Most writers love to read. I’ve noticed through reading, that many characters love to read as well. It must be the book lover in authors.

So my questions to you are: What books do your characters read? Who are their favorite authors? What genre is their favs? What kind of characters do they relate to?

---

The rain has been non stop, the fall chill has finally started to settle in.  I climb out of bed and begin my daily task of waking the kids, making a hot breakfast, and sending them off to school. 

Superhero of the morning I then busy myself feeding the cats and dog.  I allow my medium black mutt Jenna to run the yard as I find all 8 of my cats to feed.  Not exactly ready for fall I walk the backyard in my flip flops.  My toes begin to turn a nice shade of pink as the soaking, cold grass brushes against them. 

I can’t find all my cats so I set off to the front yard calling for them.  In the distance I can hear a cat’s meow.  Fluffy is notorious for climbing on my roof and getting stuck so I look up to see if I can see her.  Nope, no sign of her on my roof.  I hear her cries become more insistent as I scan the nearby trees.  I use my imperfect ears and follow her meow across the street, I must be getting closer because she is getting excited and her meow is more frequent.  I am praying she isn’t stuck in my neighbor’s huge 200 foot tree.  how will I ever get her out of that?  I can’t see any sign of a feline in between the branches.  I keep moving toward the sound as a furry grey face peeks off the roof of the grumpy old man across the street. 

“Great”, I exclaim.  A bit of a whine in  my voice.  I walk to the side of my house as Fluffy is meowing for me to not leave her.  I grab our old simming pool ladder, it has been lying out in our yard for two years now.  I sigh and begin the walk back to grumpy old man’s house.  “What is he going to think when I go walk up to his garage with my ladder?”  I mumble under my breath.  I set it as close to the garage as I dare.  My stomach is twisting and turning.  “Please don’t see me, please don’t see me.”  I reach up and grab my cat.  I lower her closer to the ground and drop her.  She runs off toward my house.  I grab my ladder and chase after her, not daring to look behind me. 

I reach the safety of my yard and drop my ladder back in it’s place.  Fluffy is rubbing across my legs in gratitude of her rescue.  I pick her up, look her straight into her yellow eyes and whisper, so my other neighbors don’t think I am nuts for talking to my cat, “You are not allowed to go to grumpy old man’s house.  Just stay here in my yard.  If you get stuck on his roof again, I will not save you.”  I pat her head and return into my house.

This scene played out this morning, I was thinking of using it because to me it was kind of funny after all was said and done.  Just wanted other opinions on it.

www.EveryonesReading.com is a new website, offering 12 free eBooks – so book-lovers can enjoy their favourite books in a free, convenient and easy format.

EveryonesReading.com has just launched this week, so I hope you’ll be interested in featuring it. There’s no catch, just 12 free eBooks for everyone to enjoy! There’s also the chance to win a new Sony Reader!

Alexander Martin
Midas Public Relations

Midas House, 10 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL
T: 020 7361 7860 | Direct: 020 7361 7877
E: alexander.martin@midaspr.co.uk
midaspr.co.uk | twitter.com/midaspr

Understanding the Personality of Your Characters

By Christine Fonseca

Writing compelling story is more than simply writing a great story with a great plot. What makes a story compelling are the characters! And writing characters that you remember long after you finish the book requires getting to know them – well. Their personalities. Their emotions.

But how do you do that, build robust characters with well defined personalities and a strong emotional arc?

I start with lists. Lots of them.

I begin with a one word description of them – not in terms of looks, but in terms of the “clique” they’d belong to. The cheerleader, the nerd, the cutter, the warrior, etc.

Then I begin to list personality traits, their emotional make-up. Things like strong, confused, a dreamer, etc.

This is where it all begins for me.

As the brainstorming continues, I pay attention to the attributes I subscribe to the main characters of the story. It’s important to me for my heroes to be a bit villainous and for my villains to be redemptive.

Complex, rich, diverse – all of this happens as I list the traits and see all the aspects of my characters.

This list helps me understand my characters – what motivates them to do the things they do. It also helps me make sure my characters are authentic throughout the book.

In my most recent story, A BEAUTIFUL MESS, my main characters are an angelic warrior called a Sentinal and a fallen angel called the UnHoly.

