P and Q are for…

My A to Z Challenge theme is: characters from my trilogy, From the Ashes.

P is for…

High Prince Savran

I was born in the year 401 After the Stellar Wars as High Prince Savran, to Emperor Dehkran. I never respected my father. To those who betrayed him, he was merciful. He was too kind. My mother was the only one I ever respected or ever loved. Here name was Leya.

She was killed in a bombing aboard an aircraft. She was killed by The Phoenix, the woman who lead the Resistance.

When I was 11, my father died and I became Emperor. The passing of my father was an event I cherish. Though I would not be handed all my power until I was 16, I made the most of my time, plotting vengeance on the woman who ruined my life.

***

Q is for…

Questions & Answers

Since there are no characters in my story that have a name that starts with the letter Q, I've decided to do a little Question and Answer session with one of my characters. The character I will be interviewing is: Rasha Viraak.

Rasha, will you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was born in the year 410 After the Stellar Wars. I was sent to the Gifted School in Manincia, a land once known as Azia. I was sent along with my brother, Azad. We were very close, for all our lives. I died in the year 425, so I was 15 years old.

How did you die?

I'd rather not go into it.

Your brother, Azad, thinks that you were murdered. Is that true?

As I said, I would rather not go into the details of my death. What I will tell you is that my brother is not evil. He never was, and never will be. He's in pain, you see. I was the only person who was really there for him always, and he lost me. He blames others for it, and seeks revenge.

Do you think he should seek revenge?

No. Those who commit crimes against others or themselves will pay for the damage they do. The universe will come around to them and give them the punishment they deserve. Revenge is unnecessary. His quest for revenge will never be fulfilled.

You were in love with Altair Kasev. Are you still?

It matters little what I feel, now that I am dead. The only effect I have on the physical world is what people make of my memory. But for the sake of this interview, yes. I am still in love with him, and I hope he knows that. And I hope he will someday forgive himself.

Forgive himself for what?

He blames himself for my death.

Should he?

Not at all. He did what had to be done, and that is all I can say.

***

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Don't forget to visit other A to Z Participants here, and my other blog, My Unofficial Guide To Everything.

Have a lovely day!

–Jess

M, N, and O…(so sorry guys!)

Sooooo I have been busy and stressed the past four days…a lot of crazy stuff going on that I'd rather not dive into. But at least for now, my stress has died down a bit. So anyway, here's M, N, and O!

My A to Z Challenge theme is: characters from my trilogy, From the Ashes.

M is for…

Shirez Melohem

I was born in the year 377 After the Stellar Wars. My father was the Prince of Earth of the Imperial Alliance. When I was 7, I was sent to the University of Public Affairs. I didn't see much of my parents. They were strict, and I liked school more than I liked them. I was married when I was 26. My wife-to-be was Nalia. She was 25. It was an arranged marriage, and neither of us were in love. She was beautiful, and when I became the Prince of Earth in my father's place, she was a perfect royal.

You want more? By the stars, I need to be careful. You aren't recording this, are you?

Of course, many of us had heard of the Resistance movement. To some, the idea brought fear, and to others, rage. To me? It brought me hope. I knew the Alliance was corrupt, most forms of government are. Yes, I found hope. So I searched for them. I wanted a part of it. Why, you ask? I wanted to make history.

No, I can't continue there. That is all I will say about the Resistance, that is all I can say.

My son was born in the year 408 ASW. At that point, he gave me more hope than I had ever known. I wanted a future for him, a good life. Nalia wanted that too, I know that. She loved him dearly. A year later, she killed herself. It was an overdose. I can't say anything else. If I say much more, there's a chance I won't be alive much longer. Thank you, now please leave.

***

N is for…

Niri Ranos

The fact that you'd like to know about me makes me concerned. I like to stay quiet, I just get my job done. Who do you work for? Really, I don't understand why this is necessary. Yes, I work for Draco Haidryn. I'm his personal hit-man. Listen, I'm done with this, I don't see why you need to interview me. I'm out.

