Characters Who Change Their Course

Okay, so I've been on the lecture circuit for a while now. I've taught many writing classes, and I've spoken to numerous book clubs and writer's groups. The thing I love most about doing these kinds of things is that I--me, myself--always learns something new.

Go figure!

So last week, I went to talk about query letters to a local writing group, Riveting Writers, and as we were talking, I said something like, "Isn't that what characters do? Change their course?"

And I had this little a-ha! moment. In all my beating out and revising and characterizing, I've never quite thought of my characters this way. But truly, every novel has a character who is choosing to change their course.

They're not coerced into changing their course. They're not dragged. It doesn't just mysteriously happen through plot devices, no matter how brilliant.

We love characters who choose to change their course.

So today, I'm renewing my effort to create and write characters who change their course.

Have you thought about your characters like that before? Are they changing their own course?

Win An ARC of SURRENDER!

Dude, you guys, this is the first of a five week she-bang (hey, it's my blog. I can use that word if I want to...) where I'll be giving away two SURRENDER ARCs each Wednesday. Each week I'll be featuring something different about my books, and each week you'll have the opportunity to participate as entries to win one of two ARCs.

Today, we're talking characters. Since SURRENDER isn't a classic sequel, but more of a companion to POSSESSION, there are many new characters. In fact, the two main narrators are brand new. (You can read the first two chapters of SURRENDER on my Facebook page.)

Gunner Jameson: Gunn is the current Flight Trials winner, which means he killed it in last year's flying competition. The guy can navigate a hoverboard. Ladies, get ready to swoon over that. I mean, who doesn't love a guy who can handle his business in the air? Seriously.

He's also a bit conflicted about many things. He has to leave home at the beginning of the book, and he worries about his mom. He's been crushing on someone other than his match for over a year. And now he's been thrown in the lion's den--literally. He's assigned to train with Thane Myers, none other than Violet Schoenfeld's extremely controlling father. 

Oh yeah. Gunn's in for some real fun in SURRENDER.

Raine Hightower: Raine is the Director's daughter, and she hates that more than anything. With a real chip on her shoulder and gloves always on her hands, Raine does everything her father--and Thane--tell her to... during the day. But at night... well, Raine likes to sneak out at night. 

Raine leads a complicated life trying to keep protocol during the day so she can have as much freedom as she craves at night. It's a tricksy balance, one she's not sure she can keep up for very long.

And with her father circling, it's no small feat for her to do as much as she does. So yeah. Raine's definitely got some frightening things in store for her in SURRENDER.

And, my friends, you can receive an exclusive character art booklet, with character bios of ten characters you'll see in SURRENDER by entering The Insider's Case Files contest. All the details and how to enter are here. 


This booklet includes Vi, Jag, Zenn, and Thane from POSSESSION. And you'll get "insider" information on Gunn, Raine, Trek, Starr, Cannon, and Director Hightower--new characters to love in SURRENDER--as well.

The contest is open until May 8, and there are many and varied ways to enter, from tweeting to pre-ordering to liking books on Amazon.

And now, as part of this character profile--and The Insider's Case Files spotlight--you can enter to win an ARC of SURRENDER by doing any or all of the following:

• Enter to win The Insider's Case Files (+10)
• Follow my blog (+2)
• Like my Facebook page (+2)
• Comment on this character post (+1)

Have you already done these things? You've already entered then! BUT please fill out the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your entries to count. This contest will run from today, Wednesday, to next Tuesday night. Winners will be emailed for their mailing address, and a new SURRENDER ARC giveaway will start the next morning (Wednesday), so check back each week to see what new item will be revealed, and to enter to win an ARC of SURRENDER!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Since we're talking characters, who are some of your favorites? Any book, any genre. Go!

Let's Hear It For The Boys!

Okay, so the blog tour is taking a detour over to An Avid Reader's Musings. I'm going to be spilling some secrets about the two guys in POSSESSION.

Funny story first: I asked Jenna to be on the blog tour back in January. She'd signed up on my form. She was enthusiastic. Then I went to New York and met her at a blogger lunch.

I didn't know it was her (cause I am lame). But she is fantastic, and was very complimentary of POSSESSION.

I get home, and start following up with people, and I see her post about POSSESSION on her blog.

I'm like, "What a second..."

I finally made the connection that I'd met her! Here we are at the restaurant in New York City. (And you can read her post about that here.)

Anyway, go check out this stop on the tour that deals with all things male.

How to Write Compelling Characters

Dude! It's Friday, September 24--which means The Great Blogging Experiment is underway. Today, over 150 people (holy. chocolate. cows. I will try to get to every post) will be talking about Writing Compelling Characters.

It's an experiment, because I believe wholeheartedly that every single post today will be unique. Because we're all unique. I hope I'm not wrong, but I suppose anything is possible. ;-)

So let's get to it. How to write compelling characters.

