Do
you Love your Characters?
Building a story is like building a house. I discussed this topic in a post about Writing from the Heart on Rachael John’s blog last year. Heart and a good foundation is what helps you and your characters build a riveting story that will engage the reader from start to finish. Add to the mix the walls to make the story strong, and windows to peek into the heads and the hearts of your hero and heroine. The roof is the finishing touch to protect your investment and the people you care about most…your characters. But their journey doesn’t end there, it’s only the beginning.
I went on to discuss the welcoming party
in Write a Book, Bake a Cake which takes a look at the importance of editing your
manuscript for submission. Writing is only a part of the incredible learning
journey to publication. The more you write, the more confident you become.
Research, critique partners, writing groups, contests and workshops all play a
big part in helping you hone your craft.
Think of these as the ingredients for a fluffy chocolate cake batter.
Leave any of the ingredients out and the consistency of your batter could let
you down.
But what about the most important part
of all in the story—the people? Who are they? What are they like? Are they heroes and heroines readers will love? Imagine a good, solid house with strong
walls and a new roof, pretty gardens and rolling lawns, but the rooms are empty.
Void of life, love and laughter. What brings life to the house? Is it the
furniture, the paint on the walls, the shiny appliances in the kitchen?
Absolutely not! What brings life to the house is the characters.
Readers read to find magic in a story,
an element of happiness, hope and escape from the dramas of the real world. By
building good, solid characters you can help them find that escape. I recently
read a book where the heroine’s daughter was a whiny little girl whose bottom I
wanted to spank for the temper tantrums she threw and the distress she caused
her mum. Is that a criticism of the author’s writing? No, I’m giving the author
huge credit for creating believable four-year-old behavior that drew me right
into the scene and made me want to give the girl’s mum a big hug.
In Fly Away Peta, I created a feisty
heroine in Peta; someone I hope readers will relate to in her fierce fight to
protect her daughter against the dangers of life and heartbreak, while she
battles her own demons. And Jaime—gorgeous, strong, delectable Jaime Caruso—a man who jumps feet-first into the fray to fight for the woman he’s
loved forever, no matter what danger she’s in.
And if you enjoyed Jaime and Peta’s
spirited characters, you are going to love TJ and Scott in Under the Hood, due for release from
Escape Publishing in March
2013. This energetic story stars yet another feisty heroine not afraid to step
forward and a delectable hero who can’t resist her charm or her dilemma.
Together they fight to save a teenage gang from the grip of crime and drugs,
all while resisting the temptation to fall in love.
Thank you to my lovely friend and
editing buddy, Serena Tatti for hosting me today and letting me waffle on about
building houses, baking cakes and creating characters. For a handy guide to
creating character profiles, I can recommend Valerie Parv’s The Art of Romance Writing.
It’s a guide that’s stood the test of time and a book that holds pride of place
amongst my reference books, as battered, dog-eared and full of post-it notes as
it is.
Blurb:
Fly Away Peta from Eternal Press
Peta Johnson will go to extreme lengths
to protect her daughter Bella. When Bella is kidnapped, the search for her
takes Peta back to the small Western Australian country town of Williams, a
place she’d vowed never to return to. The town where her dreams were shattered
and her nightmare began. Back to the place she’d been destined to meet two very
powerful, yet very different men. One would break her heart; the other would
destroy her soul. Both would change her life forever.
The search for Bella brings them
together. Secrets and lies keep them apart. Will Jaime and Peta renew their
love in the face of danger or will he let her fly away again?Bio:
Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and
now proudly Australian, Juanita is a freelance writer of book reviews, blogs,
web content, advertorials, newsletters, resumes and training manuals. She has
written articles on business management for Stanford Who’s Who, New York, USA.
Having completed a diploma in
Proofreading, Editing and Publishing through the Australian College QED, Bondi,
NSW, Juanita is a freelance editor for Damnation Books, Eternal Press and
Escape Publishing, and proofreads scientific text books for Elsevier Press,
Oxford, UK.
Juanita gained her professional
experience in the motor industry as an administrator and Customer Care/Quality
Assurance Coordinator conducting audits; writing and proof-reading reports,
operating procedures, company policies, capability statements, newsletters and
customer correspondence.
Juanita escapes the real
world by reading and writing romantic fiction. She conducts interviews with
fellow authors and writes book reviews, as well as the odd blog about the
frustrations and delights of being a writer.
When she’s not writing,
editing or proofreading, Juanita is the cleaning fairy and mother to three boys
(hubby included, his toys are just a little more expensive). Her
not-so-miniature Daschund, Sam is her critique partner and keeps her company
while writing.
Juanita loves to hear from
fans and would love for you to enjoy her writing journey with her at:
On the Web:
Buy Link:Amazon
Links used in this blog:
Write from the Heart