Creating Unforgettable Characters

Before you read on, check this out: What? Were you raised by wolves? I just thought I would share.

With great characters, one can make an addictive book even if the plot is a little thin. This is what real life is like, isn't it? Life doesn't have a plot or intricate storylines, but you'll find wonderful people (maybe not in all cases, but certainly memorable).

Every character should act like a real person who has been shaped and influenced by life. Everyone has been shaped by a past. They should have an automatic reaction to their surroundings. If say, a character was betrayed by a friend, they might have trust issues later on in their life. If they were attacked by dogs as a child, they might end up having a fear of dogs and will be uneasy around them even after counselling and therapy.

Why are you writing a story? What makes you to spend hours upon hours sitting there, trying to put your story into words? We all have something we want to achieve in life, right? We make our decisions to help us get there. We may waver at certain times or even stop chasing it altogether and find something else. Characters should be the same. What motivates a character and guides their decisions?

Adding to this, characters have basic and secondary motivations just like us. Everything that we (and your characters) do, there's something that influences every aspect of our lives, like a fear, desire or need. This includes times when we think we're not using our heads and acting based on instinct. This is called basic motivation.
Secondary motivations represent needs and desires that can be satisfied. If a writer writes books to earn money, they might stop once they're satisfied with the amount of money. This is secondary motivation. If a writer writes books because of their passion, then they would keep on writing even if they have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their life. This would be the basic motivation that would keep them going.

Characters need to be consistent. If a character has a fear of any type of transportation and gets sick on them, they're not going to willingly ride a train. They can't get over a fear easily when they have to fight while the train is moving. They're going to be sick and be pummeled by their enemy unless someone comes to their rescue or the train stops.   

Not every character will reveal his/her motivations to the reader. Focus on motivations supporting the plot, the ones you want to matter to the reader. Don't go around creating backstories for characters who appear in one scene and putting it in your work. If it helps you make them more realistic, then go ahead and keep it stored away somewhere safe. Think about it like this; readers don't want to read about the person walking by for pages while your main character is crying on a bench.

Every character has their own point of view. We all perceive things differently based on our thoughts, experiences, attitude, memories and emotions. Characters have their own unique views, just like we do. It's very important to know your character's history and background to know their attitude and their perception.  

Every character has more than one problem. Their only problem shouldn't just be the main conflict of the story. They have everyday problems to worry about, just like you and me. Granted, they might be different problems like keeping dwarves from diggy-digging holes under their houses or stopping android prototypes from wreaking havoc in their lab. Just don't give them too many problems or they'll end up stealing the story away from the main conflict.

Characters need to have realistic-sounding voices. Not everyone speaks in proper English while talking to people. Some have accents. If they're immigrants, those who are in their teens and older tend to have slightly accented English (or another language), but children usually learn to speak like they were born in the country and might forget their first language. Some (or most) teenagers use slang and invent new terms. Just go to Urban Dictionary to see some.
No writing dialogue like you're writing a research paper and using fancy-schmancy terminology unless the character has a good reason to, like if they're a researcher trying to explain what they do. 

Another thing to remember is that characters need to grow and develop over the course of the story. It's rather boring if one character who rushes into things without thinking stays the same way by the end. There should be something that makes them think twice about doing that. Maybe someone important to them got hurt as a consequence in the middle of the story. Things like this are what make stories interesting.

One trick I discovered to creating realistic characters is to put them into various situations and watch how they get themselves out of it. Don't just order them what to do, say or think. Let them figure it out. Poke them with sticks and see how they react. Will they cry, yell at you to stop or break the stick (and your arm) in half?
This might end up driving you crazy if your characters develop to the point where they are fully conscious and start judging your life from your brain...no...I'm not saying this from personal experience, what are you talking about? (= _ = ;)

Love Triangles

This post is (kind of) a follow-up on Kaye's post on how not to write romance.  One thing I keep seeing over and over again in young adult fiction is the love triangle. The dreaded, the abominable, the ubiquitous...love triangle.

A love triangle happens when one girl is in love with two guys at once, and can't decide between them (it could happen the opposite way, too, with one guy and two girls, but it's much less common). Both guys are in love with the girl, leaving the girl with a predicament. The girl also loves both the guys. Which should she choose? Oh the horror.

