Redefine how your Characters feel, So that readers emphatically can relate to them.

Originally I was going to try to write a blog each week. I have come to realize that with all I do on a daily basis that is going to prove impossible. So I will do my best to write these at least twice a month.

 For my second blog in the series,  I am continuing with character creation but taking it to the next level. I discovered the most amazing book. It is called; "Breathing Life into your Characters." by Rachel Ballon, Ph.D. this book is intense as a writer because it takes you into yourself, the deepest emotions and teaches you how to translate that to your fiction. Each chapter ends with a free-write for fifteen minutes, this takes you into your sensory memories, and those emotions. I can honestly say this has been the most crying, I have done in a long time. The character I am working on currently lost her grandmother at young age. I also lost my grandma at a young age. Until I read this book I didn't understand how much that one major event had effected my life as a child, and now as an adult. This book is a valuable tool to use to give your character that extra edge. That something that no one else has. "The secret to having your characters stand out from the rest is to put your heart and soul into them, you cannot write effectively until you are able to experience your inner self in the process of creating characters" as quoted from Chapter one.

I could spend many more hours on how valuable this resource has been to me. I am serious when I say this is a therapeutic session that only costs the price of the book! That has been the most powerful thing about this book all those memories were inside me already, I just used my sensory memories to recall them and add them to my two dimensional fictional character. This is something that I appreciate as a reader. To care about a character, to want them to succeed, and strive for there happy ending.

Above is an example of how great writing can get you to care about a character even an animated one. Stitch is created by an evil scientist bent on world destruction. Stitch in essence is a weapon sent to destroy, he has no other function. Yet, as his friendship with Lilo proceeds he begins to be a lonely guy with no family, he is lost, he learns, and he is accepted and loved by a girl who lost her parents.
It is a beautiful story. In the end when he says "This is my family, they may be small, they make be broken, but still good." Tears, you have experienced empathy with this alien aka Stitch, this weapon. Who is not longer either of those things he is just a dog that is loved by his family.

Good writing is creating something that is fiction, yet it doesn't feel like its fake. While you are immersed in that world you are part of it, you are all in all the way to the end. That does not come from a good plot, or good setting, that comes from a character, you can relate to and emphasize with emotionally with. So readers we must look inside ourselves, dig into those memories, feelings, smells, sights so that our fictional world is real. So that those characters become real to those readers.

See you again soon readers.
As I always say; "Writing like life is a work in progress."
=) Jess

Redifine how you create your characters, So that readers can relate to them.

As a avid reader I have noticed several things in great novels; One there is always something I can relate too in each Character, and Second that character must have a realistic personality. Otherwise I cannot root for that character or want them to succeed. As a reader I must have this. I am starting a new series of blogs highlighting my favorite reference books that I have used over and over to complete my short stories and novels. Each week I will use to as an example. This gives each of you a starting point in the creation of your novel. That way it can become a full length story verses just a great idea!



The two reference books I am using this week to start off this series is; "A Writers guide to Characterization." By Victoria Lynn Schmidt, and "Creating Characters; How to build story people." By Dwight V. Swain.

"A writers guide to Characterization." shows how, Characterization has a direct line to proven mythological Archetypes, and heroic journeys. She uses wonderful examples from Greek mythology.

 A lot of people turn against archetypes they do not want there character classified in such a way. I understand the parts were you don't sound cliche. This book does not do that however it shows you many different ways a character reacts, interacts, and emotionally responds to others based on a model or a particular archetype. She even has animal archetypes in this book which are in my opinion fascinating. I learned a lot about interaction in the book. I also learned that due to certain personalities if I do not have my character categorized in any way,  I cannot get him or her to function correctly. I found out this the hard way half way through my first novel! I had changed my girls personality so much she almost sounded crazy.

This however is a fantastic book in so many ways, it gives you a skeleton of personality straits, it shows you how this archetype will relate to another, it even gives you specific examples. Its great when you are trying to concoct a recipe that includes many different types of people. It shows you specifically based on your archetype how they will react to others. It is a great tool for character writing. I defiantly recommend it. Especially if your a beginner like I was an still trying to figure out how to present your character realistically.

 Lets face it we all have to do a little stereotyping when describing story people we are the ones that give them color, personality and a literal face.

This brings me to my second book of reference in this blog. "Creating Characters; How to build story people."
This book has so much information in it. I had read it twice now. I love the quotes, the humor and the insight the author gives. He breaks down each chapter as a intricate part of each character. He does not use archetype models, he uses characters from other books he has read, or real life examples. This book has 17 chapters of information and every bit of it necessary to understand all the small details that go into a seemingly simple character. Your character must be more then just words on paper, they must live, breathe, and thrive on your pages or people will not continue reading. So if you want to learn about creating story people from start to finish read this book! It is a must have for any writer in my opinion.