Let’s look at their personalities:

Nesy, the Sentinal:

• Fierce
• Loyal
• A rule follower
• Compassionate
• Deeply emotional
• Controlled
• Passionate
• Afraid

By the end of the story, many of these aspects of her personality have been morphed into something quite different due to the events that move the story forward.

Aydan, the UnHoly

• Passionate
• Chaotic
• Fierce
• Ruthless
• Loyal
• Impulsive
• Relentless

By the end, his traits change too, as some of the more subtle personality traits, including redemption, are revealed.

Our characters should really be as diverse as we – flawed, messy, and a bit unpredictable.

What do you guys think? How do you form full characters?

Bio –

Christine Fonseca writes books for parents and kids related to giftedness, as well as YA novels. Her recent release, EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS is the resource for parents and educators working with the difficult emotional make-up of gifted kids. You can find Christine on her blog or hanging on facebook and twitter.

Christine’s Upcoming Releases:

• Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students (October 1, 2010, Prufrock Press)
• 101 Secrets for Gifted Kids (Spring 2011, Prufrock Press)

I have found a new love. Indian food. And yes, I mean food from India. I love it. Can’t get enough. While talking to Brenna one day, we started talking about what kind of foods our characters like.

Would my Sam like Indian food? She loves Mexican, hamburgers, and lasagna, but isn’t a huge fan of hot dogs, pretzels, and fish. I think there are some of the Indian foods she’d like better than others.

Andrew would love it all, and very spicy. He loves all things hot.

In the book I’m currently working on, In The Dark, Memphis likes Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti O’s, and pizza, but doesn’t most like pastas. She grew up on the run and ate a lot of Ramon Noodles, so she doesn’t like those at all. She doesn’t eat out much, a quick hamburger here and there, but since she doesn’t date–until she meets Laif–she pretty much eats what her 11 year old son wants. She’s happy with it, since her taste buds haven’t really grown up. I think she’d about gag on most India food, just from looking at it. She’d have a hard time putting it in her mouth. If dared, she would, and I bet she’d love it. Maybe well see.

So, what foods do your characters like? Dislike? Are they allergic to anything?

Play with this and have fun. You might learn something new about those beings running around in your head.

---

So how did I feel when I became one of the RT/Brava Writing with the Stars finalists?

In one word—terrified, okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. I was also happy, elated, honored, but terrified sure was up there.

I hadn’t known the competition even existed until Erin Kellison, my crit partner, emailed me the announcement. After reading the email, my stomach tightened, and my heart rate reached dangerous levels. I knew my manuscript, Dark Future, was perfect for the contest, and for some reason that scared me all the more. Being the fearless and intrepid person that I am, I decided not to enter. I had too many legit reasons. The Brava line was too sexy, too bold. What would my mother think? With over five hundred entries, the chances of me becoming a finalist were nil at best.

I entered anyways.

A few weeks later, I received an email from Megan Records asking me to call her with my contact information. I emailed her instead, and immediately went in search of my mobile phone. My phone was ringing before I even got downstairs. Megan told me I was one of the ten finalists. I don’t remember much after that. Soon there was a flurry of emails. Bios needed to be sent, headshots taken and web sites launched. And of course, I had none of these things.

I spent a few sleepless nights researching the other competitors and realized I had some stiff competition…a lawyer, a housewife, multiple mothers, and many, many contest finalists. My palms got a little sweaty, and then I reminded myself that hey, I’m a multiple contest finalist too, (a winner of the Revel Your Inner Vixen), but this didn’t help the sweat rings under my arms.
One thing is for sure, even if I get booted out during the first round, this competition has put a fire under my rear end, and because of that I am one step closer to being a published writer.

Please visit me at kckleinbooks.com, and don’t forget to vote. You can cast your vote beginning on Oct 11th on the RT website at RTBookReviews.com.

KC

KC Klein is the author of Dark Future, a sexy futuristic time-travel. She became serious about writing three years ago and was as surprised as anyone when her stories took a turn toward dark and snarky. Today, she divides her time between taking care of her family and driving in circles around Arizona, too busy creating stories in her head to pay attention to mere road signs. KC would love a visit at kckleinbooks.com.