Okay, technically, it wouldn't be a love triangle unless both the guys were in love with each other, too. But I won't go there.

There's my amazing Paint skill coming through, right there.

There's a problem with this, though...have you ever seen a love triangle in real life? No. At least, I haven't. Let's face it: love triangles just don't happen that much in real life. So why should every YA book have one?

This brings me to my next point. Nearly every single YA book these days has a love triangle of some sort. Why? Readers want plot. We don't want to sit there and read about some girl whining because she can't decide who to love. If she loves two guys at once, it can't even be true love, anyways. It's just some extra friendliness and a little lust.

Love triangles are also highly predictable. Have you ever seen the girl end up with the nice, normal guy? No. She always ends up with the supernatural guy. If you're going to write a paranormal romance, someone should shake it up and write a story where the girl doesn't go for the supernatural guy.

I'll be honest. I have formed a deep hatred for love triangles. And for good reason: the vast majority of them are anything but well-executed. But, to be fair, I have read some books that pulled off a fantastic love triangle.

Like Eona: The Last Dragoneye, for example. That's the most convoluted love triangle you'll ever see, my friends. Or The Hunger Games Trilogy.  Also, Kenneth Oppel's This Dark Endeavor has a noteworthy love triangle, because it actually contributes to the plot.   *gasp*

Or the Seven Realms series. That one is amazing, but...you could argue that it's actually a love pentagon. Yeah. (I tried to make a diagram showing this, but failed epically.) Han is (or was) in love with Raisa, who loves him back. Raisa also loved Amon, and Amon did love her back, until he got engaged to someone else. Then there's Reid, who seems to have a thing for Raisa. Love pentagon.

So, amigos...I beg of you...don't write a love triangle, unless you've got a really interesting twist to it, or you can do it like Alison Goodman. And please don't write a love triangle for the sake of a love triangle. That's the last thing the world needs.

This post was originally spotted in the castle at Cair Paravel, aka The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random.

Some Useful Character Sheets.

There are plenty of ways to create your characters but as I'm sure we all know, a good character is a well developed one. If anything the author or yourself should know a lot about the protagonist of the story. We should know them inside out and sometimes learning even the little things about them is good. Some of it may not all go into the story, but the more you know about your character, the more real he/she/it will seem.

Character sheets, I've found, are very helpful for developing characters. One book I read recommend you fill one out after you've completed the story, but I find that filling them out as you write is very helpful. Not only is it good for learning more about them, but it's good for keeping facts straight. How many siblings does your character have? What's his eye color? His fears, his wants, his goals, etc.

I've found many examples of character sheets over the years since I've started writing, but one of the most useful I've found is one from Gaia.online (sure it's game site but you can talk to people on it and stuff). I've listed it for you below to use and I've also posted the link to the page where it's found.


Full name of Character:
Reason, meaning or purpose behind the name:
Nickname:
Reason for nickname:
Race:
Occupation/class:
Social class:
Physical Appearance:
Age:
How old they appear:
Eye Color:
Glasses or contacts?
Hair color length and style:
Weight and height:
Type of body (build):
Skin tone and type (i.e., harry, slimy, scaly, oily, fair, burns easily):
Shape of face:
Distinguishing marks (dimples, moles, scars, birthmarks, etc.):
Predominant feature:
Is s/he healthy?
If not, why not? Or why are they healthy?
Do they look healthy? Why/why not?

Favorites:
Char’s favorite color:
Least favorite, why?
Music?
Least favorite music, why?
Food:
Literature:
Expressions:
Expletives (curse):
Mode of transport:
Hobbies:
How do they spend a rainy day?

Personality:
Are they a daredevil or cautious?
Do they act the same alone as when with someone?
Habits:
Drinks:
How much:
Greatest Strength:
Greatest Weakness:
Soft spot:
Is their soft spot obvious, why/why not:
If not, how do they hide it:
Biggest Vulnerability:

Background:
Hometown:
Type of childhood:
First Memory:
Most important child hood event that still effects him/her:
Why?
Education:
Religion:
Finances:

Family:
Mother:
Relationship with her:
Father:
Relationship with him:
Siblings, How many, relationship with each:
Children of siblings:
Other extended family:
Close? Why or why not:

Attitude:
Most at ease when:
Most ill at ease when:
Priorities:
Philosophies:
How they feel about themselves:
Past failure they would be embarrassed to admit:
Why?
If granted one wish what would it be, why?

