The Heart of the Matter: Discovering Your Character’s True Desire

The Heart of the Matter: Discovering Your Character’s True Desire

with Guest Katie Ganshert

I’m very pro craft book. I’ve read all the popular ones, and even some of the lesser known ones. My favorites are teeming in highlights and earmarks (sorry if makes anyone cringe). But sometimes, the best writing tips don’t come from craft books at all. Sometimes, the best writing tips come from unexpected sources. This is what happened to me while reading a book called Live a Praying Life, by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. Have you heard of it?

I wasn’t reading the book to improve my writing. I was reading the book to better understand God’s design for prayer. But as writers, we usually have that third eye (or ear) open and observant and aware. Ready to soak up some juicy insight. Some truth, some epiphany, some reflection of the human condition that will help us breath greater life into our characters and our stories.

So when I came upon something Jennifer wrote, I immediately switched to writing mode:

“Usually, what we call ‘the desire of my heart’ is really a secondary desire orbiting around the true desire. Usually, what we think we desire is really the way we have imagined the true desire will be met.”

She goes on to say, “We think we are asking for the desire of our hearts, but we are really asking for the desire of the moment. Often, in order to give you the desire of your heart, God will withhold the desire of the moment. He only says no as a prelude to a higher yes.”

Wow. I don’t know about you, but I see major truth in these words. 

Truth that points to an overarching human condition. 

So how do we apply that truth to our characters?

Simple. We pick up our metaphorical shovels and we do a little digging.

On the Surface: What does your character want?

Every protagonist needs a goal, something for which they are striving. They can’t be standing around, twiddling their thumbs. A boring story, that would make. What is your protagonist trying to accomplish throughout the story? 

Or how about this. Let’s say your character gets on her knees in the morning, clasps her hands together, and begs you–her creator–for something. What is she petitioning for? 

Often times, this petition is what Jennifer calls the desire of the moment. And this desire of the moment is what becomes our story, our plot. These tend to be external things. Like…

·      Please, give me this promotion.

·      Please, make this guy fall in love with me.

·      Please, let me get this scholarship. 

The possibilities are endless.

Digging Deeper: Why does your character want this?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Because we know—or should know—something that our character doesn’t. 

This thing she is “praying” for? It’s not really the desire of her heart. It reflects a deeper desire. One she’s most likely unaware of.

So pick up that shovel and go deeper. 

Why does your character want this promotion? Why does your character want the guy to fall in love with her? Why does your character want the scholarship?

In the very depth of her soul, what does your character really want? What is she craving?

The promotion will mean she’s not a failure. She will finally make her parents proud. The promotion becomes a matter of approval. 

Getting the guy to love her will mean she’s desirable. It will mean she’s wanted. Getting the guy to love her becomes a matter of value.

Getting the scholarship means paying her own way for college. She won’t have to answer to her parents anymore. Getting the scholarship becomes a matter of freedom.

Usually, these heart desires can be summed up in one or two words and they tend to be universal. 

Something most of us crave in one form or another.  

Now think….

How can we, as authors, withhold the desire of the moment? How can we tell our characters no? And while they keep striving, how can we make our characters see something deeper? Something beyond the temporary? And how can we meet this true desire in a way that is exceedingly better than what our character (and readers) imagined?

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 Bio:
Award-winning author, Katie Ganshert is a slightly-frazzled, ever-inquisitive Midwest gal who loves Jesus, grace, her family, and adoption. When she’s not busy writing or playing or reading or consuming chocolate, she is dreaming about the day when her Congolese daughter finally gets to come home. You can learn more about Katie and her romantic tales by visiting her website or author Facebook page.

A Broken Kind of Beautiful: A Novel 

Sometimes everything you ever learned about yourself is wrong

Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white. 
 
If only her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken by the world—yet wants her still?

Creating Characters One Layer at a Time-Layer One-The Physical Must Reflect the Character

By Mary Connealy

I am told I create great characters.

So, I thought it would be a great idea to write a great blog post about how to create great characters.