I only have one bit of advice: Exaggerate their humanness.

1. Humans have flaws.
2. Humans have secrets.
3. Humans have fears.
4. Humans have emotions.
5. Humans do stupid things and pay the price because of them.
6. Humans grow and change.

So to create a compelling character, they need to do/have these things too. Easy peasy, right? Uh...right.

I think that all characters in a novel should be made human. I'm sort of tired of the perfectly sculpted male in YA lit. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of cute boys (who isn't?), but if they're too beautiful, too fearless, too perfect, I just don't believe it. Even if my MC sees them that way, they can't actually be that way.

I think it's actually more interesting to allow your narrating character to have a glimpse of their boy/girlfriend's humanness. And love them anyway. That's real life.

That's human.

That's compelling.

What do you think? How do you make your characters more human? I actually make note of interesting things I see in the human life around me. That green hat. Those earrings. His personality trait. Her quirks.

And then I exaggerate them into (hopefully) endearing characteristics into (hopefully) compelling characters.

Want more opinions on this? Check out the (amazingly awesome) list below.

Dude, I See Jag Barque Every Wednesday

Special Notice. There are six people who have not claimed their prize from Monday, including an agent critique! So, uh, hello? Check this post, alert your friends, whatever. If prizes are not claimed by Sunday night, new winners will be chosen.

----------------------------------

Okay, this might not mean anything to you. But holy brown cows!!

See, Jag Barque is the male MC in my novel, Control Issues. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with the guy. I mean, I love him, but he sometimes makes my life difficult. I interviewed him here once. So if you read that, you'll see why we love/hate each other.

Anyway, Jag looks like this, but moodier and with bluer eyes. But dude, David Henrie has the total Jag vibe.

And every Wednesday, I have a certain third grade class. We have a program in our district called Latinos in Action and high school kids come and spend time with the Hispanic kids in our school. They read with them, help them in math, etc. So this third grade class comes on Wednesdays and one of these LIA's is my Jag Barque!

If Jag were Hispanic and had dark eyes instead of blue. But dude, everything else is exactly the same.

I kid you not.

And I find myself wanting to ask him how the Resistance is going and why he always. has. to. be. right. and where he's been hiding these last few months.

Of course I don't. Instead I stare like a freak until the LIA looks my way and then I pretend like I'm trying to figure out what 12 x 7 is. But I totally already know it's 84 because I have a math minor and am a freak about numbers.

So yeah.

Have you ever seen your characters in the flesh? What did you do? My advice? Pretend to do difficult math problems so you won't stare too long.

My Characters...Yeah, All Right. They're Me

Do you create characters based on yourself?

I didn't used to think I did. But I totally do.

Now, see, I'm a pretty straight arrow. The worst thing I do is drive too fast. I'm polite to the elderly. I stop for pedestrians. I register my children for sports and school before the deadline. I'm almost always early. I always did my homework in high school. On time. I love to read. I got straight A's. I was in the marching band.

Some of you have a G-word for people like me. Go ahead. Say it. You know you want to.

Anyway, so to escape my G-ness, I created some characters. I put them in bad situations and laugh at them. Then I try to figure out how to get them out. It's called writing a book.

The thing is, most of the characters I've created are me in some way. Not every way, of course, but one little quality. The girl who can't ever think of a clever comeback (me). The one who wishes they could run fast (me). The one who loves the beach (me). The person who served on the yearbook committee (me).

I find that I can write these characters with authenticity...because they're really a small part of me.

I deliberately have my characters do things I don't, too. This helps me shed some of my G-ness I think. Or maybe it makes me a bigger one? I do not know.

A girl who can control fire (not me). But how cool would that be? The one who has all this rude stuff to say and actually says it (not me). Sometimes her mouth gets her in trouble. The girl who gets all the guys (not me).

These characters are even easier to write for me. That seems weird, like they should be harder because they're not me. But dude, haven't you always wanted to shed your skin and assume an alternate identity? Or is that just me? When I write, I can be anyone. I can be that girl who says exactly what's on her mind. And it's fun.

So maybe my characters really are all me. A bit here. A little piece there. Imagined or real, it ain't no thing. They're all me!

What about you? Are your characters like you? Even a little bit? Not at all? Which is harder for you to write?

Character Quirks - Let's Make a List

Since being at camp with ten teenage girls, I've been thinking about labels. As I thought about each girl, there wasn't one thing I could label them with. I know, I know, sometimes labels are damaging and stereotypical and all that.

But think about yourself. When you were a teen, could you label yourself? What was it you did? What were you passionate about? What defined you? Made you...not vanilla?

Me: Band geek extraordinairre. I am band. Really (like you need convincing of that). It's what I did.