In conclusion to this blog. I believe that writing is a process one we need to study and learn about everyday to grow as a writer. No one wakes up one day and says "I'm going to be an author." It takes a lot of hard work to finish a novel.One quote I read "Its' easy to write a novel, all you need to do is sit at the keyboard and bleed!" I agree with this statement completely. I am still bleeding as I write my second novel, two more short stories, and complete chapter three of my children's fantasy series. Even though it makes me bleed, it also make me proud creating something memorable and entirely fictional!
"As I always say writing is a work in progress; as is life."
Until next time readers! Jessica =)
Next blog in this series; Outlining your novel

The Writer that uses Culture and Historical Elements to add more, The Reader who Demands Accuracy when using them...

 When I began reading romance all the books I read were historical. At one time I was a history major, so it was a favorite niche of mine. I even wrote a Civil War christian romance in the 5th grade! In one of those 80 page notebooks! I still have it, is has since evolved in to a quartet of books with my girl character and her brothers. It is still a work in process though. It is not the finished draft I have been chronicling here. I only am using the historical pictures to state a fact, when you are writing a historical piece it is so important to be accurate. I have read so many that are not, and it ruins the story for me as a reader. I am a fan of plausible reality in fictional settings, such as my current series set within all four seasons. Like when I spoke of settings in a earlier blog it touched on this. If my story is set in fall the setting should reflect that weather, and that clothing the character wearing, food they are eating, holidays too. I have actually read books that I shall not name that say they are holiday story and they forget the holiday all together! As a reader this is very frustrating. For this blog, I am using this culture reference because my characters even though set in modern day are from different backgrounds and ethnicity and it is important to me if they are Italian, like my guy character, to be able to speak Italian. I spent hours on you tube learning Italian phrases so I can be accurate with my guy in the Italian Rivera.

Why are these details important, to some this may be silly,to me it is a matter of being authentic in  what you are writing. If I have not done my research so that I give you the correct info, I have not done my job. Someone will notice. I want my readers to be transported and captivated. I am striving for the accuracy. So I may be a perfectionist when it comes to this but so be it. Its who I am as a reader and as a writer. Being true to yourself it absolute when writing. It is also important to remember this when you are being critiqued, you must be true to yourself and your story. The contributions are just that someones opinion.In the case of historical fiction, historical facts must be accurate, and the timelines exact otherwise its not a historical work. So it requires more attention to detail and more research.This is the same with vehicles, homes, clothing, accents, hairstyles etc. all of these details when accurate make more depth, it gives the reader that much more to be enveloped into the world you create for them.

So I'll end with this, Historical accuracy is a must. Instead of looking at it like its a bad thing, think of it as enhancing your story that much more, in most cases you can find visual reference for historical events so it helps to visually see what you are describing. History can be very fascinating and filled with wonderful drama, intrigue, and mystery. it can also give you something else for your character to feel more passionate about, and propel the story further, maybe even give you a new story idea all together! This is just another in a long list of details, another element to make your story that much better and more interesting.

~Life is a work in progress as writing is...Until next time readers, and hopeful writers. Jess =)

The writer creates the realistic backstory, The reader can encompass that story!

I was talking about the importance of names last time. Now I want to talk about the importance of back-story. How it creates conflict, and emotion and moves the story forward.
I placed pictures of Audrey Hepburn here because One: I adore her, Two: I admire her. She was amazing in an all her movies. The real women was a humanitarian and advocate for basic human rights. My main character starts a non-profit to help other women so they have a place to turn too in any situation. Why did she start her non-profit? Well that is her back-story. So it is important because it gives us the answers to questions and fills in holes, and gaps, with action, emotion, laughs, and conflict. All these are needed to propel story forward. I can relate to Audrey in her movies because she is so genuine. If she was superficial or a snob I would not enjoy watching her films. I have tossed books because of that fact, non-relate-able characters, non-realistic motives. I am a firm believer in Plausible reality. This story can happen in any realm, universe, alien nation. Only if I can relate to that character and why they are there. What they are going through. This were back-story comes in. The who, what, why, and where's.

I have several favorite movies of hers, Roman Holiday ,My Fair Lady, Sabrina  and Funny Face to name a few One particular movie especially; Breakfast at Tiffany's. What a wonderful name Holly Golightly light an bubbly, flirty, it is perfect for this character. She is trained by O. J. Berman, to be in essence sophisticated call girl or prostitute. She adores jewels and men, parties, drinking and no commitment. If this was her only story it would not be very interesting, it would be dull, an I personally would have no interest in it. However her back-story is what makes her the women she is now. She wanted to make a better life for her an her younger brother, everything she does is for Fred, every sacrifice she makes is for Fred, she sells herself just so she can take care of Fred. I can relate to her, because I am a big sister and I would do anything to protect my brother or sisters. If she was not a big sister, or working to provide for her brother. I would have nothing to relate to. I have never been to New York, never bought jewelry from Tiffany's, etc.
When he dies she is overcome with grief. We were sad with her. Her past in the country, her previous marriage,wanting to get away from poverty, and farm life.This desire to change gave us the emotional reason to follow her and root for her success. It is the emotional conflict that pushes the story forward. Whenever you give a character a back-story it gives them more layers to play with, more characters to introduce and for readers to enjoy. As I was adding to my cast, I was created characters and people from my girls past, people from my guys past. It was amazing how much you can add with just one person from the past.  Below is an example of some to the questions you can ask you Character.
Several of my teachers in college suggested a Character profile, and a series of questions to ask them. One teacher explained. "It is as if you were on an interview for the newspaper." I love this idea because I used to be a newspaper editor in high school.  So think of questions you'd ask a nanny for you children, or questions someone woul ask you in a job interview? These are important because this is person you trust your children with, or someone you would hire. This is also where Character traits can come into play. Choosing a good balance between positive and negative traits makes it much easier for conflict to occur. For example: His temper, quick to flair. Her stubbornness, she will not compromise. I can see an argument right here!