***

O is for…

Seth Onan

You know I can't tell you much, but I'll say everything I can. I was born in the year 408 ASW. My mother, Lossa, ran away from my father after I was born. She brought me with her. I can't go into what happened after, but she put me into a Gifted School where I would later meet Kavi Agni. I admit, it wasn't hard to fall in love with her. We entered the Trials together, with Jaina Indera and Dragon as our leaders.

***

I'm sorry I had to post so much today, I hope you enjoyed these little excerpts about the characters! I'll try and get around to everyone who comments today, and hopefully a few more.

Don't forget to check out other A to Z Challenge Participants here, and my other blog My Unofficial Guide To Everything.

Have a wonderful day!

–Jess

Expressions (Part 2)

On Friday, I was having multiple issues with how to show certain expressions without saying the same thing over and over again to describe it. Like "she smiled" to show she was happy. Or "he frowned" to show he was mad.

Once I've used those so many times, it becomes a word that doesn't mean much to the reader. I find that when I'm reading books, the words "he said" are nearly invisible to me.

So how do we make words visible? Well, they have to be different than what the reader is used to. By using creative ways to describe simple expressions, the reader is engaged.

Anyway, here are some other forms of nonverbal communication that may (or may not) help to describe/show your characters emotions.

Paralanguage

Despite being based on a persons tone of voice, pitch, volume and intonation, paralanguage is considered a form of nonverbal communication. Paralanguage is important for reading people's emotions, but it can also be misleading.

As you know, people can consciously change their tone of voice to convey an emotion they're not feeling.

Ever spoken patiently when you're actually really angry? What about calmly when you're really excited?

The great thing about paralanguage is that it doesn't necessarily convey the emotion your characters are actually feeling, but it can show what your characters want others to think they're feeling.

Body Language

I guess this one could have to do with all nonverbal communication. After all, you use body language for all forms of nonverbal communication. Yet I consider this one really important.

You can do a lot of showing through body language.

If Liam (supporting characters) is listening to Jaina (my MC), but is deeply hurt by her words, he may grit his teeth in angry retaliation, or clench his fists, yet only make the softest of replies. It shows the difference between what he's feeling, and what he's choosing to convey.

Eye Contact

This one is my favorite. Maybe because the simple act of a glance can say so much with the slightest movement of your eyes.

Eye contact can indicate who the leader in a situation is. In many cultures, it's respectful to not make eye contact with a superior.

Prolonged eye contact tends to make people nervous, especially if it's with someone they don't know well. It can be considered a threat or as a way to show someone that they're interested in them.

It can convey emotions you may not intend to show. Eyes can tell the truth while everything else about a character lies. I think as far as my characters go, the eyes are truly the window to the soul.

I really hope all of this helped! And if you already knew it, I hope it was a good refresher :)

Happy Monday!

--Jess

Expressions (Part 1)

Last night, I was slaving the hours away editing, when I realized I needed a better way for Altair to express his emotions. Over and over again, I use "furrows his brow" or "glances down at the ground". It get's so repetitive.

So, I looked up "nonverbal communication." I learned so many cool new things! There's quite a lot of science that goes into human behavior and it's fascinating!

Facial Expression

They're responsible for a lot of nonverbal communication. Think about how much you can tell about a person by seeing their expression. According to Wikipedia (search key: facial expression), there are seven universally recognized expressions. These are: fear, surprise, anger, contempt, disgust, happiness and sadness.

Here's a link to a list with 100 facial expressions. Though describing them is definitely more difficult than naming them.

But facial expressions aren't the only type of nonverbal communication. Another is gestures.

Gestures

There's more to gestures than waving, or pointing. When you really think about it, there are tons of them that a person makes every day without noticing! They allow people to communicate emotions and feelings alongside verbal communication.

For a list of gestures, click the link.

Proxemics

This is another type of nonverbal communication. It refers to personal space, and relates to the comfort a person feels with someone a certain distance away from them.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

If a person you know well enters your personal space, you might smile, or reach out to hug them. Coming from them, the entering of your personal space is a sign of friendliness. Something you welcome.

But if someone you don't know well enters your personal space, you'll probably feel much less comfortable. If it's someone you have a crush on, your heart-rate can go up. You tend to blink faster when your nervous.

