Tag: characters

Writing Non-human Characters with Meradeth Houston Author of Surrender the Sky

July 11, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Once again returning to share her wisdom on writing is Meradeth Houston! Meradeth is the author of the fantastic paranormal Sary Society Series, the latest of which is Surrender the Sky (see my 5-star Goodreads review here). Make sure to check out all the other stops on her Xpresso Book Tours blog tour and enter the giveaway. Welcome, Meradeth!

Writing characters that aren’t human

by Meradeth Houston

Thanks so much for having me back here! It’s always a treat to visit some of my favorite blogs again. I thought I’d talk a little about writing characters that aren’t human today. This is one of those topics that I think about a lot, but don’t generally get the chance to chat about. For those of you who have thoughts on the topic, please chime in too!!

The main characters that I write about in my novels are definitely not human—they’re Sary, which is a breed of supernatural I made up. They’re kind of similar to guardian angels, but I think all of my characters would be the first to tell you that they’re definitely not the angelic sort. They’re the souls of those who die before taking their first breath and are allowed to come back to the earth to help those who are contemplating taking their own life. Basically they’re immortal and have the ability to shift their form to look pretty otherworldly: wings included.

One of the most important things that I think about while writing these characters is to keep in mind their true age. Most of them are several centuries old, which means they’ve seen a lot. Not just historical tidbits (which I find fun to research and layer in), but personal things. They’ve watched everyone around them grow older and die—something that they can’t do. These kinds of things leave their mark, and I try to be aware and respectful of that in my characters. Even if they look to be in their teens or twenties, they’re not going to think like a human, and they’re not going to react like them all the time. This is challenging, but also can be a lot of fun to write.

While the Sary have been “on the ground” throughout their lives, allowing them to adapt as society and culture inevitably change around them, it isn’t necessarily easy. One of the other things I try to think about while writing is those things that the Sary might find comfortable from the past—things that they have a hard time giving up. This might be preferring candles and lamps even with electric lights, or just living in the older part of a city because it seems more like home. Technological changes can seem fast for even me, but for the Sary it’s been tricky to keep up. I like to think about the lag that can occur, and depending on the character, how comfortable they’re going to be with different parts of modern life.

Writing a supernatural being that can fly is also one of those things that I also find really a lot of fun. I know that may sound strange, but I’ve always wished I could fly (I think this may stem from growing up in California and hating traffic—who wouldn’t want to avoid that??), so writing from the Sary’s perspective is a whole lot of fun in this regard. I pester my pilot brother for aerial photos, and pay a lot of attention to the way the sky looks while in an airplane, hoping to do the concept of flight justice. Hopefully that comes across, because it certainly is fun!

There’s a lot more that goes into writing a character that’s not human, but I’ll stick with this for today! What else do you think goes into making a believable non-human character?

Surrender the Sky blurb:

Gabby lives by two unbreakable rules: don’t expose her kind, the Sary, and don’t fall in love—too bad some rules are made to be broken.

When Gabby’s most difficult charge accidentally shoots her in front of a class full of students, the event exposes her carefully hidden identity. She shifts from looking like a normal teen to her secret Sary form, revealing her wings and the existence of her kind—immortals who try to keep people from committing suicide. Her incident attracts the attention of the next leader of the Sary, Jassen, who offers her an impossible bargain: she can keep her wings if she makes amends with those who know the truth. Things get more complicated when a rebel Sary, intent on exposing them to the world, starts interfering with Gabby’s work. And there’s no denying her attraction to Jassen, who is torn between his duties and his heart. With threats at every turn and her immortality on the line, Gabby has to find a way to save the Sary or surrender the sky forever.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20943650-surrender-the-sky?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Surrender-Sary-Society-Meradeth-Houston-ebook/dp/B00K2IMTNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404146503&sr=1-1&keywords=Surrender+the+Sky+by+Meradeth+Houston

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/surrender-the-sky-meradeth-houston/1118931601?ean=2940045770484

About the Author:

Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:

>She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use “like” a lot.
>When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
>She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It’s her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
>If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.

Author links:

http://www.meradethhouston.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MeradethHouston

https://twitter.com/MeradethHouston

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5321667.Meradeth_Houston

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Don’t Judge Your Characters with Linda Budzinski Author of The Funeral Singer

May 23, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Today’s guest and I go all the way back to my very first SCBWI Poconos writing retreat in 2009, so I am super happy to have Linda Budzinski, author of THE FUNERAL SINGER, on the blog today. Her words about not judging characters apply not only to writing but also to life. Welcome, Linda!