Except I have no idea how I create my characters.

Except that’s just stupid. I must have SOME idea how I do it, right?

I mean some swami doesn’t start playing a pipe and I come up out of a basket and start typing like a hypnotized cobra, who later wakes up with a book in front of her, right?

So, I started trying to put it into words.

The intro to this blog…well…let’s call it a DISCLAIMER.

Let’s call this a JOURNEY.

Let’s take this journey TOGETHER.

As I try to explore how I create characters.

I’m going to talk heroes and I am right now in the middle of a new series we're calling WILD AT HEART.
Book #1 is coming next October, called Tried and True.
Book #2 is Now and Forever and I'm right in the middle of it, so I’m done with the first hero, and in the middle of the second and the third hero, of the book Fire and Ice is skulking through the pages of both books causing trouble.

So I’m creating all three men as I write the books.

Here they are in a nutshell.

The valiant, heroic, blonde savior

The mountain man/wild man savage

The iceman domineering tyrant

Okay. Done. Characters created.

Blog over.

Sigh........I suppose there’s more right?

Here’s how I’m going to do this.

I’m going to write a series.

Today is part one and part one is the physical.

And because I’m doing Now and Forever, book 2 right now I’m going to talk about creating my savage wildman.

He is so fun I can’t stand it.

You know it makes sense to start with the physical because that’s our first impression. So here’s how Matt Tucker looks.

He shaves and gets a hair cut once a year...if the Indian woman who raised him can make him sit still long enough. He dresses in buckskin.

Here’s the first impression. This is Matt Tucker as seen through the eyes of Aaron Masterson, the hero from book #1.

When the mountain man materialized out of the woods, utterly silent and looking as untamed as the rest of the Rockies, Aaron knew who he was.
There’d been tales in Aspen Ridge about him. Some said he was an Indian, some a ghost, some a legend.
Now here he stood. There was nothing ghostly about him. Wild though, mighty wild.
The mountain man offered his hand in a good-natured way as if he’d never seen a weapon in his life. A pretty good trick considering he had a Winchester hanging down his back from a strap over one shoulder, a pistol in a holster on his hip, the biggest, ugliest knife Aaron had ever seen in a scabbard that crisscrossed his chest, A powder horn crossing the other way, a whip looped and hanging from a leather thong at his waist, and Aaron glimpsed the hasp of another knife up his sleeve.
And these were just the weapons Aaron could see. Matt Tucker appeared to be a man who was, in all ways, ready for trouble.

This is layer #1. Our first view of Matt Tucker. Here’s the thing--all the layers have to match. Matt Tucker is an outrageous character so maybe he’s not a good example for me to use for this series, but maybe he is. I can’t make Matt Tucker dress in buckskin and carry a knife up his sleeve and shave once a year, and then have him be a quiet man who likes to make daisy chains and write poetry during the long winter in his cabin.

Well, maybe I could, but I’d better have a real good reason for that.

No, Matt Tucker’s outward appearance needs to reflect his inner self.

His eyes are wild.

He’s got a smile that flashes animal white teeth. That's important that they be animal white teeth, not pearly white teeth, right?

He’s going to laugh long and loud. But he's going to move through the forest silent as a ghost. When he ruins his shirt and needs a new one he has no idea how to get one except to go hunting. That's how a man gets a shirt. Step one. Shoot a deer.

When he, who has no interest in marrying, decides he’s going to claim Shannon, he claims her dramatically and utterly and he is all the way sold out to being a husband and never looking back.

He intends to swoop that woman up and drag her to his cabin high in the mountains and never let her out of his sight.

Except of course Shannon has other ideas.

And now we have our conflict...which is another blog so just forget I mentioned it!

Next time we’re going to talk about how I make Tucker’s actions, his movements, gestures, etc. match his appearance. We’re going to be a few posts getting to his motivations and his heart, because Matt Tucker wasn’t born this way, his life made him this way and every word he speaks, every decision he makes, is part of his most fundamental self. He's a good man. A Christian man. But he carries about ten knives, half of them hidden, all where he can get to them fast, all razor sharp. He's not fooling around with them. He lives a hard life and he knows how to fight and defend himself. 

