Characters' Hobbies by J. S. Marlo

 

Wide of the Mark

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My characters are normal people, though I tend to give my heroines unusual jobs and my heroes... well, I like them in uniforms but not always. I also like to give them a hobby, something that I can weave throughout the story.

In my 'in-progress' novel, my hero goes fishing to relax. What he catches will turn his life upside down. I figured him out, and so far he behaves as predicted. My heroine is another story.

The story demands that she has a hobby that turned her spare bedroom/craft room into a disaster zone, making it impossible for someone to sleep there... unless my heroine is inclined to do a big tidying up, which she isn't because she has a last-minute wedding to plan. So, what can she be doing in there?

My first idea was a sewing project, except it can't be something directly related to the wedding, like the dress or decorations, since she wouldn't have had enough notice for such projects. She could be making stockings, except it's not Christmas, or a quilt, but that's the hobby I used in The Red Quilt.

It can't be painting, even though she lives in the picturesque Rocky Mountains, because my heroine in Voted Out is a painter with a art gallery.

It also can't be weaving, since it's part of Blown Away (Indomitable Spirit #2) set to be released in 2027. Besides, a floor loom wouldn't fit in her spare room, though she could have a table one.

It could be knitting, crocheting, or cross-stitching. She could be making blankets, tuques, scarves, or wall decorations. I haven't used any of them in a story so far. The problem is, I do all of them, and they don't turn a room into a disaster zone that takes forever to tidy up.

So, right now, I can think of two hobbies that could somehow fit with the story.

1- Jigsaw puzzle. She lives in the mountains, so doing puzzles could be her way to unwind during her lone evenings. She could be working on a 5000-piece puzzle. The puzzle could be on her craft table, barely 10% done, and the pieces could be separated (right side up) by colours or shapes in trays spread on the bed. It wouldn't be messy, but that takes lots of space, and space is a luxury she doesn't have in her quarters, so that could be her excuse.

2- Diamond painting. It's a cross between cross-stitch and paint by number. There's a sticky canvas with tiny dots with numbers/letters printed in them.

Each number/letter corresponds to the colour of a tiny gem. The gems are pressed on the canvas and they eventually make a great picture to hang on a wall. The gems are the size of a... I couldn't think of anything that size, so I took a pic of my finger on the gems. The gems are kept in different trays and some are very similar in colours. Good luck picking them up from the floor if you spill a tray, let alone more than one tray. And don't put your hand, or wrist, or elbow, or glass on the canvas, or those tiny gems won't stick anymore, and you might as well throw the entire thing in the garbage. (Yes, I did that once.) A diamond painting takes less space than a puzzle, but it doesn't like to be disturbed, so she wouldn't want anyone to stay in the room until the diamond painting is done.

These are the two options that I'm considering. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the summer. It's hot and rainy in my northern corner of the world.

JS

PS: All the photos are projects that my oldest granddaughter and I made.

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

What makes it art? - by Vijaya Schartz

ANGEL MINE is Vijaya's latest novel.
Find it HERE with her other novels from BWL

You take a picture of a building, and it’s just a building. Then you see a photograph of that same building in an art gallery, and it’s art. What makes it art? It’s the same building. But the artist waited for the perfect time at sunset, when the light hit the pillars just so, and the sun glanced off the metal roof, and the color of the sky echoed that of the turning leaves on the surrounding trees. Then the artist chooses a different angle, and the entire tableau takes another dimension. When you look at art, you are moved. You feel something.

 

You take a selfie, and it’s a portrait. But someone talented will play with light and shadow, maybe choose a black and white medium. And will speak to you and make you feel something, so that the portrait will look happy, or haunted, or sad, or intriguing. It’s still your face, but in the hands of an artist, it became art.

  

Similarly, a painting can be flat and inexpressive, while another painting of the same subject will make you feel something. People loved or hated the great painters of their times because they made them feel. And sometimes these feelings were uncomfortable. Hatred and guilt are strong feelings. Picasso had many enemies before being recognized as a genius. True art brings emotion to the person experiencing it.

Degas

Picasso

Gauguin

A movie documentary can be informative without emotion. But an artist will make that documentary poignant and get the audience to stand up and cheer and clap at the end. A fictional movie will use music to set the mood, and sounds and special effects to make the audience feel anticipation, fear, love, victory, etc.

And so it is with a novel. It can be a series of actions from characters in a setting, or it can be a true experience for the reader. We are painting with words, expressing emotions to make the reader feel, and our novels become a work of art.

So the secret for a writer is to feel deeply. Only then can we use words to make the reader feel and care about our characters and our stories. But like with any art, there is also a technique, like there is for painters, photographers and film makers. And it takes practice to master the technique. The secret to get the feelings on the page is in the details. A description will fall flat if it doesn’t include visual as well as other important sensory details. Smells, sounds, touch, taste, and visual effects, as well as the physical sensations experienced by the character in the story will evoke the same reactions and awaken the same feelings in the reader.

After reading ASHES FOR THE ELEPHANT GOD, readers told me they could feel the heat, smell the flowers and the spices, and hear the music, and taste the foods of India. They felt transported to another place, another time, another culture. It’s because I brought my own love of India to the pages of the book, and because I felt it, I was able to bring it to life in the writing and make the reader feel it as well.

Vijaya Schartz, author
Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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