How do you make such intriguing, solid, and consistent characters in your stories? It's so easy to feel for them! How do you do it?

Even though I'm not exactly an expert writer, I've been asked that so much recently that I finally decided to blog about it.

I've heard many writers ending up getting stuck in the middle of writing a story not because they run out of ideas, but because they don't like their characters anymore. Sometimes it seems like their characters aren't behaving the way they should, and are therefore ruining the storyline. This is a pretty common problem, I think, and a problem that could have been avoided if the characters had been planned well.

So how do I make my characters consistent?

Read full post...1.) Determine who (and what) they are
This one's a pretty obvious answer.

In the early planning stages, I decide what I want my characters to be like. You can do this before or after mapping out your storyline. Decide what they look like, and how they act. Are they tall, or short? Are they outgoing, or shy? Short tempered or incredibly patient? Playful or strict?

When you have pictured your character, you can make an draft how you're going to introduce them in your story. But you can save that for later.


2.) Imagine who they will be
This one is important, and weaves very well with your story plot. You have to know what your characters will be like by the end of the story.

I always, always plan this out at the early stages of story creation. You see, when you've determined the "final form" of your character, you can mix that with your general plot to form the events that will shape your story. That way, the direction of the story will be clear to you, and you would immediately know if your players are already going out of character or not.

Sometimes I even think of what they were like before the actual storyline, just in case I suddenly find the need to do flashbacks. I did this when I was writing Blue Star, and ended up writing a sequel and a prequel. The prequel, Ribbon, got more readers and positive reviews than the first story. And the sequel, Kaji o Sagashite, got even more response from the audience!


3. ) Give them habits that'll make them unique (and make people laugh, while you're at it)
Aside from thinking up the general things, it's always helpful to think up something that makes each character unique.

Do they have habits (twirling a lock of hair around their finger when thinking) or speech patterns (adding a syllable at the end of sentences, or maybe a favorite word to use)? Do they passionately like something (chocolate ice cream), or hate something (cockroaches)? Whatever it may be, make sure it becomes prominent, as this will help in making each character unique and constant. Be careful: and don't over-use these habits, because they may become annoying.

Of course, make sure to match this with your story genre. Like, if you're writing comedy, exaggerate them a bit. And if you're writing a drama, don't make the habits too comedic, unless you're planning to make it serve as a comic relief.


4.) Throw realistic situations at them
People love it when they can sympathize with at least one of characters. Otherwise, the story won't have a connection with the audience.

I'll clarify, though, that when I say "realistic" situations, I don't mean that everything that happens in your story needs to be within the bounds of possible. Aliens invading the earth may be unrealistic (depending on your school of thought), but the realistic situation there would be when your lead character is faced with the challenge of protecting his loved ones. Or something like that.

Bottom line is: make your readership watch your character and think, "That's exactly what I would do if I was in his shoes!!!"


5.) Let them LIIIIIIIIVE!!!
So now you've got awesome characteristics listed down for your players, and you know exactly how they're supposed to act.

But, you know, you gotta give them space to breathe. Sometimes it's unavoidable for some adjustments to happen. Your characters may suddenly seem to have a life of their own and move differently from what you had planned. This is perfectly all right. Plans really are just guidelines, and they are not meant to box our creativity.

Stories are more beautiful if they are given space to flow and evolve. Sort of like how a ballroom is HUGE so that there is more space for free expression. I always let my characters dance, or whisper in my ear, "Won't it be more fun if I did this other thing?" More often than not, by the end of the story, I end up with my characters being more established and interesting and...ALIVE... more than I had originally planned.

Conclusion
Plan your characters properly before letting them run free. If you let them loose too early, you might have trouble reining them in by the middle of the story. Yes, guide your characters, but don't be a dictator. Play with them! Have fun with them! Love them, let your story show why you love them, and I'm sure your audience will love them, too!

I hope this helps all you writers struggling with your characters...

And if you're a writer, too, share your thoughts! How do you create your characters?



This is also a submission to Problogger's Killer Titles group writing project.

Friday, July 18, 2008

on rain, writing, and price hikes

It's been raining a lot the past days. And although it can't be denied that the rain makes travelling by commute—or by private car, if you think about it—more stressful and tiring than it already is, I still love the rain.