Traits:
Optimist or pessimist? Why?
Introvert or extrovert? Why?
Drives and motives:
Talents:
Extremely skilled at:
Extremely unskilled at:
Good characteristics:
Character flaws:
Mannerisms:
Peculiarities:
Biggest regret:
Minor regrets:
Biggest accomplishment:
Minor accomplishments:
Darkest secret:
Does anyone know?
How did they find out:

Self-perception:
One word they would use to describe themselves:
One paragraph of how they would describe themselves:
What do they consider their best physical characteristic and why:
The worst one? Why?
Are they realistic assessments?
If not, why not?
How they think others preserve them:
What four things would they most like to change about themselves:
Why?
If they were changed would they be the same person, why/why not:
Would changing of number 1 make them more happy? Why/why not:

Interaction with other people:
How do they relate to others:
How are they perceived by strangers:
Friends:
Wife/husband/lover:
The Hero/Heroin:
How do they view the Hero/Heroine:
First impression of the char:
why?
What happens to change this perception:
What do people like most about this char:
What do they dislike most about them:

Goals:
Immediate:
Long term:
How do they plan to accomplish them:
How will others be effected by this:

Problems/Crisis:
How do they react in a crisis:
How do they face problems:
Kind of problems they usually run into:
How they react to new problems:
How they react to change:

General:
Favorite clothing, why:
Least favorite, why:
Jewelry:
Other accessories:
Drives:
Where do they live:
Where do they want to live:
Spending habits, why:
What do they do too much of, why:
Most prized possession, why:
People they secretly admire, why:
Person they are most influenced by, why:
Most important person in their life before story starts, why:
How do they spend the week just before the story starts:

Gaia Online- Character Sheet

Edit: Another really helpful one I've found is The Survey.

I recently fell in love again with using character sheets. I just got done filling these two out for my three protagonists in Night Lies and I discovered a ton about them! It was so amazing. 

So, have you ever used character sheets? Do you find them useful? What the best one that you've ever used?

Writing Romance: How NOT to Do It

Perhaps I'm not the best person to be writing this guide with my indiscriminate hate for people my age and having zero personal experience with relationships of this type. But I do know real relationships. You learn a lot of things if you just sit quietly in high school and discreetly study people around you. (It's for research, don't you look at me like that.)
For me, a writer who twists the concept of romance so much that it's barely recognizable anymore, I have to know the basics of true romance. Can't screw it up if you don't know what the heck it is you're screwing up, am I right?

Let's first look at what defines a romance novel. A central love story and an emotionally-satisfying ending.
A love story needs to have conflict for the two people to fall in love. If your idea of conflict is "I don't have a boyfriend and no one likes me!", I suggest you start running before I find something sharp and pointy.
The characters need to grow. Not physically as in inches and centimetres, but mentally. Otherwise, the reader will put your story down.
Finally, there's the resolution. The problems need to be solved for the reader to buy the happily ever after.

Let's get on with the don'ts of romance writing.

Love doesn't happen instantly. That's infatuation. The online dictionary defines it as puppy love or temporary love of an adolescent. You don't really love someone you just met a few seconds ago. You haven't gotten to know them yet, so how can you? Maybe you've fallen in love with their appearance. 
Romeo and Juliet is a good example of this. Romeo fell in love with Juliet in seconds. Look where that got them. (If Romeo and Juliet was meant to be a satire, Shakespeare is a genius.)

You can't truly love someone without knowing them first. I think this requires no further explanation.

You won't die if that person leaves you. It's not like you suddenly share vital organs at that first glance and need them by your side at all times. You still have your organs, they still have theirs.

Hearts can't literally be broken into millions of pieces like glass. They're squishy and fun to poke. Don't even use this in real life after a break up.

Don't fangirl over the love interest. Please don't waste our time, only you have the perfect mental image. Whenever someone tries to describe a book character to me, this pops up in my head and I just stick on whatever characteristics you give me, such as this colour eyes and this colour hair.

