Creating Characters

He’s Alive!

OK, fun aside, every story needs a good character. It just so happens that the last book I read struck me in an odd way. It was the first time I came across a book where I found the characters to be flat and lifeless.  Instead of putting it down, I observed them. I wanted to figure out why that had happened, what was missing, and where the author went wrong.

When it comes to creating characters, a fun exercise can be to go out into the world and observe. Now, make sure you don’t go and get yourself arrested for stalking. If your MC happens to be eight years old and you’ve decided to hang around parks to get a feel for the eight year old, be discrete.

Step one would be to observe and take notes. Describe your character, noting everything from clothing, to physical traits, and then his ticks or mannerisms. Watch his expressions, dialogue and reactions. Be as detailed as possible at this stage.

Once you’ve done that, describe the scene that is playing out before you. Don’t try to turn it into anything other than what it is, at least not yet. So, here you are, the observer or reporter, documenting what your character is up to. Next, switch modes, and get inside your character’s head. Write what is going on from his point of view. Write not only what he is saying, but what you believe he’s thinking. Become the child. What’s he feeling and thinking as the scene plays out?

Try the same thing with a young mother, a business man, a sports coach or anyone you please. Sit in a mall, arena, or library, and watch people going about their routine. Friends, co-workers and family make good targets to study as well.

Another exercise would be to watch the physiological responses of your subject. What I mean by that is watch their reactions…His eyes widened, lifted his chin defiantly, her eyes narrowed and she let out a slow breath through clenched teeth, his shoulders sagged, she stiffened, her eyes darted around the room nervously…

What do you think she is feeling, thinking...

OK, I think you get the picture. But wait! Those were external descriptions of your character, the things we see. What would be going on inside? His stomach lurched, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat but refused to back down, rage bubbled up from inside as she fought for control, all hope drained away, a chill ran up her spine, her insides shook as she searched frantically for a way out…

You can make a chart with physical descriptions and all the details we covered above for future reference. And if you find names you like, throw them in.
When it comes to inserting your character into your story, you want to describe him, but you also want to let the reader create an image of your character in his mind.  Another book I read had the author describing, in detail, every piece and brand of clothing on the character…in every single scene. At one point, it becomes overkill.

Give a general description at first, and then add a detail here and there as you go along.
Hopefully, you will be able to create a living, breathing character that will thrive as he makes his way through your story.

If you want to test out your creations, try describing a family member, friend or co-worker, and see if the others figure can out who he or she is. If you get it right, they won’t hesitate to identify the person.

If ever you don’t get out enough to try this out, turn on the television and try with one of those characters. Oh, and show, don't tell. Remember to have fun.  ;o)

 

 

Illuminate

Continuing with our guests, I would like you to take a moment to read a guest post by author Jamie Haden, anad learn a little about her book, Illuminate-Alive, She Cried.

 

 

Guest Post by Jamie Haden

ILLUMINATE-ALIVE, SHE CRIED

 

Who is Talisa Santiago?

This is never an easy question to answer because who we are changes, sometimes on a daily basis. It is often customary to hear a person say, "I'm not the same as I was back then," or "I'm different now." Although this may be the case, what I have come to learn is, our thoughts about ourselves, and our thoughts towards others, can certainly change, yet, in the end, our essence remains true. That is what I tap into, to fully understand and appreciate Talisa. I had to get her essence.

Just as the spirit of the soul lies hidden, so were the secrets of Talisa's childhood. She was born in the Mexican desert, the granddaughter of a shaman, yet she fled with her mother at the age of seven and escaped to America in hopes of finding a new, safer life. In an attempt to shield her daughter from her past, Talisa's mother refused to speak of their history in the desert, her ancestry, and all things Native American. Only bits and pieces remained in the young girl's memory. Horrific as well as enchanting recollections consumed her, but dissolved through time with no explanation. Life proved to be difficult, and Talisa found herself isolated and alone.

She was different from other kids. 

Indeed, the very core of her being separated her most because she was born, not just the granddaughter of a shaman, but with a direct connection to the spirit worlds. Even though some would argue her gifts were hereditary, it would still prove to be a long and arduous crossing simply because her childhood, where she came from, was a mystery. 

