IWSG: Lumps & All, Mni Wicon, Stats, Links

It's the first Wednesday of January, which means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

The purpose of the IWSG is to talk about our doubts and insecurities, as well as to support each other. We post the first Wednesday of each month, and anyone is free to join. Go to the link above and enter your name on the linky, then jump in!

Our co-hosts this month are Eva @ Lillicasplace, Crystal Collier, Sheena-kay Graham,Chemist Ken, LG Keltner, and Heather Gardner! Be sure to drop by and say hi to them, and thank them for all their work.

This month's optional question is: What writing rule do you wish you'd never heard?

I can't list just one. My problem isn't with any one writing rule. However, when you attend workshops and conferences, read craft books and blogs, and otherwise study the craft of writing, it's easy to stagger under the inundation of rules. For me, I had to find a happy medium between learning to hone my craft and leaving myself free to write. Otherwise, I end up overthinking my writing, and I don't think that makes it stronger. Not for me. There are more introspective writers who gain something by over-analyzing their writing, perhaps, but I'm not one of them.

Writing is a creative pursuit. Like anything else, it has rules, but when creativity is the goal, I think it pays to break rules much of the time. Being a grammar nazi, there are rules I obviously think it pays to follow unless that inhibits the story, but the rules I'm talking about are those generalities that impact story lines and plots. I'm sure we'll see tons of those in posts today! For example, show, don't tell, can tie someone up mentally if they're focusing too much on that rule instead of their writing.

Having said this, I believe it still pays to learn from those who know more than we do, to attend workshops and the like, to continue honing our craft. It's just that I also believe it needs to be mitigated, and that we need to carefully riffle through the things we learn to pick out the gems, while discarding the aspects that won't help us, and being careful to use it as an aid, not as something that kills our creativity.

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Before I get to this month's stats, I'd like to announce that the Mni Wicon Blogathon I posted about here has been extended, courtesy of the holidays! A lot of people were out for the month, so we've added a week. It will now be ending on the 7th of January. Full details can be found on my previous post, but here's a picture of one of the prize packs that will be issued to a random winner.

If you'd like to see examples of letters to the banks, Nicole has posted at The Madlab Post.

We'd love to see some folks letting the banks that bankroll corporate greed get an earful.

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My stats for the month of December were as follows:

2 pieces published in magazines!
5 submissions
4 rejections
9 pieces currently on submission

I'll recap my stats for the year in a post next week.

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Now for some links!

Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Three Drops From a Cauldron is open for poetry and flash fiction submissions for A Face in the Mirror, A Hook on the Door. Urban legends and modern folklore. Pays in a percentage of profit. Deadline January 30.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is open for submissions with the themes Demons, Premonitions, & the Unexplainable; Stories About Cats; Stories About Dogs. Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline January 31.

Pen and Kink Publishing is open for submissions of vampire romance for Triskaidekaphilia Book #2 - Ravenous. 1000 to 15,000 words. Pays $10. Deadline January 31.

Martian Migraine Press is open for submissions of short stories dealing with possession, whatever your definition of that might be. 1500 to 7000 words. Pays $.03CAD/word. Deadline January 31.

Nashville Review is open for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Up to 8000 words. Pays $25/poem, $100/short piece. Deadline January 31.

Recompose is open for flash fiction and poetry. They want you to walk the line between literary and speculative fiction. Up to 1000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 31.

Kristell Ink is open for submissions of short speculative fiction for several anthologies: Infinite Dysmorphia, Terra Nullis, and Holding On By Our Fingertips. 6000 to 10,000 words. Pays 10. Deadline for all January 31.

The Cantabrigian is open for submissions of literary fiction. 800 to 8000 words. Paying market, but does not give specific payment amount. Deadline January 31.

Hyperion & Theia is open for submissions of fiction, poetry, and art. This year's theme is Saturnalia. They take poetry, short stories, novelettes, and novellas. Word count varies by type. Pays $.01/word. Deadline January 31.

Grivante Press is open for submissions of erotic horror. Up to 5000 words. Pays up to $30 depending upon length. Deadline January 31.

What are your insecurities? What writing rules do you hate? Will you be participating in the Mni Wicon Blogathon? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share? What did your December stats look like?