Actually, if you've read any show vs. tell guides, they should've told you not to use these as the only descriptions. You're supposed to link appearance to personality or actions, something like that. I don't remember the exact tip.
Don't stick words like sexy/handsome/insert other adjective here if your only reason is JUST BECAUSE HE IS. Get. Out. Now. I'll forgive you if the MC realizes that the love interest is nothing but a pretty face and moves on to a guy with actual character.

Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus are a no-no in every genre. Again, no further explanation is needed.

I hope this entertained you as well as showed you what not to do if you're writing a romance novel.

Myths About Writers

Whenever you mention the fact that you're a writer, a million stereotypes are bound to come into people's heads. Some of these are true, and some are myths. Here are some common myths about writers, disproved.

• Writers are addicted to coffee. No, not necessarily. Writers are addicted to whatever will keep them going long enough to finish that next chapter. Sometimes it's coffee, sometimes it's something else. Hopefully not drugs.
• Writers are antisocial. It's not that we don't enjoy your company. We simply come off this way sometimes. The average human would be bored to tears sitting in front of a keyboard, typing all day. They don't see this as a "normal" pastime. Writers, on the other hand, love every day where they can do nothing but put words on the screen. Social activities can get forgotten in the process.
• Writers listen to my conversations at Starbucks. No, not just your conversations. We listen to the everyone else's conversations, too. Not you exclusively. Sorry.
• Writers talk to themselves. We talk to our characters. We talk directly to our story. We talk to the computer screen, to the blank notebook. Why talk to ourselves when we have so many other available options to talk to?
• If you say something bad about a writer's work, they will hate you. No, they'll just write a character remarkably like you into their books. Said character will die.
• Writers have no friends. Writers actually have more friends than the average person. We have our normal, real-life friends, and then we have our characters. That's more than the average human can say.
• Writers admire J. K. Rowling like she's something more than human. Well, some of us might. But some of us don't. Personally, I very much enjoy her books, but there are many better things out there to read.
• Writers suffer from insanity. Actually, we enjoy every second of it.

And there you have it. It's like Mythbusters, but less awesome. And with less explosives.

Originally posted in a fiery chasm deep in the heart of Mordor, also known as The Epic, The Awesome, and The Random.

The Short History of Book Covers and Some Tips

Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday, but I was very busy. This counts for last week's post not this weeks. This post was taken reposted from Birds of a Writer.


One of the things I love the most about modern books are the covers. Especially the really pretty ones. Most of the books at my school are really old and don't have covers or pictures on them. Few do. And then its only a small picture. I also love designing them myself. As do many people.

The Short History of Book Covers
Books covers do in fact have a short history. Before the 19th century, books were hand-bound and were covered using gold, silver, or probably leather.

Before the 1820s, books were generally sold without a cover-- just a stack of printed pages. To have one put on was very expensive although well worth it since it would help preserve the book. But by the 1820s, many publishers were selling books pre-bound with covers that were stiffened with a board of some type and covered with cloth or paper. The title and sometimes a block picture could be stamped on the cover.

Because the illustrations were rather basic, they weren't very detailed or useful in deciding what books were about. But then lithographic printing became used and multi-color book covers were available. Then half-tone illustration made it even easier.

In the 1830s, dust jackets were added to protect covers. And these ones were wrapped all the way around and then sealed in place with wax. But during the second half of the century, the current design was adopted.  But because these were mostly thrown away, they are very valuable today.

After 1900, the production of book covers became more practical, economical, and marketing became important. Some of the first modern cover designs were made in the 1920s. People such as  Alexandr Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, and  Aubrey Beardsley were highly influential regarding early book cover designs.
Although dust jackets also became more decorative, it wasn't until the 1950s that people began to keep them as an important part of books.

Today, book covers are one of the most important parts of a book. They can help give hints as to the style, genre, and subject of the book. But it also differs from country to country as people's tastes in different places changes.

*Tips on designing your own cover. 