And I actually think it's more dangerous to NOT have something to label yourself with. What do you do if you're just...nothing?

You're boring.

And in writing, we don't want to read or write about someone who's boring.

Enter character quirks. Through all the reading and writing I've done, I've come to the conclusion that all characters that make it into print have at least one thing that is unique about them.

Be it a perfume maker (The Hollow), a teen restaurant owner (Tantalize), or a boy who breaks everything he touches (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians), the characters have things that make them unique, gives them something they own, something that defines them.

I have a short list of things I've given to my characters (the list is short, mostly because I realized that my characters were pretty vanilla), and I'd love to know what you've done for yours.

• Track star
• One who listens to police scanners
• Someone who doesn't talk much
• Can wait forever, at least it feels like forever
• Fixes cars
• Installs stereo systems
• Ballet dancer
• A cutter

As I was typing this, I really struggled to give even one label to some my characters. I realized with a panic-heart that I haven't really done that good of a job making my characters unique and definable.

What say you? Do characters need something unique about them to set them apart from the crowd out there? What have you labeled your characters with?

Finding Your Character's Voice

How do you find your character's voice? You've heard it all over town, the voice in writing is like, uber-important. So how do you find yours?

I know some authors who stew and stew before penning a single word. Others produce draft after draft of outlines. I seriously don't know how they do that. I can't even produce a single draft of an outline. Still others make notes, outline and stew all before writing. I've seen character sheets and talked about character bibles before. I've read blog after blog where these people contribute all this "behind the scenes" writing to the success of their actual writing.

Le sigh.

I wish I was one of them.

Sadly, I am not. I don't do any of those things.

So how do I find my character's voice?

Simply put: I write.

It comes. Sometimes if the character is fully formed in my mind, I know exactly what they'll say, how they'd react to almost anything, the whole nine yards. But if I don't stew and make notes, how is the character fully formed in my mind? Yeah, wouldn't you like to get inside my head. *snarfage*

Well, sometimes--and don't tell anyone--I base my characters on actual, living, breathing people. Bam! Fully formed characters ready to talk and walk and be put through major drama in printed form.

If I don't have a fully formed character in my head, I still write. Usually their character, their "voice" comes through, especially when I write dialog. This sometimes happens in the beginning (in Control Issues, I "knew" Vi when I wrote the second chapter--the scene in the courtroom). Sometimes this doesn't happen until later. Then I have to go back and make sure that the earlier writing is in line with the correct character, the correct "voice".

Some might argue that I should take more time up front to work out these "kinks". Yeah, argue that if you want. But I am the unconventional writer. I don't do no stinking character sheets. I write to find my characters, my stories, my voice.

How do you find your character's voice? (And there's nothing wrong with doing character sheets. Don't hit me with mean comments! I love character sheets...for someone else.)

The Dreaded R-Word...

...yeah, you know it...if you know me at all, and you do. You totally do.

The Dreaded R-word = Research.

Kat asked these questions (She must hate me or something.): How do you do research for your settings, your story and your characters' quirks? What interesting tidbits about yourself and the world you live in have you learned along the way? (Michelle answered them before me, and Annie will talk it out tomorrow.)



Oh crap. My secret is out. I, uh, don’t "do" research, just like I don't "do" running and stuff like that. Well, if big dogs are involved, I can move pretty fast. Otherwise? No running.

I actually dislike researching so much I break out in hives if I have to do it. So you wanna know how I research for my settings and story and quirks? *whispers* I make them up. I might pick a place (the setting) that could be anywhere. Then I don’t have to know street names and stuff. I’m writing a novel right now that requires the characters to go to the beach. So I know it’s in California. But I don't know what city. I don't care what city. The setting is not that integral that I need to know what city. Or the name of the high school. And if I did, I'd simply make them up.

I did need the name of a beach. So I asked my friend Christine for sweet beach in SoCal. Research, over and out.

Seriously, the book I’m querying right now? Dystopian. Setting = made up (Well, okay, I know where it takes place in the US. But the "country" is made up. I do have to know the terrain and stuff, but I already did. No research required). Research = very little.

Story = made up. Research = very little.

Character quirks = made up. Research = very little.

My stories require very little research because I don’t write what I don’t know. For example, I have to know how long a sunburn takes to heal, but that can come from my real life knowledge. If there is something I don't know, like what symptoms someone would have coming off inhalants, I just ask someone smarter than me. (Thanks Carolyn!) Another reason I think I can get away with minimal research is because I write speculative fiction. You know, with magic and powers and made up places. Thus...I can make stuff up!

Most of the research I do for characterization comes from watching people. I carry a 6 x 9-inch notebook in my purse. When I see some guy at the post office wearing a cool hat, I write it down. I jot down notes about people I know. Like, my BIL talks in his sleep. A lot. So I put that in a novel. I've gushed over people's names in the grocery store and stuff. It's a bit embarrassing, but Walter-the-checkout-guy liked it. I know he did.