If the person entering your personal space is someone you despise, then entering your personal space can be considered a threat.

Reading a person's feelings depends a lot on nonverbal communication. But my problem remains... what if a person is trying to fake certain emotions? And what if they're good at it?

Anyway, this post could be really long if I tried to tell you about other forms of expression today. But I'll be back on Monday :)

Have a great weekend!

--Jess

P.S.
My sister Alyssa is competing in a skating competition tomorrow. Please head over to her blog and wish her luck!

Your Star

So I've been thinking a lot about my characters lately.

In my first draft of From the Ashes, all of my characters were really flat. They had no histories, no connections, and very little life. They were characters in a story, and that's all.

What did I do to fix this? Or at least make it better?

Multiple things, actually.

First thing I did was make a 'cast'. If my book were a movie, who would my ideal cast be? It was really fun (and time consuming) to find people who'd work, but I finally settled on the top four.

Okay, now since I'm paranoid about being sued for using someone else's pictures (it happened to Roni Loren) unfortunately I can't just post them.

But here are the four Main Characters and who would ideally play them:

Jenn Proske as Jaina Indera (MC)

Matt Lanter as Altaïr Kasev (MC)

Taylor Lautner as Azad Viraak (Antagonist)

Logan Lerman as Liam Rodan (Supporting Character)

So those are my top four. By the way, the link leads directly to a picture, and it's pretty much exactly what I imagined them to look like. Still haven't settled on the 'perfect' Jaina, though. (Any suggestions?)

Anyway, that's the first thing I did.

Second, I wrote a backstory for each and every one of them. Not just those four. I mean like, all twelve important to important-ish characters in Book 1.

But of course I couldn't just stop there.

I had to make backstories for people that show up in Book 2 and 3, and sometimes for people who don't show up at all! Like Azad's dad...

I wrote so much about each person in fact, I think I could write a whole novel about most of them. (There's an idea!)

And, since I love music so much, I chose a song (or a few) to go with certain people.

The one I'm currently obsessed with is one that totally describes my Antagonist. He lost something very important to him in his past and it made him the 'bad guy' he is.

The song is called Your Star. Yes, of course it's by Evanescence!

The video has the lyrics in it so if you're not good at hearing the words, you can read it.

Do you guys have trouble making your character realistic? Have you written backstories for your characters? Have you chosen an ideal cast? Share your thoughts!

Happy Wednesday!

-Jess

P.S.

Check THIS out if you want something to post about today! It's really fun :)

Cutting Characters

Page by page, I cut out their names.

I erased them, scene by scene.  I didn't even have the decency to give them an honorable death in battle.  Instead, I simply erased them.  Denying them the adventure, and pretending they never existed.

For those of you that have beta read for me, you probably understand why I needed to do it.  The two of them just didn't add to the story.  I realized I was writing lines for them just so I could say they actually contributed to the story.

You guys never got to know them very well, but to me, they were still people.

And even though they didn't really do anything, they helped make the story what it is today.

Thanks Taryah and Hondo.  Sorry I had to delete you.

Do you guys have trouble deleting characters?


On a happier note, have an awesome weekend!


--Jess

Knights of Micro-Fiction #2

Hello guys! Today is Micro-Fiction day (proclaimed by Kathy and me)!

First of all, I'd really like to thank Rachael Harrie for introducing me to Flash Fiction in her Third Campaign. I started blogging in August of 2011 just before I finished the first draft of The Trials. It feels like a lifetime ago! Anyway, I'd never heard of Flash Fiction before the Campaign. Now, I'm not sure what I'd do without it! Flash Fiction has really helped me develop my stories in short snippets that I can share with you!

It's helped me learn that saying less is really, most of the time, more. I know a lot of people have trouble writing Flash Fic and I'm not saying it's easy. But it's a ton of fun!

I read a lot of entries in the First Challenge of the Fourth Campaign and most of the people who said that it was their first time did an amazing job! Besides, it gives readers a great idea of how and what you write! So, (no pressure) if you want, go ahead and join the fun here or here. Either one is fine!