Nevertheless, the obscurity of it all was enticing. It kept Talisa lost, yet hoping, wondering, if maybe one day, she would be found. 

From the very beginning, when I first began to think about Talisa, I knew I wanted a strong female protagonist. Not necessarily physically powerful, although I do appreciate the girl who can kick some serious butt, I am talking internally so, awakened. Such a state of being in a seventeen year old is rare, a treasure to be adored.

This was also an end. A place Talisa had to get to, after she walked a very long and winding road, for the desire to become aware of our inner selves is a journey most of us inevitably take at some stage of life.

To fulfill this goal, this end, I wanted to develop the character of a girl who wasn't consumed with materialism. I envisioned a world of seclusion—first a barrier island of the coast of North Carolina, and then, a remote Indian reservation deep within the Great Smokey Mountains. Yet, throughout it all, Talisa, as well as all the other characters, had to be relatable. They had to go through being teenagers, the hell of it all; they had to be real.

Ultimately, Talisa would have great burdens to bear, feel tremendous heartache, go against all odds, fall, be betrayed, betray, and face the dark night of her soul. There was no other way around it. She had to lose it all in order to know what losing it all felt like; then and only then would she be able to rise.    

In the end, I admire the person who can honestly say they live with no regrets, because the choices they made, even the ones they regret, made them stronger in the end. They are the ones who transform through change. By living in the present, they aren't captive to the past. They reclaim their spirit and inspire others. People such as this are worth writing for, and that is Talisa.

Wilmington, NC August 2012

 

 

 

Jamie Haden

 ILLUMINATE-ALIVE, SHE CRIED a novel by Jamie Haden   

Some say the concept of rebirth is simply a metaphor for living a better life, a holier life. For seventeen-year old Talisa Santiago, such a resurrection is anything but a metaphor. It is her reality.

            Talisa knows she can communicate with the spiritual world. She is the granddaughter of a shaman and going between two different worldly dimensions is something she realizes she is destined to do. However, what she doesn’t count on is what fate has in store for her.

            After surviving the first hurricane of the season on the island where she lives, Talisa learns that her life is in grave danger. She must leave immediately and retreat to live with a secretive clan of Indians on a remote reservation deep within the Great Smokey Mountains.

Her blood brothers, three shifters who have the desires of both man and animal surround her, promising everlasting friendship and protection. Now, Talisa will put her life in their hands, depart from her mother, and begin the journey of a lifetime. However, the majestic mountains hold many secrets and danger lurks in the night. There are evil tricksters everywhere that want her dead. As Talisa falls prey to the confusion of her own sexuality, she unleashes an untamed passion that may get them all killed.  

 

            Jamie Leigh Haden is the author of Spirit Seeker, a young adult fantasy. Jamie lives and writes near the seashore in North Carolina. She has a Bachelor's degree in philosophy. Jamie is currently working on An Unimagined Life, the sequel to Illuminate-Alive, She Cried. Get Illuminate-Alive, She Cried on Kindle here: http://goo.gl/g6qKF  or in paperback here: http://goo.gl/3V4Of

            Jamie Haden www.jamiehaden.com

 On the 7th, we'll discuss creating characters, giving them personalities and bringing them to life.

So, join me then! 

Guest Post From Author Deby Adair

IMAGINATION IS OUR GREATEST TOOL

By Deby Adair

Imagination is our greatest tool. When you create something meaningful, you share it with the world, even if no one ever sees your final effort. When we imagine, and then create, we are stating by our thoughts and actions who we are, and that person follows us around day and night for everyone else to see, interact and share with.

If we have music in us, then we strum, sing or write our lyrics. If we have art in us then we sketch, draw or paint. And if we write, we are usually sharing our deepest thoughts and projections.

Writing is a tool that can captivate an audience in a way that no other art does. A book presents an opportunity to immerse ourselves, sometimes completely, into the lives of others, and in the process, it changes us forever…we have now walked in another’s shoes and we will never be the same again. Although it may be argued that a movie will do a similar thing, the difference between reading a story and watching a story, is that a reader must go that extra mile and play the movie in their head, their way, with only the writer’s word to prompt the screen inside the mind.

As writers, we hold the world in the palms of our hands and, like all projections, how we do it is what counts.

Remember that what you write will reach inside the minds and hearts of others and, by the power of your words, resonate. How do you choose to create what resonates in others?