What have I learned about myself? That I’m lazy? Ha ha!

But seriously, I think there's something to be said for writing what you know. Sure, I could research 17th Century England (if I wanted to die) and then I would "know" about 17th Century England. I just choose not to, cuz I am not a fan of the R-word.

What about you? Firmly camped in Research Central? Love the stuff? Hate it? How do you do research for your settings, your story and your characters' quirks? What interesting tidbits about yourself and the world you live in have you learned along the way?

Am I really lazy? Wait. Don't answer that.

Getting Information Across, Part Three: Internal Thoughts

This is part three in a three part series. I haven't thought of anything else--yet. Mwa, ha, ha!

Part one discussed dialog and part two addressed narration.

Anyway, let's move on to internal thoughts. I'm not sure you need a lesson in what these are, but here goes. Internal thoughts are the internal thoughts of the narrating character. They are not spoken out loud and are usually offset by italics.

I'm just going to get this out there. I'm am not the hugest fan of internal thoughts. I think they are appropriate in many situations, but I think sometimes, just sometimes, they are overused. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Repeatage. Remember the old mantra of saying something once and moving on? I think many, many times, authors use internal thoughts to say something again. Just to get the point across that hey, this is important. And I don't think that's necessary. It's just a more annoying way to say something you've already said.

The same rule applies here that applied to dialog. Don't have your main character thinking about stuff they've already said out loud. Or have them think it and THEN say it out loud.

2. The herky jerky. Sometimes I think internal thoughts cause a disruption in the flow of narration. You've got a great thing going. Don't interrupt it with internal thinkage. This is especially true while writing in third person, because internal thoughts are in first person. And this constant switch back and forth is a bit jarring if done repeatedly.

I'm also not a proponent of having the character think to themselves, Think, think. You can do this. Um, they are thinking. They're thinking, Think, think. You can do this. Not actually thinking about the problem, so yeah. Not a fan. Also, the reader does not need to know everything the main character is thinking. We don't need a stream of conscious thought spewed out on the page and stalling the forward motion of the writing.

Now internal thoughts are a good way to get an "Eureka!" moment into the writing. Like when your main character realizes something for the first time, but wouldn't say out loud. I also think internal thoughts are great when a character thinks something that surprises them. Most of the time it completely surprises me too, but getting inside their head can really help to flesh out a character. So they have uses--and in the hands of a capable author, internal thoughts don't detract from the story, the writing, the flow. They're like seasonings--they make it better.

Basically, I like to get most of my information across through narration and dialog. Internal thoughts are great for getting closer to a character, but not an effective tool to reveal major plot points or drive the action forward. In many cases, I think it's wise to look at the internal thoughts in your writing and see if they can be eliminated and woven into the narration or dialog surrounding them. Again, that doesn't mean I've never met an internal thought I didn't like, I just think they should be used like red pepper flakes. In moderation.

What say you? Were you as shocked as I was about American Idol's winner? Did you see Glee? Are you ready for a new season of "So You Think You Can Dance?"? Does my hair look like a toupee? What is that on the mirror? Do these capris make me look fat???

Whoa. Was I really thinking all of that?

A Love-Hate Relationship Brought to You by the Blog Chain

Blog chain time again! BTW, some of you have asked how to participate in the blog chain. This chain started when a group of friends from the QueryTracker forum decided to link together and discuss a set topic. We maintain a schedule, a rotation of who picks the topic and a general discussion board where we share real life things using RallyStorm. It really is quite fun, and if you're interested in more deets on how to start your own blog chain, shoot me an email. Or leave a comment here. Or PM me through Rally. Some of you are already there.

So back to the regularly scheduled programming. This chain is about one of my favorite topics - characters. Creating characters, reading about them, is what makes writing enjoyable. It's why I love to read. I love to see what other people will do in the face of impossible odds.

In your reading and writing, which do you prefer – a main character that is intriguing, or one that is likeable? Who are the characters that you love the most? And who are the ones that you love to hate?


Michelle started this chain, so go back to her blog to hear the specifics of her answer.

I’m going to start by springboarding off something she said. She was talking about Scarlett O’Hara and how she’s unlikable and yet we read. Well, I don’t. I haven’t read that. It was probably printed before I was born. I don’t normally read or watch movies that were made before I was born. Shallow, I know. I think I already had this “classics” confession.

Anyhow, that got me thinking of books I’ve read where I absolutely hated the main character. I know you know what I’m thinking of.

Twilight.

Okay, I'll just get it out there. I hate Bella. Really, really hate her. I was talking with my crit group last week and we discussed this for a few minutes. We all hated Bella, and most girls say they don’t like Bella either. So why do they read a book narrated by Bella?