You Can’t Judge a Character by Her Role

It’s a lesson I keep learning over and over again: Don’t be too quick to judge people. Or maybe I should say, it’s a lesson the universe keeps trying to teach me, since I continue to fall into the same trap.

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Maybe it’s the guy in the next cubicle at work. Maybe it’s the grouchy neighbor. Maybe it’s your kids’ lacrosse coach. They act like a jerk, so you proclaim them a Jerk.

Until one day you find out this Jerk has a child with a severe disability, or he spends every weekend traveling hundreds of miles to visit an elderly parent who can’t even remember his name, or she’s in the middle of a nasty divorce. That’s when you realize that maybe he or she wasn’t always a Jerk. Maybe he or she deserves some patience, some grace, some understanding right now.

The same is true with our characters. When I set out to write THE FUNERAL SINGER, I wanted to write a novel about the difference between pop culture heroes and real-life heroes. My rock star characters would be shallow, selfish Jerks, while my real-life hero (a funeral director) would be a loving, caring, charitable gentleman.

Only they’re not. At least, not entirely. Most of the rock stars turned out to be pretty decent people, and the funeral director is far from flawless.

Even my main character, who throughout the course of the book goes from being a normal teen-ager to a pop culture hero to an everyday hero, isn’t all good or all bad along the way. She’s sweet and sensitive and infuriatingly self-centered, all at once. Because in real life, that’s how people are. People are both good and bad. And no matter what their station in life, everyone has problems. They may keep their problems well hidden, but they have them.

When we set out to create characters, we need to know their roles in our books. That is, we need to know whether they are protagonists (the main characters, who want something) or antagonists (the characters who stand in their way), but we do not need to proclaim them good or evil, angels or devils, sweethearts or jerks. Because chances are, they will be all of the above. And they will have problems that may never make it onto the page, but they will have them, and those problems will affect the way they behave.

And that will be what makes them interesting.

The Funeral Singer blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Melanie Martin has witnessed her share of lame eulogies and uninspired epitaphs while singing part-time at her dad’s funeral home. She’s determined to be more than a funeral singer, and more than just someone’s “beloved wife” or “loving mother.”

When Mel’s impromptu rendition of “Amazing Grace” at a local rock star’s graveside service goes viral on YouTube, she becomes an Internet sensation, attracting thousands of fans and followers, and even a hot rock star boyfriend–Zed Logan, bass player for The Grime.
But instant fame isn’t easy–and neither is love. Especially when Mel realizes she’s falling for another guy–one who may just want her heart more than her voice.

About the Author:

Linda Budzinski lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Joe, and their feisty chihuahua, Demitria (also known as Dee Dee, The Puppy, and Killer). She grew up in a tiny town called West Grove, in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the second grade, she announced to her parents that she wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. She majored in journalism in college and now works in nonprofit marketing and communications.

She’s a sucker for romance and reality TV and has been known to turn off her phone’s ringer when watching “The Bachelor.” Her favorite flower is the daisy, her favorite food is chocolate, and her favorite song is “Amazing Grace.”

LINKS:

Website: www.lindabudzinski.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaBudz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Budzinski-Author/188747034633426

YouTube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gs0PX1fEdg

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Funeral-Singer-ebook/dp/B00FDWYBRS/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-funeral-singer-linda-budzinski/1116970019?ean=2940148424031

Scott R. Caseley Author of Isosceles on Females in YA

October 7, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

A special treat today as another male author weighs in on the Females in YA series on the blog. Returning guest poster Scott R. Caseley, author of the YA mystery Isosceles, discusses the voices in his head (c’mon, writers, you all know we have ’em!). Welcome back, Scott!

“Following A Female Voice”

Written by Scott R. Caseley

When going on a road trip, a GPS device sits on my windshield directing me how to get to the destination. I imagine that this faceless individual is a person that’s been there before and knows how to lead the way. This has a direct correlation to all the great stories that have been or have yet to be written. Choosing the right voice to tell the story is key. The difference between GPS technology and literature is, you have a set number of voices to choose from on the former.