When it's raining, my creative mind tends to wake up. Maybe it's because the rhythmic sound of raindrops outside. Or maybe it's because, when I was a kid, rain equals floods equals no classes, therefore a rainy day equals grabbing a book and reading in some corner of the house. I think that's it, really. Read full post...Now, when it rains, I...

1. tend to write code faster.
   
2. tend to want to drop my work and write, instead. ...Which leads to the writing of this post. Heh. (For the record: I'm not at work so I have guilt-free writing time right now.)
3. tend to want to snuggle under the covers and just dream.
   

Several days ago, it rained hard all night, and in the morning the weather was what I like to call, "snuggle-licious." It's that kind of cold that summons the soft blanket from the drawers...but not too cold that man would long for summer. It's that gentle, bury-yourself-under-the-covers-and-sleep-in kind of cold.

Now, I love that kind of weather, but on certain days it could get problematic.

Like, say, on a workday.

Like that day after that rainy night. It was such a snuggle-licious morning that I woke up late. As in, like, so late that I did not have time to get ready, and that very minute I was supposed to be on the train on the way to work already. Yeah. That late.

But since I consider myself rather hygenic, so I used a technique I learned during my college days that enabled me to take a bath, brush my teeth, get dressed and ready, all in 15 minutes. By 9:30I was ready to go. Problem was: I was still in Quezon City. My work was in Fort Bonifacio, which was one and a half hours away. Oh, joy.

But still I charged forth! I got a cab to the train, took the train to Makate and then got another cab to the office, the whole time ignoring my watch and my cellphone so that I won't get any more stressed at how late I already was.

I got to my office in one piece.

And at 10:00 AM.

Hu-WHAT?!

"Sarah, it only took you thirty minutes?!"

Yes, it did. Until now I still haven't figured it out. At first I considered that maybe I just got the time wrong, but my mom verified that I indeed left the house at 9:30.

Weird, I know.

My Plurk friends tell me that it's because of the price hike recently. Gas is SO expensive nowadays that people want to leave their cars. Therefore there's lighter traffic on the road, therefore travel time is faster. Well, I guess may be true. I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Ha. So I guess that's one good thing about the price hike, eh?

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

currently :: 10-31-2007

By popular demand, I'll post something. And that something is... a list. Oh, joy.

Lately: I've been...

Reading manga.

Reading books: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Persuasion by Jane Austen, and The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Working my butt off. I've been insanely busy the past weeks, but I've actually been having fun. leGASP! Yes. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm actually enjoying my job again. Of course, my schedule still sucks, and my wallet's still in agony, and bills have been screaming at me, but...yeah. I'm smiling again. Tiredly, but smiling nonetheless.

Planning for NaNoWriMo only to scrap all plans, and then replanning, and then scrapping them again, only to end up deciding to say "oh, whatever" and NOT to have any plans at all for it. At first I wanted to have an outline of some sort, or at least a main plot, before diving into this, but since I've ALWAYS planned my stories, I thought I'd try something new. And, hey, top-of-the-head writing is the whole point of NaNoWriMo, anyway. Heeheehee.

Writing Nathaniel and the Orphan. If you're my reader, do not fear. I am writing it. Seriously. I'm just... Having a really really hard time because I'm nearing the end of the book.

Rereading the Blue Star stories. Just for the heck of it. I didn't really plan to: one day I just saw my FPcom profile and saw my old titles. I checked out the first episode I ever wrote, and before I knew it, I was sucked into the Blue Star world all over again.

Trying to pick up The Death and Life of Matsuo Yuuji. Yes, omg, I tried to write a new chapter. I really did. I haven't written a word of it, though, but...I tried. Yes. I think this was brought about by my rereading of Blue Star. Haha!



So...obviously, I've been writing a whole lot of things (or trying, anyway) that if I actually had a writing blog, I would've had a gazillion posts already as I vent out my frustrations and crappy ideas. Heh.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Battle of the Old Posts

Are there old posts in your archive that you think people should look back on? Are there posts that you think your new readers would thoroughly enjoy reading?

I ask this because something strange is happening to my blog traffic. It's nothing to be alarmed about, of course, but it's definitely interesting.

