subject matter that I focus on.

Now that the housekeeping is done, let’s get going with this week’s recommendation!

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Marlene Dotterer’s Bridgebuilders, her follow-up to The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, comes out on November 1! I loved Shipbuilder, and I’ve waited eagerly for the next installment in this series.

The good news is, you can read the first five chapters for free online! Start your journey here.

If you haven’t read Shipbuilder, it’s best to start there before moving on to Bridgebuilders. While Dotterer helps the reader “catch up” in the new book, and introduces a whole new set of characters, Shipbuilder helps set the tone and flavor of the series…plus, it’s a great story.

Shipbuilder creates an alternate universe around the sinking of the Titanic. Bridgebuilders takes us to the year 2080. With time travel as the basis, Dotterer can take us anywhere, or I guess I should say, anywhen. Both books are set in Belfast, though the Belfast of the future is profoundly affected by climate change.

Though I’ve read only the first five chapters of Bridgebuilders, it’s apparent that Dotterer, who takes her time with her stories to polish them with care, has created another winner. So far there’s plenty of romance and intrigue to keep the action going. Yes, there’s some technical sci-fi stuff going on, but Dotterer uses just enough to add believability to the story.

Marlene Dotterer is an author to watch! Enjoy these free chapters, and let’s support good writing by buying a copy on November 1!