I have to know all this about him to make him come alive.

And of course I have to do it all………..as a panster. :)

Is this good for a series? Does this make sense to anyone? It all seems pretty obvious to me. I mean DUH...OF COURSE WE DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER!!!
Sigh
If you want me to stop just say so.

Click to buy Swept Away, Fire Up, pre-order Stuck Together

Because we are still coming down off our wild birthday month and I don’t want anyone to go into utter wilthdrawal from no prizes, let’s call today the AVOID COLD TURKEY THANKSGIVING GIVEAWAY.

No wait.

NO ONE WANTS COLD TURKEY THIS THANKSGIVING DRAWING.

That sounds wrong.

WARM THAT COLD TURKEY WITH A GIFT CARD OF THANKSGIVING.

Oh, forget it. I just thought one more prize day would be fun.

Leave a physical description of the character from your WIP, or what the hey....just leave a comment, to get your name in a drawing for a $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD.

Because DO NOT EVER DOUBT we are so THANKFUL for all of your visits and comments this last month.

THANK YOU SEEKERVILLAGERS! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

http://www.maryconnealy.com

Sharing Family Traditions and Haunts with your Characters

Sandra here with a steaming pot of hot Velvet Chocolate coffee. Speaking of which, my stores stopped carrying Millstone Coffee. I about had heart failure.  So thankfully you can order it online.  I have plenty, so grab a cup and let's explore some family haunts in lovely Puget Sound where I've set my upcoming release LOVE'S REFUGE.

Is this cover georgeous or what?  I love it. Lena Goldfinch did a fantastic job. She collaborated with my editor, Amber Stokes of Editing Through The Seasons.  It was Amber's idea to tie the title and look of the cover to my last release, LOVE'S MIRACLES and it was Lena's skill that accomplished the task. And Amber just reminded me that the cover reveal article which posted last Friday on her blog Seasons of Humility features a rafflecopter gift which is still open until this coming Friday, so if you didn't sign in, pop on over. The prize is a lovely kindle bag crafted by a friend of mine.

What do you think?

There is a lighthouse on the cover which I love because it reminds me of my dad and his wife. They loved lighthouses and made it their mission to visit every lighthouse in North America. In fact, at my dad's memorial service the lighthouse was the theme with a picture of one he painted hung on the wall. Hubby and I have visited most of the lighthouses on the Pacific Coast so I was thrilled when Lena added one to the cover. It was Amber's idea to feature the light shining which symbolizes the hope Skye and Danny seek in LOVE'S REFUGE.

At the time I wrote the first draft of LOVE'S REFUGE, my aunt and uncle lived in northern Washington along the coast.  If any of you are familiar with that rugged coastline, you know that there are many islands offshore that make up Puget Sound. My aunt and uncle owned a cabin they built on one of those islands and it was from visits there that I came up with the setting for LOVE'S REFUGE.

The heroine, Skye Larsen, lives on Leeza Island  which is a ficticious island based on the real island where my aunt and uncle had their cabin.


The only access to this island is by boat and air.  There is a flat grassy meadow that serves as the airstrip for small private planes. This is where the opening scene takes place.