Somehow, my old posts —like, almost-three-years-ago type of "old post"— are getting attention. I don't really know why... Nobody's noticed them much before (nobody except for my three best friends who were my only readers at the time).

Sure, sure, my newer, more popular posts are still garnering most of the hits, but my eyebrow sort of just rose by itself when I saw really really old posts getting a couple of hits per day.

So, anyway. Since some people seem to find these interesting, I (re-)present to you my Top 5 Oldest Posts. Read full post...

Katamaran (Laziness) - An all-Filipino post, and is currently one of the top 10 most visited posts in my blog. Yes. It's swimming in there, along with the top posts that are listed on the upper right side of this page. This post is actually my reaction paper on Tungkol sa Katamaran ng mga Pilipino a literary work by Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine National Hero. I wrote this for a social studies course during my senior year in college. Hm. Maybe students are looking for material for their reaction papers, as well? Haha!

Progression of Memory - Here's a pretty rambly post I wrote to celebrate my promotion into the world of flash drives. Harhar. The first half of the post is funny, methinks. Maybe that's why it's getting hits in the first place.

The Road to Strawberry Jam City - The mountainside view I got while on the way to Baguio City, the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", got me contemplatative, much.

Come to the Garden - Sonya's Garden, to be specific. So I suppose travel posts really do get attention, hm?

one-note samba - I remember that I originally wanted to write a rant that night, but ended up writing something comedic. Or so my friend said.



So...yeah. That's the top 5. There's still, like, a dozen more that get about a hit a day... If anybody's interested to know what those posts are, then gimme a holler.

Ciao!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

You Know You're A Writer When...

Oh my goodness, I just had to read this thread when I chanced upon it in the Meg Cabot forum. Not surprisingly, I found myself nodding and laughing about nearly each and every item because it precisely describes me. I compiled a list from the thread -- there had to be about several hundred items there. Here are the ones that are my favorites because they're funny and/or they really apply to me, and they apply to me a bit too frequently. XD Enjoy!

-----

You Know You're A Writer When...

1) you think of your friends as characters

2) you write them into your story

3) you get revenge on people by basing a mean character off of them in your story.

4) you have conversations with your characters -- the fictional ones, not your friends in the real world -- and, most usually, they hate you for making their life miserable (or WAY too exciting for their liking)

5) you have some books you read for enjoyment, some you read for school, and others you read just to get ideas on how to make your stories flow better

6) everyday, you daydream about how to plug today into your story.

7) the end of your pinky is usually stained with ink (if you're left-handed) or pencil lead.

8) you have way to many saved Word docs in your computer.

9) your drawer is overflowing with copy-paper of your printed stories/filled notebooks.

10) you mentally correct anything you read subconsciously with better words and phrasing.

11) even in the most dire of situations, you're thinking about how it would be best written

12) you hear a song on the radio and you automatically think 'Hey that's a good plot idea...'

13) you constantly play the same song over and over to get into a 'mood' for one of the chapters

14) you wake up in the middle of the night to search for a pen/laptop/notebook to write down a story idea because you're afraid that you'll forget it by morning

15) you cannot, cannot stop your characters' dialogue in your head and you start laughing out of nowhere because they said something utterly funny. And then everyone thinks you're a freak.

16) you actually alternate between using words like comments, reminds, asks, instead of just using 'said' for every single paper you write

17) you cannot control yourself if someone uses the same adjective twice within two/three sentences (unless if it's for emphasis)

18) you end sentences with 'for lack of a better word.' and people look at you weird and say that they don't know what the original word meant in the first place

19) you refuse to throw away old notebooks because of little phrases or things you wrote on the margin of the page concerning a story you were plotting at the time

20) there are so many things in your head when you're in the middle of writing that you can't type them out fast enough

21) you type full words with proper grammar faster than your friends replying in chatspeak

22) you make up alternative endings for books you've read, movies you've watched, and about every other story out there

23) you make up alternative "endings" for situations in your real life

24) you think about what your characters would do in a situation you're in

25) you hear some guys cursing in the hallway you turn around quickly and tell them that they "have a charming vocabulary" before stalking off to wherever it is your going.

26) you are known as "the girl who read books during recess" by those you knew in second grade.

27) you've never had a boyfriend in real life, but in the world of fiction you are very taken.