Ahhh, Edward. And one girl (I think it was Stacy) said that the teen girls (and other women) read Twilight because they think they deserve Edward more than Bella, because Bella is just so stupid and unlikable. So if Edward likes her…he can like them—more.

People read Twilight because the real “hero” of the book is Edward, even though he’s not the one telling the story. He’s the likable one. The intriguing one. The one that keeps us turning pages. (At least until Book 4 when he turns into a complete and utter moron, but that is a post for another day in the far distant future.)

So I think that’s what it comes down to this: Who is the real hero of your book? Is it really the narrating character? Or is it someone else? No matter who it is, that’s the person that’s going to propel a reader through a book, which means you must have someone like that in your book. Even if it's not the narrating character.

So let’s see if I’ve answered the question (doubtful, I like tangents). Ha! I actually did--at least the likable and intriguing part.

So moving on to characters I love the most…hmm. I like the underdog who has spunk and guts and real emotions. Percy Jackson. Katniss in The Hunger Games. I also loved Rue in that book. Yes, Harry Potter and all the injustices he has to endure. Travis in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. He was the romantic one, the quiet guy who Mary loved. I like characters with flaws, but who work to overcome them.


Onto characers I hate. I don't think I do. Even Darth Vader--the villian, the epitome of evil--is a likable character. People like him so much they made three movies just to tell his story. So even villains can be intriguing and drive the reader to turn pages. (Or maybe I just like light sabers.) But really, he's a character we love to hate, because his past is so tragic. So we love him, yet we hate him at the same time.

If you can manage to write a character we love and root for (the hero) combined with another character we love to hate (the villain), and ultimately we want him to be defeated but it's still sad when he is, then you've found the winning combination of characters that will make your book a page-turner. Think Star Wars with Luke and Darth. Harry Potter with Harry and Voldemort.

That is all. Annie is up in the chain tomorrow, and I know she'll have something uber-awesome to say on this topic.


What do you think? Which characters do you like? Do they have to be likable? Intriguing? Does that person have to be the one telling the story? Which charcters do you have a love-hate relationship with? Why? What makes them so loveable and yet hateable at the same time? What kind of characters do you like to write?

Outlining My WiP - Does That Count As Writing?

My WiP is whipping me. Really hard. This idea is not totally fleshed out and it's killing me. And my characters are supposed to be the dead ones! Argh!

So instead of doing actual writing on the story, per say, I've been compiling information about my characters. And yes, even making a basic plot outline (*shudders*) of where I want things to go and all that. It's going to be a mystery, so I have to do some planning. I need motivation. I need things to line up. I need my alternate world to make sense. Maybe this whole I-don't-outline thing is what's killing me. So I gave it a try. Seriously, I don't know how anyone outlines. It was a complete and utter nightmare and I only felt more frustrated afterward. Like I didn't accomplish a friggin' thing except neglect my child and eat a lot of Swedish fish. I need someone to post on outlining. Anyone?

But the whole character profiling has been helpful. I've been really focusing on weaving in some small details about each person that will end up being important to the mystery. Of course, I don't know who the culprit will be (heck, I don't even know what the mystery is! Death? Maybe. Something stolen? Perhaps. I really don't know yet), but I do know I want this novel to have interesting and quirky characters, so I've been more focused on that. I feel like this is an element that is always missing in my first drafts, and I'm trying to get some things down FIRST this time.

It's been interesting. Different. A little exciting, but mostly frustrating. Like I said in a post last week, I don't really know the characters, so this whole writing-down-traits has been difficult and slow in coming. Which is probably a good thing with how busy I've been in my real life.

So anyway. I had about 4 K in my actual novel. It didn't work with my new "outline" (and trust me that has to be in quotes. Those of you who outline, I really don't know how you do it. It's become the dirty O-word at my house) and so all 4,000 words got the axe. Toldja I wasn't afraid of the delete key.

I have at least that much (4 K) in my character bible. Stuff you probably wouldn't need to know, but that *I* need to know. This helped me so much that I started writing again on Monday and wrote about 2000 words that day! At least I knew where to start and where I wanted to go. And those are two pretty important things in writing.

So how's your writing coming along? Post your own version of Work in Progress Wednesday. Feel free to steal the WiP graphic and be sure to wave from the bandwagon!

Introducing Jag Barque

Okay, people, this is a character interview. Jag is the kewlest guy on the planet...in about 200 hundred years. He's the male MC in Control Issues. And he's taking over all the space in my head. So I'm letting him out...now. Maybe then he'll shut up and leave me alone. Not likely, though.

He might look something like Mark Ballas, although it's been incredibly hard to find a picture of Jag. But Mark's hair here is the closest I can find even though Jag's would be way spikier and more wickedly cool.