“Dummy, dummy, dummy.” Skye Larsen dove for the ground and covered her head. Skye didn’t move. Uneven lumps of grass pressed against her stomach and chest. She closed her eyes and pounded her fists. How could she have forgotten to check for oncoming planes before crossing the island’s airstrip? 
A rumble came on the wind. She looked up to see a small Cessna airplane heading straight for her. The pilot gestured for her to get out of the way. The plane roared over, barely missing her. Backlash wind threw her flowered skirt overhead and whipped the tall grass against her bare legs. She plopped her cheek against the cool grass and moaned. “Great. Just what I need today.” 
The blue and white plane scudded across the grass runway and stopped. She lifted her head and watched the plane circle at the end of the cut-grass strip and taxi toward her. Seeing the “For Sale” sign on her favorite piece of land was bad enough. Now she was going to have to face an irate pilot, probably one of those typical city dudes who wanted to escape from Seattle, but brought the city with them instead. She struggled to her feet and brushed grass and dirt from her blouse and skirt.
Her world was changing and she didn’t like it. 
“Unbelievable,” she muttered as she stomped across the grass runway toward the approaching plane. She breathed in the scent of wildflowers and grass mingled with salt air. She loved this remote island in Washington’s Puget Sound, its thick woods, quiet nights and simple lifestyle. It was safe—no drugs, no vandals, no violence. Not like in the city where she’d grown up. 
The pilot taxied close, nosed the Cessna into the wind, and cut the engine. Skye braced herself as she watched long legs, clad in khaki Dockers, descend from the plane, followed by a sleek torso covered in a brown polo shirt. When his head emerged, Skye groaned. She clenched her fists and prepared for the burst of rage she saw in his expression.
Dark eyes, set in a squared and rigid face, sparked with anger under brown hair blowing in the breeze. “Didn’t you see me coming?” He stormed up and stood in front of her, hands fisted. “It’s only by the grace of the Almighty I didn’t smack into you.”
Skye pulled herself upright, jutted her chin and clamped her teeth together.
“Well. What do you have to say for yourself?” 
Skye tore her gaze away from the fire in his eyes and looked past him at the whitecaps tossing in the straits of Puget Sound. What could she say? She’d been so distracted that she’d ignored caution and crossed the small island’s grass airstrip without looking? “You missed me.” She shrugged. “You’re a good pilot.”

My aunt and uncle had a boat that they used to cross back and forth from Bellingham to the island. But I had my hero flying in from Seattle.  When I was growing up, my dad had a small Cessna like the one Danny has. He used to take us up when we were kids. We'd fly around and then he would sit back and shut off the engine and say "Okay you can fly."  Of course we didn't know how and my sister and I would scream,  "Daddy, daddy!"  My brother loved it and ended up becoming a pilot himself.  There is a scene in the story that reflects this little tidbit from my family history. smile

The odd cabin that Skye lives in actually exists on that island. No building code is required for a building less than 12 feet by 12 feet.  The intent is to allow storage sheds to be built, but the owner of this "cabin" started out with a storage shed, but ended up making it a livable cabin.  He put a second story on it for a bedroom, but the access is by ladder outside the building.  That cabin always struck my funny bone so of course it would end up in one of my novels. And the quirkiness suits my heroine who is rather quirky herself.

I have Skye living in the unusual cabin, but the cabin Danny stays in is based on the cabin my uncle built. He was a contractor by trade and built a gorgeous, even though rustic, cabin on the island with a big porch looking out over the Sound and huge picture windows sporting the same view. All of the materials were brought to the island piece by piece in their boat.  What an undertaking, especially considering there was no electricity or other power source on the island.  Propane is brought over by boat and they have wood stoves and heaters. To this day, it is still very primitive which is what gives it the unique and special charm.

As a humorous tidbit of information, LOVE'S REFUGE was rejected by a traditional New York house and one of the comments of the editor was, "This setting is too unrealistic. There are no such things as propane refrigerators."  I still chuckle over that comment because of course the whole setting is very real and I'm using a propane refrigerator in my RV.

Many of the things Skye and Danny do together on the island are traditional things we did with our family. We walked out on the rocks and picked oysters and roasted them on the fire. We set crab pots in the bay and caught fresh crabs. Later in the day we would build a big bonfire on the beach and heat up a huge pot of water to cook the live crabs in. I know, gross, but they were delicious. We dug for clams on the beach.  One of the scenes where Skye is teaching Danny how to dig for clams is based on the comical lesson my hubby received.