1. Look at covers you love and decide what they did that caught your attention. What about the book cover do you love? Can you use those same things in your cover?
2. Decide the main point of the story. Then find or capture a picture that best captures that main point or the idea you want to convey. 
3. Choose a good font for the title and author name. Slight variations in different fonts, shapes, and sizes can help with the over all cover. If you're having trouble seeing a font, use a border or a background for it. Remember that where you place titles and fonts is important. 
1. Also note that you're looking for something that not only conveys what you want, but something that is easy to read. Don't use to small or too big sizes. 
2. I've heard that using fonts where the letters are either all capitals or are all the same size looks professional. 
4. Play around with colors and color themes. Remember that your colors of your titles and your picture should be different. You want something that will stand out. But also remember that the colors should look good together as well as conveying whatever you want. 
5. Don't be afraid to play around with effects or something of the sort. Making a picture black or white can be cool. They don't always have to be full color. 

* I am in no way, an expert. Yes, I make my own covers, and these are some simple ideas. I am planning to be a graphic designer and I hope to one day make my own covers professionally. 

** Make sure that whatever picture you're using isn't copyrighted. Its best to use a picture that you took. (Although many covers I've seen are copyrighted, but the people who "designed" the cover makes sure that you know that they didn't take that picture themselves. Or you could use one of those non-copyrighted/stock photos. I think those work too. In any case: give the photographer or whoever's picture it is, credit. 

What I think about covers...
I don't know about you, but I'm getting bored of covers where the girl is in a dress. Its so lame these days! I'm  not saying they don't look good- they do- but its getting boring.

For me, I hate covers that that only one basic color to it. Like Legacies in which the whole cover has this weird blue tint to it. And it makes the girl look like she's sick or something. Other covers with a whole blue theme is the Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong. Those don't look too bad, but its still annoying.

Another thing. The covers where its just one person's face or half of their face. That bugs me too.

Now I love covers where it has cool fonts or something. Like the XVI series by Julia Karr. Those are cool covers cause the covers is the titles. One of my favorite covers of all time is Eona by Allison Goodman. It just looks so epic. Plus, the girl isn't in a dress!

I could go on, but I'll leave you with that.

So, what do you love or not love about covers? Do covers ever sway your choice in buying books? What are some of your favorites? Why? What aren't and why?

Because I feel like I could add so much more about covers, what are some things that you would like to see me add to this discussion about covers? I'll add your ideas into a second post about it Saturday or next Thursday. Thanks!

Resources
Ehow- History of book covers 
Basic Book Cover Guide & Basic Book Cover Guide 2
Ehow- Designing book covers.
Guardian- The history and more in depth review of book covers
Quezi- History of Book Covers
Wikipedia- Book Cover 

Sincerely,

Sareh

Where to Go After Inkpop

Many, if not all, of you were Inkies.  Well, you still are an Inkie.  Just because Inkpop.com itself no longer exists doesn't mean you aren't an Inkie. 

But since Inkpop is gone, you might be looking for some new writing sites to turn to.  You've probably heard of these, but I'm going to highlight the pros and cons of each, to help you decide which, if any, are right for you.

Wattpad
Pros: Seemingly active forums. Copy-and-paste disabled.  Lots of projects to read.  Many Inkies are over there.  There is a mobile app.

Cons:  I've seen very little in the way of in-depth reviews.  No publication opportunities.

Figment 
Pros: Active forums.  Lots of projects.  Many, many users.  Many Inkies can be found.  There are writing contests and opportunities to win prizes.

Cons: Copy-and-paste not disabled (but the disabling is in the works, apparently).  No publication opportunities.  Again, I've seen very few Inkpop-quality reviews.  The forums are incredibly full of angst, and have more trolls than I ever saw on Inkpop.  No mobile app or site.

Teen Ink
Pros: Lots of projects to read.  Focus on short stories, short nonfiction, and poetry.  Publication opportunities.  Visual art also accepted.

Cons: Seemingly inactive forums.  Not as much focus on novel-length work (though this could also be a pro, depending on what you're into).  No in-depth reviews.  Copy-and-paste not disabled.

Literati Sedition
Pros: In-depth reviews.  Constructive criticism galore.  They refer to themselves as "literary bootcamp".
Cons: Users are required to critique.  Application required.  No publication opportunities. 

The cons are not reasons to avoid the site.  They are not necessarily bad things.  They are just a way to compare writing sites to help you find a match. 

If you didn't know already, there is a Facebook group for Inkies.  It's right here.

What do you think?  Are you getting involved in other writing sites?  Anything else that we should look into?