May you find your Muse.

Mother Goose and Other Lovable Sidekicks

I was watching Top Gun the other day and thinking how I always liked Goose way better than Maverick, and it got me thinking on lovable sidekicks in books and movies. It's an often used trick in a book or movie, going way back. It's become a requirement in Disney movies, with the sidekick typically being an animal of some sort. My daughter loves Pasquale in Tangled, for instance. In fact, we found a stuffed chameleon at Rainforest Cafe and she just had to have it to carry around, as she aspires to grow up and be Rapunzel (sigh).

Before Disney there was Sherlock's Watson, probably one of the most well known literary sidekicks around (a relationship, in fact, copied in a Disney movie: The Great Mouse Detective). Watson acted as a bit of a foil to Sherlock's eccentricities. He also provided a bit of heart in contrast to the somewhat cold Sherlock.

Now, maybe it's just me, but Goose is one of the first sidekicks that pops into my mind. He was well written and played, lovable, warm and funny. While Maverick was, well, a maverick, Goose was dependable, loyal and sensible. He was a husband and father who sometimes egged Maverick on and sometimes tried to rein him in. Goose, in a word, was awesome.

So how does one write a perfect sidekick that hits all the right spots? What are the rules of sidekicks? They frequently get killed off when not a part of a series. If they're well written their death serves as a type of emotional blackmail to elicit sadness from the reader and willingness to root for victory on the part of the main character. Examples of this are Goose, of course, and Sid from An Officer and a Gentleman. *(I'm trying to use older movies here so I don't give anything away in a more recent one). Both are killed, and both breed a new determination in the protagonist.

The first rule seems to be that a sidekick must be likable. The audience wants to root for this person. I imagine this is the most necessary when the protagonist is not necessarily the most likable person. Maverick is a bit of a juvenile, Mayo is a bit of an ass, etc. Sure, we still root for the protagonist, but how much of that is due to the sidekick who we'll do anything for? If you take Goose out of Top Gun what are you left with? The only relief from a bunch of cocky guys is a light moment where we get to see those same guys shirtless and playing volleyball. Otherwise, the movie is strictly testosterone driven.

Frequently, the sidekick is also amusing, whether they're the class clown or just sarcastic. They bring levity to books and films that may be a bit heavy, dark or serious. They lighten things up, give us a laugh, and transition us into the next heavy scene.

They also tend to be a foil to the protagonist, someone who is their opposite. This causes a pleasant sort of friction between the characters, which can work in differing ways to control or encourage the protagonist. Sometimes it even leads to a fight or a break in the partnership, but they always eventually come back to each other. This opposition often includes the likable and amusing requirements, as their ideal protagonist is somewhat hard to like, as well as very dark or serious.

Finally, they are usually the same sex. Not always, but more often than not. At this moment, I can't think of an example where they're not both male or both female, but I'm sure one will pop in my head later. This makes them better able to be good buddies without relationship woes getting in the way. It also makes it so the sidekick may be more accepting of the protagonist's flaws. They know the protagonist better than anyone else, yet they love them anyway. A male and female might clash a bit more and be less accepting of the other's issues.

On a quick note, I've seen some examples in recent years of the protagonist being the one who is goofy, sarcastic and klutzy, always making stupid mistakes, whereas the sidekick is the serious ass kicker of the pair. I would have to say that I see this more often in female pairs than male, but that may just be because I read more within those parameters. Kim Harrison's main characters fit this bill with the protagonist Rachel Morgan, a witch with many flaws who makes mistakes, and her faithful sidekick Ivy, the serious and dangerous vampire. These books have also broken the no relationships rule, as there has been sexual tension between the two in parts of the series. To top it off, there is also a male sidekick named Jenks, who is a pixy. He provides some of the comic relief and is a lovable family man (he's also far too tiny to have a sexual relationship with). She just broke all kinds of rules, but it works.

Of course, these rules are more guidelines than actual set rules. Their presence may be common, but it most definitely does not appear in every book or movie. Sometimes the protagonist is their own comic relief, their own foil, and/or they are likable. The true first rule is that there are no set rules in writing.

Who are your favorite sidekicks? Are there any rules/guidelines you think I left out?

Happy Writing!