Also its what adds depth and personality the one dimension becomes two, or three , or four dimension's. Like Holly Golightly she is described as: the naïve, eccentric, café, society girl. Even in that description she is so much more than that. She was a women trying to make a better life for herself and her brother. Yet all most people saw was a pretty face, or arm candy they could hire. All these things are additions to her story and her character.They can be created individually or can come from past experiences adding another layer to your character. It is so interesting adding layers. In our society today though it is appalling to me how women are labeled and judged by their face, or their weight. Kelly Clarkson is always being hammered about her weight, or Jennifer Garner being accused of being pregnant because she doesn't have a perfect plastic surgery tummy. It is just awful that women have to be criticized like this. So hopefully your characters are not plastic surgery perfect, they have flaws, freckles, frizzy hair etc. They are real. Because real women read romantic fiction.

Above quote is one of my faves of hers. I truly believe she speaks the truth. True beauty comes from within, and how you treat others. A cool few facts about the beautiful Audrey Hepburn the real women not Holly. Audrey Hepburn was the granddaughter of a baron, the daughter of a Nazi sympathizer, spent her childhood and teens doing ballet to secretly raise money for the dutch resistance against the Nazis, and spent her post film career as a goodwill ambassador of UNICEF, winning the presidential metal of freedom for her efforts...And history remembers her as pretty...Let's change attitudes and challenge preconceived notions. Let's evolve! Join the cause.Quoted from Actor and Director Rose McGowan's Facebook page.

We all carry baggage, so the fictional characters have to have baggage as well. Rapunzel? Talk about baggage, her mother for example is  so obsessed with beauty and kidnaps Rapunzel so she can have it all to herself. Rapunzel always has this feeling of not good enough, and she can't do anything thanks to her mothers obsessive tendencies they have contributed to Rapunzel and her views, like everything in the outside world is evil and they all want to kill her for her magic hair. Talk about paranoia right?
Rapunzel however is not timid, she is determined to see her lanterns and have an adventure even if this means going out into that evil world, and disobeying her mother. Heck she trusts a criminal with her care? If she was not afraid, if her mother had not said no their would be no story. She is fierce and loyal and has a mean right hook with a cast iron pan.Yet she also has that innocence and sadness. She has many layers even as a Disney princess. Her desire to accomplish this birthday goal is what propels the story forward. She gets the guy, and a real family in the end too which is awesome.

All of these conflicts are things that happened before our story begins. We as writers should have a clear picture of that back-story before we start. In a perfect world that would be the case lol. In mine however this book has been a process of years so the back-story has come and be added as I go. The chapters have changed from my original outline. When you are working on a lengthy book it is normal that this happens. I thought I was weird or unprepared. I have read and heard I am just like every other writer trying to figure all this stuff out as I go. That is also why I say all the time. Writing is a learning process its constantly changing as we are, and as our characters are.

In conclusion; I never understood how important a back-story was to my readers. When I finished my fourth draft, and had others read it. I had left out important back-story thinking it was taking away from my story. What it did was leave my story with all these holes, and questions, and it gave my readers no association with my heroine. That is the key to any story your reader has to identify with her. She has to root for her, want her to succeed and get her happy ending. I understood the happy ending part. I didn't thoroughly understand how conflict, emotion, and back-story propel that character forward. Now I do. So it is an exciting prospect to me that I have again learned something new about writing, and story development. So do your research and add your layers it makes the story so much more. Add those negative traits as well as positive ones, because we are all not perfect. They shouldn't be perfect either there is nothing to shot for then.

In my next blog, I will go into more detail on how different conflicts emotional, psychological,  and suspense, created from back-story we are writing now to add dimension to the story. Three great books to check out for more information on character development: Creating Characters;How to build story people, by Dwight V. Swain, Breathing life into your characters;How to give your characters emotional and psychological depth, by Rachel Ballon, PH.D., Writing a Romance Novel;For Dummies, By Leslie Wainer, Writers digest has tons of articles to on each and every aspect of writing characters.

Here's a link to one of the back-story articles: http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/weave-in-backstory-to-reveal-character

~Life is a work in progress as writing is...Until next time readers, and hopeful writers. Jess =)