what kind of character would be?

what kind of character would be?

Posted by Raven M on 1:12 PM in characters, inspiration, things left unsaid, thoughts,

I was reading over what I just wrote, when it dawned on me how different I am from my main character. Though a lot of what goes on in her life was inspired by personal experience, Claire is not like me.

She says what's on her mind, while I tend to keep things to myself.

She acts on impulse, while I have to think things through.

Also, she's not afraid to do crazy things. In one scene she jumps fully clothed into a fountain and I would.never EVER do anything like that.

The point is: writers are not their characters. Though we take bits and pieces of ourselves and put them into our novels, our characters have a life of their own.

And the way I see it, our characters are the people we would like to be but can't be.

So that got me thinking: what kind of character would I be?

Well, let's see.

The type of character I would be is:

* a girl who stays up all night
* a girl who drinks tea to calm her nerves
* a girl who daydreams about other worlds
* a girl who strongly believes that music isn't good unless it's loud
* a girl who is afraid of everything from thunderstorms to being alone
* a girl who likes good movies, and writing down random lines of poetry
* a girl who wants to escape from the confines of her small big town
* a girl who has a Johnny Depp poster in her room

The list can go on and on and on.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is: if you have an idea for a dystopian or a fantasy or (insert genre here) kind of novel and you don't have any idea who your main character is: look deep inside yourself, find out what pieces of your soul you want give to your character(s) and give them life.

There's a character in all of us, you just have to be willing to look for them.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Also, what kind of character would you be? And do you ever incorporate personal experiences into your novel?

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Teaser Monday

Teaser Monday

Posted by Raven M on 6:37 PM in teaser, things left unsaid,

So I'm 64 words away from reaching 34k in my wip whose new title is THINGS LEFT UNSAID. Though there will be some plot changes in the next draft the story centers around a girl whose "perfect" sister commits suicide. There's more to the story, but once things get sorted I'll reveal more m'kay? : D

So before I post the teaser, here's the set up:

My main character Claire is seventeen and will be eighteen in a month, she works at her uncle Pierre's restaurant where she meets Sam, a twenty-two year old cook who seems to understand her and all that other good stuff.

I know some people grow weary when there is an age difference, but I don't think I can make Sam any younger without messing with the plot.

Okay, here you go....

I don't feel anything but the thump thump thump of his heart against my chest, the butterfly kisses he lands on my jaw, on my ear, and everywhere that isn't covered by my clothes.

"Sam..." I say his name like a prayer.

He answers it.

"Am I doing anything wrong?" he asked, and I don't know how to answer that seeing as though this is a script I've never read before.

Even though the lines are sketchy, I improvise. "No...it's not that. It's just...I'm..." The words still a virgin are lost on my lips but he understands and then he is pulling away but not completely. His hand is still on my stomach.

The heat of his skin seeps through my shirt.

Sam lies down beside me.

"Forgive me," he breathed. "I should have...I guess I got too carried away."

"No." I turn my head to look at him. He's looking back at me. The world standing is still. "You were perfect. I should have said something...earlier. Maybe next time we..." I stopped talking because there might not be a next time. Sam might not want there to be a next time.

So there you go! The scene before it has a lot more kissing but I'll tease the good stuff some other time. Keep in mind that this is a first draft, so it's little...meh but I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading. :D

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why shit needs to hit the fan

why shit needs to hit the fan

Posted by Raven M on 8:24 AM in

So...whilst eating my morning pie I started thinking about the kind of stories I write.

They're not always happy stories.

They're not always sad ones either.

But no matter what the tone of the project is, something has to go wrong.

I really can't stand stories where the main characters get everything they want without a price.

Sure there are a lot of people in the world who are lucky & live like kings and queens but even they have their own problems to solve, their own mistakes to make and so do our characters.

In order to make our characters more realistic - no matter the genre - we have to let them get bruised a little because life is one big journey and no one truly comes out unscathed.

So yeah...I make my characters go through some things but I always make sure they come out stronger for it in the end.

Hmm...I think I should eat pie more often...

Happy Wednesday everybody!

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