28) you have never played a videogame. People act as if you're from Mars because of this. And if you do play videogames... you write stories about them...

29) anytime anyone speaks, you add a mental description. ("she said while stroking her head thoughtfully")

30) you find your self speaking in your writing style. ("Yes, Mrs. Smith, I did complete the assignment, however, I found numbers 7 and 12 quite difficult, to say the least.")

-----

And, WOW I'm just halfway through the thread! I'll post more soon, I think. Hehehe.

Friday, May 11, 2007

spill the ink

I started "writing" in my head (and with my mouth) when I was 4 years old. I started writing a bit legibly on paper when I was five. But I started really writing creatively when I turned 15. Four years later, I took the What Type of Writer Should You Be? quiz, and here's what I got:

You Should Be A Poet

You craft words well, in creative and unexpected ways. And you have a great talent for evoking beautiful imagery... Or describing the most intense heartbreak ever. You're already naturally a poet, even if you've never written a poem.

That actually took me by surprise, as I never saw myself as a real writer, much less a poet. Then, to my surprise even more, a lot of people agreed to my blog entry about the result, even people whom I didn't know were reading my blog. Around the same time, my stories in Fictionpress began to get good reviews. Some of my readers even began asking me advice on how to write!

I've read sometime in the past that "if you've got talent to write, then you've got talent to write. Go write."

Riiiiiiiight. I've got something to add to that. "Even if you think you don't have talent to write, go write!"

When I was a kid, nobody told me that I had the makings of a poetic writer, and I don't recall reading anything along the lines of "How To Be A Totally Awesome Creative Writer!!!" So how did I get here?

I'm not really sure, but here are the things that might have helped. Read on and maybe they'll help you, too.

1.) Read, read, and read some more.
I think what affected my writing most is -- tada! -- the books I read. A wide vocabulary has always been a vital part of being an effective writer. We all learned to read before we learned how to write, after all.

Learn from the masters. Go back to the classics. Read up on the new bestsellers. You don't have to use flowery words; you have to use the right words. There are many ways to express a thought, and it would be so much fun if you got to use the right word to say the right thing. You can't use the right word if you don't know it, so go grab a book, and make sure that a dictionary or thesaurus is beside you.

2.) Get organized
One of the things I usually do when writing a story, or even a blog entry, is an outline. When I was a kid, I hated making outlines for reviewing exams, but when it comes to writing, I found that it's very helpful. It helps me see the big picture, and ensures that what I'm writing is going somewhere.

When making an outline, go from general to specific. Start with the theme: what do you want your story to be about? Next, determine the plot. Write down how you want the story to begin, the major conflicts in the middle, and how you want it to end. Then under beginning, list down the foundations you would like to lay. In the middle, list what developments you want to make. Then at the end, list the resolutions you want to happen. From there, build how you'll go about each foundation, development, and resolution.

You get my drift, yeah?

3.) Be flexible
Okay, so you have everything planned out. But, as time goes by, different things will influence you. New ideas may arise, and some planned things might not seem so good after a while. Sometimes, as we write, the flow doesn't go as outlined.

You know what? That's perfectly fine. Make sure that you leave room for changes. Just because you've got an outline it doesn't mean that you have to stick to it rigidly. The outline is merely a guide, and you have to let your creativity flow through it.

4.) Activate your inner mind's theater
One of my readers told me once that I was very good at describing things. She was particularly talking about this fight scene that I wrote with martial arts moves and stuff. She said that when she was reading that part of my story, she felt like she was watching a movie. Like, wow. That was one of the best moments of my life as a writer.

When she asked me how she could write a scene like that, I told her to (1) go and watch martial arts films or animation, and (2) picture the scene in your head first. Writing a scene, martial arts or no, can either be so freakin' easy, or too freakin' hard. But whether or not it comes easily, I've found that picturing it in your mind before typing away helps big time. It lets you see all the details, upon which you can build developments on later. And it lets you keep track of the details, and make sure that you don't miss any. Repeating the scene over and over in your head lets you develop it before you write it down. I've found that my scenes get better and better the more I repeat them in my imagination.

5.) Fight writer's block
Let me share a memorable day in my penmanship class in first grade. Our task that day was to write a paragraph of 100 words, just so she could see the uniformity of our handwriting. After about five minutes, she noticed that I wasn't writing anything. When she asked me why, I said, "I can't think of anything to write."