She smiled at the eager look on his face as he forced the shovel into the sand. He brought up a pile of gravel. Skye quickly sorted through it and found three steamers. Danny dug several more times until she heard a sickening crunch.
“You found your clam.”
“I crushed it.”
Her lips twitched at his look of disappointment. “Toss it over. We can still use it. We’ll have to be careful to get rid of the sand, that’s all.”
He held the shovel out to her. “You better finish.”
She stepped back, the crushed clam dripping from the palm of her hand. “No way. You aren’t getting out of the hard work with that excuse.”
A sheepish grin formed. “You’re not going to let me, are you?”
Laughing, she shook her head. “You won’t learn unless you practice.”
He scowled and then he sighed, his stress lines deepening. “You’re as bad as my boss.” 
Sorry that she’d reminded him of work, she searched for another air hole. “Here’s a good spot,” she said and watched him dig more carefully. She had to admire him. He was a good sport. 

The pets in the story are based on our pets--color, breed and names.  Skye names them in alphabetical order, just like my hubby and I did.  She starts out with a black lab named Ace followed by a golden lab named Bo.

The real tribute to my aunt and uncle are the secondary characters based on them. When I read my drafts of LOVE'S REFUGE and come to those characters, I can so see my aunt and uncle. The characterization is based on the real love and humor that were so much a part of the real people in my life.

So what family haunts and traditions have you used in your stories?  Share with us in the comments.  Those who do will have their names plopped in the puppy dish and the winner will receive a copy of their choice of one of my books AND a copy of Debby Giusti's  THE SOLDIER'S SISTER.

In case you didn't see the notice in the Weekend Edition, Debby is selling her books today and the proceeds are going for one of my favorite causes. So of course I'm going to buy some of her books as gifts (one of which will be today's giveaway prize).  Here is a copy of the notice:

Debby Giusti is signing THE SOLDIER'S SISTER, on Tuesday, Sept 24 from 4 to 6:30 EDT, at Omega Book Center, Peachtree City, GA. Proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Program which helps our injured military heroes.  Bookseller Karen Duncan takes phone orders and mails books throughout the US so if you'd like to take part in the event, reserve a signed copy of THE SOLDIER'S SISTER by calling 770-487-3977.  Of course if you live in the area, please drop by and visit Debby.  100 North Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree, GA.

AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS.

And guess what?  I know where Peachtree is now,  since visiting the area during RWA Convention last summer in Atlanta.    Waving at you Debby.

Amber just reminded me that the cover reveal that was posted last Friday on her blog Seasons of Humility featured a rafflecopter giveaway that is still open until this coming Friday. So if you haven't signed in, pop on over for a chance to win a lovely  kindle bag hand-crafted by my friend Diane.

Please welcome our guest Robin Lee Hatcher

  

        

CREATING CHARACTERS WHO BREATHE

 

                                         by Robin Lee Hatcher

I love discovering the inner workings of my characters. I love it when they come to life and begin telling me their stories. I love it when they become my companions and my friends.

Writers often fall into two camps: those who develop their stories around plots and those who develop their stories around characters. But remember, a strong plot without living, breathing, believable characters cannot succeed, no matter how brilliant it is. If readers don't care about the people in your stories, they're not going to care what happens to them (i.e. your plot).  Fall in love with your characters. Find out what makes them tick. Then they can tell you their story. After all, your characters are the ones living it, not you.

My favorite way to discover who my characters are is to use what is called “stream of consciousness writing.” I write a first person autobiography of the characters, starting from their birth and writing right up to the time the story begins. I let my imagination take over and write whatever pops into my head, things like, “When I was five, I tried to fly off the roof of the garage while pretending to be Superman. I broke my arm in two places.” I believe most writer's block occurs because a writer doesn't yet know her character's "character."

Remember that everyone has the potential within them for every kind of human behavior––from good to bad and everything in between. Get in touch with those emotions and the emotions of those around you. Become a student of human behavior. Learn to empathize. It's one of the most important abilities a writer of fiction must have. Cultivate an ability to see things from different points of view. As you mature as a writer, you will do well to study the way people really are--not what they ought to be.