Writing is something that comes from within a writer; a deep need to share a story, a theme, experience or something which the writer themselves chooses to explore.

When writers ask me how to deal with writer’s block, I have one response: Writer’s block comes to you because you are trying to write what isn’t you. When a writer ‘blocks’ they are experiencing these key things: fear, self doubt and a desire to please others.

When writers ask me how they should fix their writers block, or indeed, why is it such extremely hard work to write, then my responses are simplistic, based on the need to change something that they’re doing.

At first, my answers can be met with some resistance. ie: Often, a writer has a preconceived idea of what kind of writer they are, or want to be, and that may be the problem… in not knowing what you truly should be writing as opposed to what you think you should be writing. ‘Writers block’ will always begin there.

Do you love writing? Does the written word in and of itself give you incredible joy? Does the thought of composing a sentence and describing a moment, a scene, a sensation, a palette of colour, transport you with inspiration and excitement? What entices you, the writer, to capture an audience and transport them?

I’ll ask a question: Can you effectively captivate with something you don’t know, or don’t understand or have never come close to experiencing? Perhaps, or perhaps not.

During the process of writing, part of the joy is for us as writers to explore how a scene, projection, moment or situation may occur, creating that rush of creativity, the adrenalin and thrill that actually makes us want to write!

If you have decided that writing is in fact for you, that you have the guts, determination and the hard-driven discipline required to master your much loved skill, but you sit down to write and falter, then you must ask yourself why.

A highly skilled young University student asked me to read a piece of their work and to offer a critique. It was an evocative piece. Very dramatic, very intense, extremely wordy, descriptive, exciting… but it lacked something. It didn’t ring true. It was a good piece of writing but I was left unmoved. I thought carefully about the piece before I gave her my critique.

Finally, this was my response: When you write, the most important thing to remember is not to try to impress the reader but to find your own individual style. Don’t try to write with someone else’s style. Don’t copy the sort of writing that will outwardly impress you but feel to the reader as if they’ve read your book at least a hundred times everywhere else!

Write what you know. Write what you feel. By all means, use the power of your imagination, but don’t try to construct what isn’t innately a part of you because it will read cleverly, but not reach hearts and, as writers, our job is to reach hearts, otherwise we have just added to a high pile of pulp.

When a writer writes from deep inside themselves, reaching into what they know, how they’ve grown, the insights, the hurts, the joys, the depths of their being, then they lose writer’s block. They may have decided to sit down and write that great money-spinner and instead, written a poignant or meaningful story of something that jogs a memory of a day in their schoolyard. The piece they actually may end up writing may seem totally un-commercial, however, it may leave the writer, and ultimately the reader, deeply satisfied. I assure you that when you write from your inner truth you will always become a better writer and that is what really matters in the long run. You want to reach the hearts and minds of your readers.

When people read, no matter what the genre, they unconsciously go there to learn something, even if they feel they only want to be entertained. When they read, they want to leave your book/short story/poem, prose or paragraph, and feel that it was a moment in time that you loaned them and which they have captured; that borrowing from your ‘knowing’ it will leave them stronger, better able to face the world.  Write what you own… share with us, the reader, what you know and feel.  

Writers often ask me why they can’t seem to get the discipline of the thing. My response, based on experiencing the roller coaster of life, is this: No matter what is happening in your life, and I mean no matter what, write something every single day; every single day go to your work and at least sit with pen in hand, with computer open and ready; if you find nothing there, then edit something you have previously written; look at your writing and be ruthless with it; teach yourself to know if that flowery sentence is valid or just satisfying an itch to be vocal; train yourself in excellent sentence structure and that often, less is more.

Readers these days want to get to the point… so learn the skill of writing brilliantly with a sentence well built, rather than a paragraph that repeats itself.

Take the pain from losing loved ones, your illness, a job you hate, the spiteful neighbour and use it to write! Don’t wait for when life will get good, for when you live in the right house, have the right amount of money, have the perfect relationship, have wonderful heath… all or some of those things may never happen, so write! Be your own best creator!

Write something, even if it’s for two minutes a day, every single day until the hardship of the discipline becomes your addiction and your high… then you have learned the true love affair of writing and have built a solid relationship that will let you call yourself a writer, a marriage where you have learned to merge words with the love of making it happen.

