Interesting Shoes...

They certainly get my attention. They may resemble shoes I'm used to, but there's something a little different about them. This, according to Mary Kole, is what makes for a good character. (Okay, so these shoes aren't appealing on any level, but bear with me... I'm trying to make a point here.) A good character is both a mirror and a window. The reader should see something of themselves in the character, but should also see how the character can take them to somewhere they've never been. This, to a certain extent, mimics the advice of Donald Maass in The Fire In Fiction. If your main character is a hero, give him some quality the reader can relate to. If your main character is an everyday guy, give him some heroic quality. In other words, a hero is naturally a window for the reader. And an everyday guy is naturally a mirror. As authors, we need to make sure we give the character the ability to be both. Mary Kole feels this is a difficult thing to achieve, and as I mentioned Friday, one of the things that separates an aspiring writer from a published author. I have to admit, I see her point. An unforgettable character is hard to create. That's why I work hard at it every day. So, what do you think makes for an unforgettable character? Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

These are the Shoes of...

Heroes. Is your protagonist a hero? Or is he/she an ordinary person like me and you? Either way, you need to make him or her stand out and grab the reader's attention. How do you do that? Well, right off the bat, give the reader a reason to care about the character. If your protagonist is a hero, make sure he/she has some faults that the reader can relate to. If your protagonist is ordinary, make sure he/she has some strengths that the reader aspires to have. Villains. Creepy, huh? Is your antagonist a villain? If so, is he creepy enough? Try giving him or her some decent human qualities that the reader can sympathize with. Then, when your antagonist is bad, he or she will be that much scarier. Secondary characters. Do they matter? Well, they better! Why else would you include them? You can make these secondary characters stand out by showing how they affect your main character. This is what makes them important to the story. Okay, so, these are my Thursday Thoughts (yeah, I know it's Friday) on Writing Compelling Characters. Now, I'm off to read all the other posts on this topic. If you want to join me, you can click here. We are all sure to learn something. Have a great weekend!

March Madness, Part 6--Keeping Emotions In Check

Yes, I know. It's a picture repeat, and technically, it's April. I'm still talking basketball, though, so please bear with me. One of the toughest jobs a coach has is keeping his players' emotions in check. They tend to overreact when a bad call is made or get a little out of control when things aren't going well. It is such a turn off when I see these things happen during a game. I want to shake them and scream, "Grow up!" But, there are times when I find a player's exhibition of emotion touching. It always boils down to one thing--whether or not it is warranted. In fiction there is a blurry line between melodrama and true emotion. As authors, we are obligated to keep our characters on the right side of that line. We have to make sure we give our characters appropriate reactions. Remember my first March Madness post about staying in control of our stories and not letting our characters take over? Well, this whole melodrama issue is the perfect example of why we should do so. Let's face it, characters roaming around without direction are spoiled little brats who become extremely melodramatic when they don't get what they want. Believe me, I've experienced this first hand. How do you tell where the line between melodrama and emotion is? And how do you keep from crossing it? Have a great weekend!

March Madness, Part 5--The Players Must Play

So, the coach got his team into the tournament. He gave them clearly defined goals and powerful motivations, and their opponent keeps them on their toes. Now, it's up to them to act. They have to play the game. They can't just stand there and do nothing. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Sometimes, during a close game, when time is running out, the players of the leading team won't pass or shoot in order to prevent a steal or rebound that could give the other team a chance. Instead, they simply let the clock run out. In this case, their inaction is actually action. Readers prefer characters who do something about their situation. They want the protagonist to fight for their cause instead of just hoping that fate will smile upon them. If you want a character's inaction to qualify as action, you better make sure he/she has a darn good reason for doing nothing. Otherwise, he/she will come across as weak and not worth rooting for. What do you think about inaction? Does it qualify as action if done correctly?

March Madness, Part 3--Motivating The Players

Sorry for the picture repeat, but I was far too busy watching K-State battle their way into the Elite Eight last night to search for a new one. On Wednesday, I discussed the internal and external goals of the players and how important both are to them winning the game. The same holds true for their motivation. Obviously, the coach is an example of an external motivator, especially Frank Martin. But what really drives the players to give it their best effort comes from inside. It might be a desire for success after years of losing. Or, it might be jealousy of a rival team. Whatever it is, it must be strong enough to push them through round after round. As authors, we have to give our characters strong and believable motivations to keep fighting toward their goal for three hundred or so pages. I failed at this in my first draft. Just ask my beta readers. My protagonist makes some decisions that most people wouldn't make. What I thought was a strong and believable enough motivation for her to do so, wasn't. My beta readers didn't buy it. If our readers don't believe in our characters motivations, they won't root for them. In fact, they won't even care about them, and we certainly don't want that, do we? What motivates your characters? Is it enough to carry them through to the end? Have a great weekend!

March Madness, Part 2--Keeping An Eye On The Prize

On Monday, I discussed the importance of a coach staying in control of his players. Let's say he's managed to do so, and he's led his team right into the NCAA tournament. Now what? The coach must keep his players focused on achieving their goals. They have come into the tournament with the clearly defined external goal of winning the National Championship, right? My guess is, though, that they also each have their own set of internal goals. It's these goals that make them stronger players. As authors, we have to give our characters both external and internal goals. In my opinion, the external goals are easy. You put your characters in a story with a solid premise, and you already have the external goal. The internal goals, on the other hand, are much more difficult to develop. I spent a great deal of time during my rewrites strengthening my protagonist's internal goals. They weren't non-existent before, but they were weak and lacked depth. I think my time was well worth it. Have you spent as much time developing your characters' internal goals as you have the external ones? Yes, you say? I thought I had too, but I was wrong. Take another look. It can't hurt. In fact, it might make the difference in getting your team to the next round. Stop back by Friday for a discussion on another part of the character formula: motivation.

A Blast From The Past

Remember these scrunch boots from the '80's? I do. We all had them, and, boy, did we think we were cool!

As you know, I had a fun girls' night out last night. I got together with three of my friends from high school. It's hard to believe we've been friends for over twenty years, and I'd have to say, we haven't changed a bit! Our shoes may have, but not our personalities.

As we were reminiscing about things that happened during our teenage years, I realized where my characters came from. Since I write YA, most of my characters are teenagers, and obvious reflections of not only me as a teenager, but also my friends. It was almost as if my characters came to life last night. It was amazing. I also came home with some great ideas for improving my characters.

Where do your characters come from?

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