EJ: So tell us a bit about yourself.

JB: Silence. Icy glare from his blue eyes.

EJ: *clears throat* Okay, what's your name?

JB: Jag Barque.

EJ: No middle name?

JB: Not one I'm aware of.

EJ: Does Jag stand for something?

JB: Stand for something? Like world peace and all that?

EJ: *blushing* No, like is it a nickname?

JB: No.

EJ: *nervously scanning notes that blur together* Um, where are you from?

JB: The Badlands.

EJ: Is it nice there?

JB: Nice? Yeah, sure, it's Nice there.

EJ: What's your favorite food?

JB: Favorite? That really makes no sense. I eat to stay alive. And I'll eat anything I can find.

EJ: So no chocolate chip ice cream for you, then?

JB: Nope. Ice cream tends to melt in the desert.

EJ: That it does. What do you like to do for fun?

JB: Fun? Besides trying to stay alive, I don't have much time for fun. But if you're going to badger me about it, I like to plan for my next mission. That's always fun.

EJ: Do you answer every question with a question of your own?

JB: *sighing* No.

EJ: You're right, only about half. Ahem. How do you get your hair to stick up like that?

JB: It's called gel. You do have gel in the past, right?

EJ: I'm asking the questions here. And for the record, yes, we have gel. Why won't you tell Vi anything?

JB: Eveyone's gotta learn for themselves.

EJ: *scoffs* Right. Like you did.

JB: Is that a question?

EJ: How about I kill you off at the beginning of book 2? Answer that question tough guy.

JB: You do what you have to do.

EJ: *sighs knowing she can't kill him off* Fine. Can you say what's going to happen next?

JB: *smirking* You're the author. I have no idea what tomorrow brings. Maybe you should write it.

EJ: Maybe you should stop harping on me about it.

JB: Maybe you need to stop thinking about those goth ghosts and focus.

EJ: *stands up* Leave Penelope out of this!

JB: *fists clenched, he stands too, and he's much taller than EJ* She's crowding me in here. I feel like I can't breathe. I'm choking.

EJ: *laughs* That's because you left--

JB: Shut up. Don't say it. Don't you dare say it.

EJ: *clamps mouth shut because the stupid boy has used his Voice power on her and she can't talk even if she wanted to*

JB: *glaring, arms folded, amusement in his icy eyes*

-------

And before this gets too embarrassing for all involved, that's where the interview ends. As you can see, I'm being nagged from all sides. Inside and out. Le sigh. Maybe he's right. Maybe I should just write it.

So here's the question. Do you ever battle with your characters? Do you write down their favorite foods, their birthday, the type of music they listen to? Do you know how they would react to every situation, every conversation? Do you know how they talk, what they would and wouldn't say? What they would do with their hands during a confrontation? What's in your character bible? (I totally stole this term from the ladies in my crit group. I can take no credit.)

And can you tell what kind of guy Jag is from the interview, which really reveals no information about him, other than he doesn't have a middle name. Oh, and a snarky streak that can only be matched by his female counterpart in the book. No wonder they're--oops, can't tell you that!

*snarfage*

Charts for Female Character Names

Just as a sidenote, I can't type female without a mistake. I always, always, type femail. And then I have to go back and fix it. Just so you all know.

Anyway, I went searching for the article I was talking about when I said agents (and obviously not ALL agents, there's like a million of them) were pontificating about the usage of the letter A in novels. I couldn't find it, and my brain broek with all the searching. So, yeah. I know I read it, I just don't...know...where. (Then Heather taught me a cool way to search in my google reader. She's kewl like that.)

I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I found some good stuff. Kristin Nelson weighs in on The Power of Names. And Jessica Faust posted on Alliterative Characters, which is sort of what we've been talking about.

*Snarf* That's a big sort of.

I just like to have a discussion about where we get our names and it's interesting to me to see where they all fall in the alphabet. I'm also going to really try to choose future names from the less-used letters of the alphabet.

But I'm a stat geek like that.

Anyway, here's the chart for the names you all submitted last week.


So interesting. "A" totally wins, hands down. And I only contributed one of those. Makes you go hmmm....Where was that article ElanaJ read? If you find it, let me know.

What's With the Letter A?

So, onward and upward to female main character names. I read somewhere, and I can't remember where, that agents were sick of seeing female protags with a name that started with A. Yeah, in the one book I had written at the time, my MC was named Annie.

Le sigh.

I actually don't mind this. But since my post on male names with the letter K, I've been paying more attention to names in everything I read. Queries, synop's, books, manuscripts, whatev. I read a lot of stuff. And you know what? I've noticed a lot of Seth's. As the bad boy. One of my friends (Christine Fonseca) has a Seth in her WiP. I think she told me his name means something about darkness or choas or something. I'm sure she'll set me straight, and I'm too lazy to research it myself. I shudder just typing that R-word. *shudder*

But I haven't noticed that many A-names for girls. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books, I don't know. One of my pals, Jessica Verday, author of The Hollow (which I get to read soon! Woot!) has named her MC Abbey. So there's an A. Oh, and Jenn, a real-life gal in my crit group just wrote a synop about a girl named Ava. There's two.