Anyway, the prompt today is:

Write a Micro-Fiction/Flash Fiction of 250 words or less beginning with these words: "After all this time, there it was..."

I think it's fine to use a little excerpt from your own WiP... that's what I usually do. Except, for me it's usually a part I haven't written yet.

So here I go!

***

Guardians of Paradise (currently unwritten scene from WiP)

After all this time, there it was. In the last place it should be, the one place we thought it wouldn't be. But that didn't change a thing. Because, there it was.

"Is- is that the last one?" I asked.

Cody nodded. "Yeah. That's the last one."

"So," I shifted uncomfortably. "How do we get it?"

He turned to me. "It was never meant to be reached, Eva. Not by normal people, anyway."

The cave dropped into an almost endless pit before us. Only a single pillar in the center stood at our height. But there was no way of reaching it.

"You're not exactly normal, Cody," I remarked.

He shot me an amused look. "You think I can fly?"

"You shielded me from an explosion with your bare hands. I have no idea what you can or can't do," I said.

"Hey, what's that?"

A sliver of light shimmered like a reflection in midair. Cody turned to me then back to the shimmer, a strange sense of realization in his eyes.

He reached down and grabbed a few pebbles of gravel then threw them down into the dark abyss. Only, they fell just a few feet before hitting an invisible barrier.

Cody cautiously reached one foot out into the endless pit. Then the other foot followed. He walked across an invisible bridge. I held my breath but walked across to the golden object.

"What is it?" I asked.

He smiled. "The final key to paradise."

***

Viola!

This is seriously helping out with my WiP. Anyway, hope you liked it! And if you decide to join, the deadline is Tuesday night! Have fun and visit some more people!

--Jess

I Feel Bad For My Antagonist...

PREPOST UPDTATE: Our performance at the Quicken Loans Arena that I talked about in Wednesday's post didn't turn out so well. We all had lots of fun but it wasn't our best run through. And I didn't make the second round of ABNA. Oh well. Better luck next time!

There comes a point in story writing that your characters take on a life of their own. But the more real they become, the more I feel bad about doing bad things to them. I mean, sure, in the end it's all for the better (well, hopefully). Because the whole point of the story is to watch them overcome. I guess they don't always end up 'overcoming' but the possibility of failure is what makes the story interesting. And that's why we have antagonists.

But I feel bad for my antagonist.

I'm pretty sure my beta readers didn't feel bad for him. And my CP hasn't met him yet. I made him pretty easy to hate (I think). But then, I'm the only one who knows his full back-story. And when you really think about it, most bad guys think they're the good guys.

I mean, wouldn't you be angry if all of your efforts to be great were overshadowed by one of the the protagonists? And then if you thought that same protagonist was going to bring the galaxy crumbling down, wouldn't getting rid of them be the right thing?

From our point of view, no. That definitely isn't the right thing. But from his? Probably.

Besides, being the antagonist is hard. No one wants to be hated. Maybe they like causing trouble but they don't want to be hated.

As I said before, there comes a point when your characters take on a life of their own. And I'm pretty sure my antagonist hates me for making him the bad guy.

There ^^ is another antagonist I feel bad for...

What do you guys think? Who's an antagonist you feel bad for? Is it silly to feel bad for the antagonist?

Have a great weekend!

--Jess

P.S.

Knights of Micro-Fiction is on Monday! Be prepared! And, votes for my Campaign Entry are still needed appreciated!

13,000 Words and Counting

Hello everyone and happy Wednesday!

First of all, I really can't wait until February 23 (tomorrow) for two reasons: a) because my synchronized skating team will be performing at the Quicken Loans Ice Arena and b) because that's the day that the ABNA round two entrants will be announced.

I really don't think I made it; I know a lot of people entered. But once that's over, if I haven't made it to the second round I can start looking for other publishers to query. We've had the 2012 edition of the Writers Digest checked out from the library and sitting on my desk since November.

And thanks to Cassie Mae and Angela Cothran's Character blogfest (was it two weeks ago or one?), I got to know some new characters in my head and started a new project!