Every strong personality trait in one of your characters must have a reason, something in his past (whether distant or not) that provides the force moving him in that direction. If you're forcing a character to do something because your plot won't work without it, then you're in trouble. Forget about your reason for your hero to do it. What's his reason?

Your heroine must be motivated by something that is of utmost importance to her. If she is going to risk her fortune, her family, her life to gain something, she'd better have a good reason, some reason that her goal is worth so very much. Think of motivation in cost/benefit terms. No matter how complex or peculiar your character's desire may be, you can make it credible for her to seek it if you are able to show that to her it's worth whatever it costs.

Don't short change your secondary characters. Remember that, as far as they're concerned, they are the center of the story and your hero and heroine are merely minor characters. Secondary characters' motivations and actions must ring as true as your central characters. Each secondary character should be so real to you that, if you chose, you could write a story about them.

           Take the time to develop and understand your characters. If you do, they will never fail you. Your readers will see them as real people living real lives, and they will love you for it.

        Robin will give away a copy of her book Heart of Gold. The hero and heroine from that book make a cameo appearance in her novella in A Bride for All Seasons.

                                                            ***

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher (author of 70 books) is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. Winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, the Inspirational Reader’s Choice, the Booksellers Best, the Holt, the National Readers Choice, among other awards, Robin is also a recipient of the prestigious RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Her 2012 releases are currently finalists for the RITA Award (Betrayal), the National Readers Choice Award (Heart of Gold), and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award (Heart of Gold).

Robin's new release is A Bride forAll Seasons, a mail order bride collection written with Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, and Mary Connealy. In September, the third book in the Where the Heart Lives series, Beloved, will release.

Http://www.robinleehatcher.com
 

Missy Tippens and Her First Rejection

Missy Tippens, here. And for this Month of Firsts, I wanted to share about my first rejection. No, I’m not talking about the first boyfriend who dumped me. :) I’m talking about my first manuscript rejection, the result of the first time I braved sending my manuscript to a publisher.

Now, rest assured I had already sent the story out to contests and had endured that torture to prepare me for rejection. (The very first contest, I tied for 35^th place…out of 36 entries. Yeah. Enough said about that.) :) And I even got some form rejection letters later, which were more painful. Those are the ones that come straight off the copy machine, and you can tell the letter has been copied over and over because the print is getting lighter and blurry around the edges, and there’s a lot of little stray dots of ink. They say something like:

Dear Author, we regret to inform you that this submission is not right for us at this time.

OUCH.

But my first true rejection actually had editor feedback. It said that my story lacked sparkle. And that the characters were cardboard.

DOUBLE OUTCH.

So today, in honor of that first rejection, I thought we’d try to figure out what the editor meant and discuss how we can try to do better.

MANUSCRIPTS THAT DON’T SPARKLE

To me, this one is easier to interpret. But maybe more difficult to “fix.” Because I think sparkle means voice. It’s that certain “something” that makes your manuscript special. It’s what makes it yours and no one else’s. In my opinion, voice is something you have to discover as you write stories you love, stories that reflect your life experiences, your personality, the way you talk, the way you view life. Apparently, when I submitted that first story, I hadn’t found mine yet.

If you want to make sure your stories have that sparkle, keep writing, keep practicing.  Work on story ideas you’re excited about. Write about something that’s important to you, stories that touch you at your core. You’ll eventually find your voice, and readers will stand up and take notice.

One of my critique partners, Lindi Peterson, wrote several great stories that I enjoyed. But then she tried writing the type story she’d always loved to read—first person, funny, light-hearted romance, with people learning to rely on God. And as soon as I read it, I told her, “This is it! You’ve found your voice. This’ll be the one that sells.” That story, now titled Her Best Catch, was Lindi’s first sale. (YAY!! I’m still excited!)

CARDBOARD CHARACTERS

Trying to figure out cardboard characters can be tough. I suppose it means they lack depth, lack emotion, lack personality, lack relatability, lack believability, lack likability. Lack…lack…lack! So many lacks! :)

So how can we avoid this problem? I’ve sat down and tried to come up with ways:

1.  Plan. Do some background work. Maybe even some sort of character interview.

     -- Figure out their family of origin, past relationships, education, friends.