Ahahaha. Precisely the words of a writer in a writer's block. Around the middle of a piece, I usually get stuck staring at my screen or notebook, waiting for inspiration to come. I bet it happens to a lot of people, too. And when I do, I remember what my penmanship teacher said to me that day so many years ago:

"Write away."

She told me that it didn't matter what I wrote, as long as I wrote something. She told me that the words I wanted will come later. And they did.

The first line that I wrote then was "My name is Sarah, and I can't think of anything to write." I then went on to write about the class, the room, and the sound of my classmates' pencils on their papers as I wrote. At the end of the day, my penmanship teacher showed my piece to my English teacher. My English teacher had me enter an essay-writing contest.

I won.

And so, if you want to be a writer, or you want to write just for the heck of it, I hope the stuff I learned helps you. Go spill the ink. Let your fingers fly through the keyboard. Who knows, maybe you've got a great writer hidden somewhere in there.

------------------------
-"Spill the Ink". Originally posted on March 4, 2001 in one of my discontinued blogs.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

my kitsune is picking oranges

I just noticed that it's been a long time since I've written anything about my life.

I mean, sure, the Internet is a significant chunk of my life --- a really huge chunk at that --- but the realization that I've been blogging about almost nothing but the Internet pretty much concerns me. Just look at the recent posts, will you? They've been about other people's websites, the Pepsi contest, my blog and SEO.

I haven't been writing about me.

Me as a person, me as a daughter, me as a friend, me as a girl. Self-centered, I know. But it's still kind of alarming. Does that mean I'm that wrapped up in the net? That my world revolves around it now?

Ha! Bollocks! Of course not!

Still, it does appear that way, doesn't it?

To tell you the truth, my routine for the past weeks had been work-sleep, work-sleep. There was a point about a month ago that I kept dreaming of our system. I was programming in my dreams. No exaggeration. The great part about it, though, is that there were several nights that I actually solved a debugging problem in my dream. When I woke up, my first thought was "This is AWESOME, I can't believe I figured that out!" My second thought was "Oh no... This can't be right. I can NOT be dreaming of programming."

Let it be known, though, that I still actually have a life outside the computer. I still have a family at home, with whom I've been marathoning Prison Break and Cirque du Soleil and Oscar Award-winning movies with. I still have friends I see on weekends. I still have my God I praise every day.

I don't know why I haven't been writing about my life like I did before. Change of writing style? Not really. Tilt of interest? Maybe. Tweaking of lifestlyle? Most likely.

So, in case you run into me one of these days and I start yakking techie terms and about my adventures with SEO, please please grab me by the shoulders and say, "Sarah, stop being a geek for a second and talk about something else."

That, or just stuff a chocolate in my mouth.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

pen on paper

I watched The Lake House on Friday (and Sunday, with diffrent people). The movie is now one of my favorite movies ever. Partly because of the plot, partly because of the cast...but mainly because of the delivery. Argh. I just LOVE how they told the story.

But, anyway. That's not what this entry is about.

This entry is about writing.

Yes, I love to write. I think everyone who knows me knows that about me. Stories, thoughts, a log of my life, and all that jazz. But, as I walked out of that cinema, I suddenly began thinking about writing again.

I mean writing.

With a pen on paper.

No keyboard. That means no backspace key. No font specifications. That means I'm left with my oh-so-legible handwriting.

The other day, I went to Flight of the Blue Pen. Reading my old work gave me that nostalgic, I wanna write again feeling. But then, a few hours later, I stumbled upon my journal. The one that isn't on the web. I leafed through it, and the nostalgia got even worse. Then, a couple of loose pages fell out off the notebook. As it turns out, it was the same stuff I had typed into Flight, but, somehow, the fact that I was reading it from a piece of paper, and it was written with my own handwriting, gave it a different feel.

It made me want to write even more.

And so I did.

I started writing on my journal yesterday, and it proved to be a challenge. (Again, because of the absence of the backspace key.) Especially since sometimes my brain isn't so organized, so what I write isn't so organized either. Like, I'm trying to drive a point, but I suddenly get distracted and I arrive at another point.

