K. Marvin Bruce

Since those of you reading this don't know me, you'll have to take my word for it.  I'm not an arrogant person. In fact, I tend to be very hard on myself and undervalue what I accomplish.  Still, I do think a lot. I often wonder about writers who think a lot and how they make believable characters who don't.  This may be why I have trouble finding publishers—although my characters aren’t Mary Sues, they tend to be smart and tend to think things through. In my head I know that many people react on impulse and don't think of consequences.  Would crime be an issue, for example, if people thought through the likely outcome?  I have trouble turning it off though.  When my characters do something illogical it tends to be extreme. Bipolar isn't likely an accurate description, but I do tend to be depressed a lot and very happy at other times.  I find that I write better when I'm depressed, probably because it's a form of therapy.  When I'm do...

My writing partner Elizabeth and I like to talk about characters.  In some of my stories the characters are only vaguely defined.  To me, that is one of the aspects of short stories.  Did Poe know or care where Roderick  Usher went to college?  What kind of tree the raven's nest was in?  Somehow I doubt it. Still, getting a clear idea of character helps a story immensely.  One of the most basic aspects of character is desire.  We all want something.  If a character doesn't want anything no pitfalls will come on the way to her or his goals. The character's world will be dull and meandering. If there is one thing you must know about your characters, it is what do they want? I've read books where the author clearly doesn't know what the character desires.  The story can unfold and interesting, titillating events can transpire.  You can even feel for the losses or injuries the protagonist bears.  But you...

During vacation I spent time around lots of other people.  I should, I suppose, clarify.  Although writers need time alone, I really spend little of my working day, and what’s left of the day, among regular people.  There are the people at work, but they hardly count. What stood out to me on vacation was just how many people have what used to be termed disabilities.  Spending a few days in a crowd, it become clear that many people have difficulty getting around, or are missing limbs, or have mental illnesses.  It occurred to me that it is difficult to write about people with disabilities. I fully realize this is a personal bias, but when I think of characters, I tend to think of people from the perspective with which I’m familiar.  I do sometimes write from a female perspective, most of my characters are from my ethnic background and are, according to current views, not disabled. The few times I’ve tried to incorporate different ethic backgroun...

As an erstwhile novelist (six written so far, none published), I have always relied on inspiration.  That is to say, all the novels came to me.  The ideas were there, ready to suggest themselves.  Like a comparable date. I finished my latest effort last summer.  I still need to go back and rewrite and revise, but the fact is it has an introduction, plot, characterization, climax, denouement, and conclusion.  It is complete in draft.  The same is true of its five siblings. I’m now in the process of trying to cobble together another.  You see, I have only a few minutes each day to write—usually less than an hour.  As a result, I frequently produce short stories.  I’ve have 13 published, but I have dozens more to submit.  Since some of these stories share a setting, I wondered… Can a novel be Frankensteined from these disparate parts?  I know novelists have done this many, many times before.  The characters, however, ...