     -- Figure out what they want and what motivates them (ask why, why, why?).

     --Figure out their faults and fears. Also their strengths. I can’t think of anything more cardboard than a perfect character. Except maybe a whiny, weak character.

2. Decide what type personality they have. Give them a couple of quirks that make them memorable.

3. Make them likable and sympathetic. (See my previous post on this)

4. Don’t hold back on emotion. Pour yourself into each character. One thing I see in contest entries over and over is lack of emotion. Go deep, here. Use your own hurts/fears/joy/anger/frustrations, etc. to help you imagine how your characters feel. This can be exhausting while you’re writing, but well worth it.

5. Study premise and theme (I recommend The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box Office Success by Stanley Williams) to strengthen the character arc so the story and your characters’ growth will resonate with your reader.

6. Make them active, not reactive. I had a hard time learning this (and am still learning!). Don’t just make terrible things happen to them that cause them to react. No, have them make decisions and act, doing things that put them into messes (their weaknesses you created will cause this). The struggle to get out of the mess is what readers enjoy.

7. I suspect sometimes stilted dialogue may lead to cardboard characters. Read it out loud to see if it’s conversational. But don’t try to make it like a regular conversation (no chit-chat). If dialogue is one of your growing areas, then study how your favorite writers handle it. Ask for feedback on your dialogue.

8. Use layering. It would take a whole post to discuss this. But think about how subplots and the struggles of other characters can reflect your main characters’ problems. Also, consider how your story setting can best reveal characterization.

9. Make sure your characters are not TSTL—Too Stupid To Live. Our characters need to act believably and in-character. Make sure the “person” you’ve created does things you’ve set them up to do. Of if he/she acts out of character, then make sure you’ve motivated it well. We don’t want to throw the reader out of the story (or make her throw the book against the wall).

10. You tell me! How do you create full, believable, well-rounded characters that we love?

If you’d like to be entered in my giveaway of a critique of your first 5 pages (focusing on characterization), please leave a comment and let me know to enter you!

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Missy Tippens’s newest release from Love Inspired, A House Full of Hope (her favorite book yet!), is available now on Harlequin.com! It’ll soon be available at other booksellers and can be pre-ordered now.

From black sheep to father of four...

Before becoming a Christian, Mark Ryker ran with a bad crowd and broke hearts. Including his father's. Now a successful businessman, Mark has come home to Corinthia, Georgia, to make amends. But no one will forgive him. So when the widowed mother of four renting his dad's run-down house needs help fixing up the place, Mark gets to work. Pretty Hannah Hughes and her sweet kids have him longing to be part of the clan, but Hannah isn't ready to let go of the past. Still, they are working together on a house full of hope—and that's all Mark needs.

Read an Excerpt by clicking here.

From Seed to Fruition: Building Characters From Inside Out

Gooooooooood Morning, Seekerville!!!!!!!

So nice to see you all here this mornin'!

We're talkin' story development today, there are TWO GIFT BASKETS to give away, including copies of my new 4-STAR novel:

Mended Hearts,

a September Love Inspired release

And baskets are a lovely thing
to get in the mail, aren't they???

There's this one..... Notice I tucked Glynna's new book in there. ;)

You remember the whole mustard seed thing, right?

From the tiny seed,

the great tree groweth?

Story building works the same way. A tiny seed can be planted almost anywhere. From anything. Like the fields that had good seed fall on bad ground, some story lines develop better than others. But it’s in this development that branches grow.

And then we prune. Artful pruning, the blessing of any horticulturist. (Had to throw ONE BIG WORD in here for Mary Connealy's sake, she's so stinkin' smart, a total Miss Smarty Pants. Oh my stars.)

So let’s say we’ve got the story seed growing. Maybe several. Now we need to choose.