But I suppose that's all part of the fun. I realized that the spontaneity gets lost most of the time when I write on the PC. I realized that crossed out words and inserted ones, even misspelled terms and wrong grammar, are all part of the fun. I bet when I read my journal in two years, it'll let me discover myself more than rereading my blog.

Let me make it clear, though, that no, I am not going to stop blogging any time soon.

So...yeah. Why don't you try it? One of these days, turn off your PC or Mac for once, grab a pen and write something short and simple (or even long and deep) on a piece of good ol' paper.

And then keep it.

I'm sure you'll have lots of fun reading it after a few years.

Monday, November 14, 2005

mumblings

For some reason, I suddenly want to revamp everything. Seriously. My room, my SP, my blog, my writings.... heck, even my wardrobe. That doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it, but that's not the point. The people who know me know that I try to figure out and write about things I do, things I see and things I feel. But this one... This one I can't figure out.

Sure, my room has practically been begging for a paint job for ages. And, yeah, I've considered making a new design for my blog. And, of course, we all need a new set of clothes every now and then. But it just strikes me as weird that I suddenly want a major overhaul of everything at this very moment. Maybe it's just all of that piled up together. I dunno.

And it's not the only thing I can't figure out right now.

For some other reason (or maybe it's the same), I want to record everything.

Suddenly I'm looking through old photos, old journals, and old notes and letters -- some of which don't even make sense. Suddenly, I'm browsing through every kind of paper in National Bookstore, thinking which one would work best for a scrapbook. Sure, I've always wanted to make a scrapbook, but I don't know what triggered this. Maybe it's the time I've spent with my friends during the break. Or maybe it's the reunions I've had with my high school classmates. Maybe my recent visits to my high school and college campuses struck a sentimental cord.

Suddenly I want to write and write about everything and anything, from the most profound to the most trivial, until there is nothing more to write, just so everybody who care about me will know what's going on in my pretty little head. Sure, I've always loved writing, but...

This is just plain weird.

But the funny thing about all this is: even though I want to do all that, I'm not actually doing them.

"But what you wanna do takes time and effort," I debate with myself.

"Ah, yes, you're quite right," I agree. "But I can always write, can't I?"

"Yes, yes, you can."

So I take my trusty journal -- the one that's made of paper, which I go back to every now and then -- and I write. But before I actually make a point (or before I finish driving my point), my train of thought suddenly stops. Or the "dramatic flair", as Sara called it, in my writing suddenly dwindles down to nothing. And then I suddenly find my finished work bare, unexpressive, and basically pointless. And then my purpose of writing at all will be defeated.

It's almost funny that, sometimes, I take things so seriously, and sometimes I look at things as if nothing really matters, and thus we must laugh about everything. It's at these times that I see myself to be so inconsistent at some things to the point that I'm being consistent at it.

And now... I don't know how to end this blog entry.

Ha.

There you have it. A first-hand experience to what I'm trying to point out. But I guess it's just fitting: I've proven the my point that I can't draw a conclusion, so there shall be no conclusion.

So...yeah. Yet another entry of random thoughts, snowflakes floating in the air. Another log of my quiet mumblings, possibly drowned out in amidst the business of life and the million voices calling us to do what we're supposed to do.

Well, then. Until tomorrow's mumblings...

Thursday, November 10, 2005

haha! I WISH!

You Are a Blogging Expert

You got 8/8 correct! You know so much about blogging, you should blog for a living.

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

I should blog for a living, it says. Someone hire me!!!

Friday, August 19, 2005

taking a peek in the brother's mind

I just wanted to share my brother's ingenuity.

Thoughts on the World of Ants

Friday, February 25, 2005

meh writing style

I didn't think it was an unbiased quiz...there were only three questions to answer. But, then again, I LOVED the art

So here it is:

You are a freeform writer. Individualistic with a
sense for the different and challenging, Walt
Whitman and his poetry lacking meter and rhyme
is just what the doctor ordered. You're quick
to write something that the rest of the world
doesn't accept as poetry, quick to separate
yourself from the average joe. An author with a
true sense of self, you have confidence in your
abilities and aren't afraid to show it. :) GO
YOU!

What's YOUR Writing Style?
brought to you by Quizilla

But... who's Walt Whitman?