Thankfully, when writing a book, you can select from a limitless amount of voices to guide your story along. In my own experience, I don’t know right off the bat whether it will be told from a male or female point of view, I just end up going with whichever character not gender will serve the plot best. No matter which person ends up being the voice telling the story, including as narrator in some cases, I always aspire to make them complex, flawed, and as human as possible.

For my novel, Isosceles, there were three main characters to choose from; Sean, Madeline, and Trey. I thought of Trey and Madeline as being strong-willed individuals who had judgments on everything who wanted to tell me this story about him dying and what affect it had on her and their mutual best friend Sean’s life. However, as quickly as I thought of using them, I discarded the idea. With her opinionated personality I decided she would be too much in everyone’s way including her own to tell the story the way I felt would be best. Additionally, I decided I didn’t want to end the story with his death, as would certainly be the course of action I would take if Trey were narrating. I ultimately chose to tell it from Sean’s point of view, because I felt that the story needed to have a more observational bent to it to make it most objective.

However, Madeline’s voice lingered on my mind during the whole writing process as determined women have always been a joy to create, as I have known many of them in my life and stories featuring them like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Bridge To Terabithia are favorites of mine. Though, I also know a number of shy women who like to hide out in the background and rather enjoy some famous shy female characters too. Still, when I create my female characters, I’m not basing any of them exclusively on the real and fictitious women on my mind who have either trait. If I based something on someone entirely, it would not serve the story, unless the story was just about that particular person. I find creating hybrids between real and imagined much more fascinating for the stories I have already done.

Moreover, no character in any of my stories has been based on people solely of their gender. I find traits most interesting when they can be found in both sexes. Taking a character off the stereotypical path of being a guy, or being a gal, is a bit like choosing an alternate route on your GPS. You’ll still get where you want to at the end, but what you’ll experience or see along the way may be much more interesting then just sticking to the main roads, or the most common routes you feel everyone has gone down before.

Madeline, my aforementioned character in Isosceles is in love with Trey, and friends with Sean, but she’s got a lot more to her than that. She doesn’t aspire to be popular in school, and prefers to do her own thing. She’d much rather be a ‘floater’ in all the cliques and help those in need, counsel them, etc. She also lives life on her own terms, and doesn’t wait around for a guy to lead her on her way, she just goes forward and takes the chances. She excels in school and even graduates valedictorian. With all these strengths, she does have her share of weaknesses. I’ll let you read the book to decide for yourself what you think they are.

For all my efforts, I had critics who lauded and others who loathed her. This inspired me to want to tell a future story at least in part from a female point of view. I feel confidence in the ‘voice’ I gave Madeline, and will give my readers more female options to choose from on the next journeys my pen takes them on. Who knows maybe someone with her traits may be the narrator sometime. All I ask of you, my readers is to not be alarmed when the route takes you off the main road, just sit back and enjoy the ride, because if I do my job right, my female characters will always bring you to the proper destination.

Isosceles blurb:

When he finds his best friend Trey Goodsby dead and almost completely submerged in a bathtub filled with bloody water, Sean McIntyre is determined to find out if it was an accident or suicide. If it was suicide, why did he do it? And, did his death accidental or intentional have anything to do with Madeline Edwards, the woman who came between them constantly through their thirteen-year friendship? Isosceles, a coming-of-age mystery romance begins with the death of Trey Goodsby, and explores his relationships with family, friends, his romances, and which of the circumstances he found himself in that led to the tragic event, and the repercussions for those he left behind.

Isosceles can be purchased at the MuseItUp bookstore, Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Bookstrand, Coffee Time Romance, and other ebook retailers.

About the Author:

Scott R. Caseley was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. He gained an interest in writing in elementary school in nearby Hudson. Growing up, he carried a small notebook or pen on family trips making observations and frequently turned them into poems or short stories. While attending Franklin Pierce University, he co-wrote and co-directed a student film. After graduating, he wrote and directed a dramatic feature, co-wrote and directed a documentary and conducted interviews for an online magazine. He’s also passionate about acting, and he’s enjoyed performing on stage, in bit parts on film, and is also a trained voice actor. In addition to his creative pursuits, he is passionate about healthy living. He follows a fitness regimen consisting of several activities such as; weight training, walking, swimming, yoga, and Zumba. He complements this by cooking several nutritious examples of international and American cuisine. Last, but certainly not least he also enjoys just spending time with family and friends until the early morning hours with plenty of laughter and coffee. You can find more about Scott on Facebook, Twitter (@scottrcaseley), Amazon, and his website.