Weekly Writing Tip

Characters. They can make you grin or pull out your hair in frustration.


    Last week we talked about naming our characters. It's easier than naming your own children but by just a fraction. :) 

    This week lets talk about the psychological make up of your character. Uh, oh. My character isn't crazy, he's not an axe murderer why do we have to analyze him? Because we need to know what makes your character tick. Everyone has quirks, habits they perform, things that set them off because of events in their lives and a great character 'experiences' those same problems.

    Now, with that being said, the reader may not know everything you know. Just because you know your character to drink three cups of strong coffee and a single piece of toast for breakfast, doesn't mean it might ever make it into the story. The reader doesn't need to know all that is mundane, just what pertains to the story.

     So why bother to know so many details? Because it adds depth and realism to your character. If you understand your character than you know what they will do in situations, how they will react, what emotional response they will have and you will be able to convey this information in a way that captures our emotions and makes us care about your character. There's nothing worse than having a character that no one cares about it. The readers have to care about your characters to care about your story. 

     To start figuring out your character write down this information; where they live, what job do they have, what job would they like to have, what foods they like and what foods they don't like, do they have a pet and how do they treat that pet, their family and the thing they hate most. What are their views and how do those views effect their outlook on life? 

     You don't have to write a complete diary or a novel on your character. You would never have time to write the story if you did that but write a couple of pages just to start to understand your character, realizing that you can add to it as you write the story or even change things if you decide something would work better. You can also write down slang or certain pieces of dialogue they are prone to use. 

     The idea here is to have a reference guide of your character. To add depth to the why your character does certain things. It can also help keep characters consistent if you take the time to write their details down, then as you write the story you can refer back to it as you need to. 

      Remember, this is your character and they need to seem real, like they could step right off the page and into someone's living room. Know the mundane of your character but focus on what makes them likable (or unlikable if need be) and human.

Monday Musings...

Moments...


      Precious minutes. Fragments of breath. Heartbeats filled with joy, awe, grief...

      These are the notes that compose our songs of life. Our entire personal script can be written with a tangled mess of moments that tell our stories. What moments changed the road you were traveling down? One brief tick in time and everything changes. When we tell people stories of our lives, we share the moments that stick out in our memories. The things that mattered to us. Usually because that second in time shaped us in some way. Every little thought changes us, sometimes by such a small degree we don't even realize it until enough tiny thoughts have added up and shifted the ground beneath our feet. And some moments are so intense, burning as bright as the sun, that we nearly don't recognize ourselves the next time we peer in the mirror.

     Sometimes the things we remember are not what we expect to. I don't instantly recall every birthday or Christmas present I ever opened. But I do remember all the details in vivid color, when hero hottie proposed to me, among a gray, cloudy morning and a horde of biting mosquitoes. Who can forget huge welts on their calf when they're in love? :)

     But seriously, that moment changed every other moment after that because obviously I said yes. I don't remember the day after, I was floating on cloud nine and I don't, fortunately, recall all the tedious details of planning the wedding, yet that memory is so alive it could have happened a few weeks ago.

    Giving birth, finding our wonderful Buddy at the pound, hiking too many miles, listening to music together and watching Christmas lights, they're all moments in my life. There's so many I couldn't even possibly write them all down. I would bore you too, because although the time hero hottie and I made bagel sandwiches and French fries for dinner while we were dating was important. It was one of the first times we cooked together, it's not a thrilling story. :)

     Moments are vital. They shape us, they change us, they keep us sane.

     And moments are valuable in a book too. A story is composed of moments, carefully and artfully stitched together to make you feel with the characters, to watch their growth as every little moment changes them. And hopefully, if it's a good story, towards a better them. Writing a book is a lot like life...composed of moments that wring the heart the most, sprinkle a bad hair day or two in there and with the realization that we wouldn't be who we are without our fist full of moments to treasure.