For me? I seem to choose pretty popular names. I wrote a book last winter with a Claire. That seemed to be a pretty popular name at the time. Lots of authors had Claire's. Sidenote: I need an eclair to get me through this week.

And of course, I have Vi, my Rule-breaking Good girl in Control Issues. And Gabby, my heroine-who-sometimes-pretends-to-be-the-hero.

Who have you got? There's major chartage in my future.

Main Character Names, Take Two

As promised, here are the results of last week's male main character survey. At the time, I really didn't think it would turn into a survey, but it so did. And I added my male MC names, and that totally skewed the results. Yeah, the J's just skyrocketed. Ahem. Obviously, that post should have been entitled, "What's With the Letter J?" instead of "What's With the Letter K?" (Click on that title if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Cuz it was great fun.)

So this first chart is the names with my MC names. (Jon, Jared, Jess, Jesse, Jarvis, Jake, Jag and Josh included. Holy crap. Just looking at that makes my eyes cross. Why do I write so many J names? Because my last name is Johnson? J's are made of kewl? They're funner to write by hand? Which of these are working for you??) Some of you left female names, which was great and all, but I only included the boys.


And the second chart is without my main characters. Hey, I had a Hunter, an Adam and Ames, a Gordon (the only G in the above chart. Ha), a Zenn, a Miller, a Cal, a Ty and many others I'm sure I'm forgetting. But here's the one without the barrage of J-names from yours truly.

Either way, the results are interesting. Quite a large clumping in the J-N range, just as I predicted. Hey, maybe I missed my calling in life as a statistician. I did complete a brief secretarial stint in the Stats Department in college. Anyway, after the middle letters, it seems a lot of us go for names that begin with letters at the beginning of the alphabet. Z had a nice showing, as did the popular Wheel of Fortune letters R, S and T.

So that leaves me wondering why. Kat asked this question on her blog last week. But it's a good one, so here goes. How do you choose the names for your characters?

I left her a comment, but I'll repeat it here. Most of the time I choose a name because it just fits, or I want to use a nickname. In my NaNo novel I chose Gabby (I know, I know, it's a girl's name, chillax) because I wanted to use the male name Gabe. And Gabby has to pretend to be a guy...so yeah. Her real name is Gabriella. She goes by Gabby when she's a girl (well, she's always a girl) and Gabe when she's pretending to be a boy. Are you confused yet? Yeah, me too, maybe that's why I haven't finished this novel yet.

In Control Issues, a futuristic science fiction novel, I wanted a funky male name. Heck, I wanted funky names for everyone. I named a girl Tyson, my male MC Jag, his brother Pace and the "other boyfriend" Zenn. In the sequel to that novel, which I tinkered with last summer, I watched American Gladiators to find kewl names. I had to look since it's been so long, but I found Gill, Nash, Fret, Van, Viggo and Xan.

And Jet.

Holey Swiss cheese.

Another J-name.

Smack me. Smack me hard.

I've Always Wanted To...

For the past week or so, I've been going through my (thrashed) notebooks, trying to find little tidbits of information I've jotted down over time. See, I'm nearing the end of my current WiP, and I'm gearing up for the second round. Which means adding in little things to give the writing more depth, the characters more personality, the setting more believability. (Wow, that's a word. Didn't even underline it. I'm shocked.)

See, I carry a notebook everywhere I go. Little things I notice, I jot down, thinking I'll stick them into a story somewhere, someday. So I went hunting through the notebookage. It was actually quite disgusting. The corners are all curled, some type of granola bar was wedged in the wire, and yeah...it was pretty gross. Good thing I found those sweet cream-colored-page notebooks at Office Max.

I found some interesting things:

• Visor hats. These are cool, striped like a zebra.
• A wall covered with old license plates, the smell of oil and machinery.
• The smell of wet cement, the first rain of summer.
• A girl who has super-short (shaved) hair.
• A cat statue in the bathroom. I feel like it's staring at me. I had to turn it into the wall to use the bathroom. Someone who's rich?
• Someone who doesn't like onions, but loves onion rings. Hates cherries, but loves cherry-flavored candy, etc.
• High heels with skinny jeans. (maybe ankle boots)
  
• Someone who never takes their sunglasses off, even inside.

This is just a partial list of things I've jotted down while waiting in line at the post office, waiting to cross the street for a Jazz game, while visiting friends, etc. That cat really did freak me out. Yes, I made it face the wall. No, my friend wasn't rich, but I thought it would fit into a novel where someone was rich and someone who wasn't was visiting. I still haven't used it.