Remember, the entire fantastic residue of living, is stored within all of us. Don’t write about things you don’t know just because you think that’s what readers want, and worse, because someone else got rich from it… write what YOU know and, if you do it thoroughly, seriously and with real craft and commitment, readers will love your tale about the day you dropped your lunch at school and ten kids laughed at you but one stepped forward to help… because when it’s genuine, we, the reader will know it and cheer you on!

Deby Adair © 27.08.2012

AUTHOR BIO

 

Deby Adair is an author, artist, graphic artist and equestrian. An avid follower of the mystical and mysterious, Deby Adair has always loved the purity and truth of unicorns and their archetypal majesty. A past professional equestrian, Deby loves all animals and champions animal rights, the environment and human rights. She believes we must take care of our natural world.

An avid reader all her life, Deby began writing stories, poetry and prose from a very young age, the WISH trilogy is based on many works of writing and art which she produced as a girl but later embellished and created into her three novels.

Writing this trilogy and creating a vast collection of wonderful, exciting art works has occupied her for many years now. We hope you enjoy her much loved books and wonderful artwork as much as Deby enjoyed creating them! 

 

 

THE WISH TRILOGY

BOOK 1: WISH

 

From the mists of time there comes a long-lost tale of unicorns.

'Wish - Dreams Beginning', Book One of the Wish trilogy.

When a homeless girl called Rielle and her unusual dog Pud become hopelessly lost in a wild landscape, they find themselves in an untamed forest. Here they meet an enigmatic unicorn who charms Rielle with his cryptic ways. Soon Rielle and Pud find themselves locked into an adventure of soul-seeking, friendship, mystery and truth that is both disarming and sometimes sinister.

Meet unicorns as you've never thought of them before; ancient forests and unusual creatures. - Although classified for Children and Teens, this book is also receiving heartfelt reviews from adults.

 

BOOK 2: WISH AGAIN

As a timeworn legend comes to life, can the past be mended and the present put right?

'Wish Again - Dreams Truth', Book Two of the Wish trilogy.

 

Disarming, charismatic and thrilling, this book explores friendship, complex characters, trust and the ethereal beauty and archetypal power of unicorns such as you have never seen unicorns before.

 

Fast-paced, this book draws you from one chapter to the next in a series of unfolding scenes that send you hurling to its conclusion with bated breath.

Wish Again- Dreams Truth by Deby Adair has been nominated for the 2011 Aurealis Awards - Australia's Premier Award for Speculative Fiction written by an Australian Citizen.

Although classified for Children and Teens, it is also receiving rave reviews from adults. Wish Again-Dreams Truth-Book Two of the WISH trilogy.

 

BOOK 3: THE THIRD WISH

An ancient feud and a race for power, who will have the final victory? And what of the unicorns... which destiny will they be keeping?

In this final book of the Wish trilogy - 'The Third Wish-Dreams Honour'- the gripping destiny of Rielle and the company of complex characters that become inextricably bound in her adventure, is revealed.

In this powerful, touching and thought-provoking book, the destiny of each character unwinds to reveal how unicorns, humans and First Ones are bound in a quest of honour to an ancient truth.

To do The Third Wish-Dreams Honour full justice, it is best read after reading Book 1, Wish- Dreams Beginning and Book 2, Wish Again-Dreams Truth.

The Third Wish- Dreams Honour by Deby Adair has been nominated for the 2011 Aurealis Awards - Australia's Premier Award for Speculative Fiction written by an Australian Citizen.

Although classified for Children and Teens, this is not just a children's book and is also receiving rave reviews from adults. The Third Wish-Dreams Honour-Book Three of the WISH trilogy.

 

 

“THE WISH TRILOGY” BUY LINKS:

AMAZON:

WISH

WISH AGAIN

THE THIRD WISH 

CREATESPACE

WISH

WISH AGAIN

THE THIRD WISH 

DEBY ADAIR’S SOCIAL LINKS:

UNICORN KISSES SITE

GMTA AUTHOR PAGE

BENNY’S BLOG

BOOKS YOU LOVE

UNICORN KISSES FACEBOOK

GOODREADS

DEBY ADAIR FACEBOOK