Ever felt like this when you're planning a story??? ;)



STORY IDEA: He’s a white knight type sheriff, a man of great principle, well-regarded in his hamlet of Shadowville. She’s the suspected terrorist, the femme fatale, the one thing that can bring him down. And everyone knows it but him.

(Like a bad-boy hero who turns to good, the femme fatale needs to have a REASON to be a danger to the hero either physically, mentally or emotionally. Just being a crazy woman DOES NOT DO IT. Ask any man. They apply that to us UNIVERSALLY... men are such... men.)

Of course in some cases...

That's perfectly fine, LOL!

So we’ve planted a seed. But this SEED sprang from somewhere (I love George Lucas, don’t you???) so this story could have a prequel.

And that would be a Young Adult novel, where this tragedy-bound young woman is pushed out of the inner circles, left on her own, reviled, ignored, mis-treated:

Novel by Gene Stratton Porter

OR…

She’s the ultimate success story. Prom Queen. Beguiling. Sweet-beyond-sweet. A town princess who must leave her cozy nest because of some strange or compelling circumstance. Let’s say she’s adopted… And she realizes her mother/father never knew about her, thought her dead. So she’s compelled to search them out, but this takes her to a strange, new place where she’s ill-received. Suspected. Her past is brought into question. Her future is shaky at best because she’s ‘one of THEM’… Whoever THEY are...

But THAT SEED HAD TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE, RIGHT????

Pine nuts/seeds from pine cones....

All seeds do. Do not ask which came first.

I don't know.

And that’s the children’s story, the prequel version done for 4^th-6^th graders, where a young girl is tucked into a town and no one wants to accept her. Think Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day”, the story of the little girl who saw the sun when she lived on Earth, and no one in her Venus classroom believed her. So from this seed you can organically grow a tween-type book that shows the whys and hows of this girl’s life, her neediness, her resolve, her strange history, her shaky future. And because it’s for kids, you should think Hatchet… Holes… Bridge to Terabithia… The Great Gilly Hopkins…

Think DEEP because we remember deep books from that era. We shrug off the inane ones. Now you’ve got a tween basis for a story. A strong story.

But let’s move back up the ladder to the adult version. Because that’s how EASY it is to story-build in a creative mind. Work backwards… Move forwards.

Moving forward on an unmarked road isn't always EASY, but it can be satisfying...

Imagine. Envision. Predict. Foresee and foreshadow.

RESULT: Automatic depth.

And even if you NEVER WRITE THOSE TWEEN OR YA NOVELS, you now have a depth of story to work from. A deep, simmering cauldron of information to pull from, because now you know the woman’s history, her thoughts, her mode, her reasoning. You can deepen her character in ANY DIRECTION YOU CHOOSE because you know her.

I don’t do actual biographies for characters, but I let my mind delve into what happened TO them, to reveal things about them. “The past steps on the heels of the present, whether you like it or not, Jacob.” (Sarah, Plain and Tall)

This is a universal truth even when our characters work to bury the past. That in itself affects their present and future. They cannot get away from it.

I keep a cache of great YA novels, including The Yearling, Katherine Patterson’s books, The Pearl, Anne of Green Gables, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. These books are great inspiration for character development, they are HUGE and well-written. Re-reading strong YA books helps me remember what it was about the emotional development of the story that compelled me to keep them on my shelf. Because isn’t that an author’s greatest honor? Right up there with making people cry? To have his or her book tucked on a “keeper” shelf?

After it’s been passed around to all friends and family, of course, thereby building readership! :)

I love me some cookies while I'm reading... writing... walking... breathing... Sigh... ;)

AND...

Coffee. From my Keurig or a shop, I don't care. I live on coffee. Love the stuff.

And here's a look at basket #2, featuring Mended Hearts and Winnie Griggs' newest release.
We just love Winnie Griggs in Seekerville!

Toss out a snippet of your character development today. No long passages this time, just some bare bones. I find that brainstorming plants seeds of today that might become tomorrow’s ideas. I love new ideas. I love telling stories.

I just love the heck out of what I do and still have trouble believing someone is PAYING ME to do it.

God rocks.