I didn't find anything to fit the character I'm currently trying to develop. But it was still fun. And now I have something to think about while waiting at the next red light.

So here's my question of the day: What real-life observations have you used in your writing? Which ones are you still waiting to use? What quirks or characteristics have you always wanted to write into a character?

On The Blog Chain - How Real Are Your Characters?

It's time for the blog chain again. It's my turn in the rotation. I'm pretty late in the round and you can follow the chain from the beginning by going to Leah's blog. The Astute Abi posted just before me, and the Creative Cole is next. All of the amazing blog chain gang links can be found in my sidebar.

The topic for this chain is: How real do your characters become? Are your characters real people to you? How much do you really know about them?

I had an interesting conversation with my sister-in-law early in the writing process of my first novel. I was telling her about the main character, and I suppose I was a little over-excited about him. She interrupted me and said, "You act like this person is real."

I didn't know what to say. I was shocked she didn't realize he was real. At least to me. And I'm hoping that he will become real to others as they read the book, too. I think that's the ultimate goal as an author—to create characters readers can't stop thinking about. And to do that, you have to evoke an inner emotion. So I start with the inside of my characters, and work my way out.

As I think about the story I want to write, a character develops in order to grow and change during the tale. I know how they would react to other characters, situations, and dilemmas. I know their past and future, even if they don't. I know what they want, even if I don't always give it to them. I understand why their story is being told, their deepest desires, and their heartache when they can't have what they desire most. I may not know if they enjoy snow skiing, but I know why they need to tell their story, and what drives them to do the things they do.

So much of what I know about my characters doesn't even make it into the story, but has formed them into the character they are. If there's something I need to know about a character at a particular place and time, I think about what I already know about that character, and make sure whatever I invent for them is consistent with who they are.

When I write, I watch the story like a movie, the characters telling me what they feel, want, and need. Just as in movies—or real life—my characters don't always know everything about each other. But I do. I feed the reader, and the other characters, little bits of information they need at the moment to move the story along.

To sum it up, I know my characters from the inside out. In the beginning it doesn't matter what they look like, their favorite food, or if they wear glasses. I start with characters that need something, want something so badly they're willing to die for it, or just have a deep desire to love fiercely. I believe those inner feelings and desires are what make characters real. To me, and to everyone who loves to read.

Don't forget! Cole is next! Check out her thoughts on characters.

Conferencing, Day Four

Status of my Life: Shredded. 'Nuff said.

Thursday at the conference. I just have to say that I love the MC's at this conference. They are so funny and really liven the mood and atmosphere. It's been such a blast.

Today, I got to "mingle" with Brandon Sanderson. I'm a big lover of science fiction and fantasy, and his advice is good for those of us who are speculative fiction writers. But, his advice overall is just good. Today he said not to fall into the 3/4 trap. Authors tend to get annoyed/bogged down/sick of their novel about 3/4 way through. So they throw in a new character or conflict. He very strongly advises against this. Yeah, I've probably done it, so I'm going to have to go check for that...

He also said something about traitors and villians today that really set me thinking. And now I think I'm going to have to do some major rewriting in SHADOWS. There is a traitor, but I don't do a good enough job of leading the reader to believe it's someone else and then hitting them with who it really is. So I've got to work on that. SHADOWS actually needs a lot of work before I query in September. But the goal still stands. I'm going to be giving it the attention it deserves. I've just gotten sidetracked by Freedom and Jess Harper. And another idea popped into my head on the way home from the conference today. I think I'm going to write it in a notebook instead of on the computer and see how it develops.

Okay, the conference. So many good things today! First off, the agent talked to us. He was wonderful and gave really sound advice.

Good: Writing advice from Brandon Sanderson. You should check out his writing podcast if you haven't yet.

Bad: 3/4 New Conflict/problem. Don't do it.

Good: Find out what works for you by trying different things. The best advice I got today.

Bad:

Good: Quote from agent, "I forgot to wear a belt." It was pretty funny. The MC's played "Secret Agent Man" and said agent came running down the steps with sunglasses on. We all stood and cheered as if we were on the Price is Right. The MC's had shades too, and they all danced around on the stage. We sang along. When the song was over, the agent said, "I forgot to wear a belt." :)

Bad:

Good: Agent said, "Not everything needs to be loud and smart-alecky." Thank you Secret Agent Man. I like snarky just like everyone else, but one of my main characters is not, and I've been wondering about him.

Bad:

Good: More good advice: Be bold, confident, and fearless writers. Love it!

Bad:

See? It was a great day! One more to go. Even though I'm pretty exhausted, I'll be sad when it's over.

Reading: Crits I'm behind on. Lots and lots of crits...