Yes, it does have something to do with my flash fiction entry in the Campaign (it's right below this post if you want to read it... and votes are still appreciated! I'm entry #19). I'm really excited about it!

I call it... (this is a working title, okay? Not the official name yet): Guardians of Paradise


Sound interesting? I hope so.

Getting to the title of this post, I already have 13,000 words. The thing is, I'm writing it from third person past tense. My first book, The Trials, I wrote from first person POV and present tense so this is a huge change for me. And I find myself using the word 'but' a lot.

So yeah, that's about it for now.

Oh, I almost forgot! What do you guys think of my new blog banner? I know, it's not all that professional or anything but seeing that I made it, I'm pretty happy with it. I don't know. What do you guys think? Does it fit my blog well?

Okay, I'm getting back to writing now!

--Jess

P.S.
Sorry for the rambling-ness of this post... I think I was a little too excited.

Emotion Flash Fiction--> Character Blogfest Day 3

Today is the third and final day of Cassie and Angie's I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest. Thanks so much, guys this has been so much fun!

Anyway, the prompt today is:

Emotion Flash Fiction:


Emotion is the engine of a story. Pick an emotion and in a flash fiction piece of 250 words MAKE us feel it! We want to connect with your character. This will be a challenge in 250 words.


I always love writing Flash Fiction pieces! (If you guys do to, please check THIS out.) Anyway, I thought I'd choose an emotion less powerful than hate, fear or love. (Random Fact: Fear and hate are located in the most primitive part of the brain (making them two of the most powerful emotions).) So the emotion I chose is........ Doubt! This scene will make more sense if you read my first and second entries for the Character Blogfest.

You guys tell me if I did a good job.

***

Cody stared blankly at the computer screen and fumbled with the flash-drive in his hand. He had a choice.


The thought had occurred to him before but he'd never come close to acting on it.


"Forget it," he said aloud. He turned away from his laptop. His dad said the less he knew the better. That he'd be safer.


But what if his dad had lied? He didn't want to think about it but it could be true. His dad could have abandoned him. What if the flash-drive had nothing on it and this was a way to get Cody away from him?


Oh, how he hoped that wasn't true. But then, he kind of hoped his dad hadn't been captured and he wasn't being chased for information, either.


When it came down to it, he wasn't sure which was better. In the end, maybe it was better if he never knew. He turned back to the computer.


But Eva was right. If there was anything on the flash-drive at all, it would give them answers. And wouldn't that be worth it? Who'd know that he'd ever looked at it?


Cody had a choice. Now he had to make one.


He popped the flash-drive into the computer before he could stop himself. A single file opened. He froze. The first two words were in Latin but he knew what they meant.


He blinked away his sleepiness, wondering if he'd read it wrong. He hadn't. His jaw dropped.


"Oh my god."


***

So there you go!

Hopefully that was enough of a cliffhanger to end the blogfest with. Can't wait to read what everyone else wrote!

--Jess

Character Blogfest Day 2

Today is the second day of Cassie Mae and Angela Cothran's I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest. The prompt is:

Dialogue Introduction:

Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue- no back story, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max. 250 words.

Hmm. This is going to be tough. But here I go!

***

"Dad, it's 11:30. That's a lot later than usual."


"I thought you'd be in bed by now, Cody."


"Well, I'm not. I was starting to get worried."


"Everything's fine."


"You're never this late."


"I said, 'everything's fine'."


"Can't you please just tell me what's going on? There's obviously something wrong."


"Cody, I... There's been some trouble with my job."


"Like what?"


"I found something I shouldn't have. Some information."


"You're leaving me in suspense."


"I can't tell you what that information is but if it gets into the wrong hands, terrible things could happen."


"What could possibly happen?"


"I don't know."


...

"So, what are you going to do?"


"I have to keep the information safe. And if I'm not around, you have to."


"What do you mean, 'if you're not around'? You're not going anywhere. Right?"


"Cody, this information is valuable. If only I could tell you-"


"Then tell me."


"No. You'd think I'm crazy."


"I already do."


"Just knowing could get you hurt. As long as you're oblivious, they can't hurt you."


"Dad, you're scaring me. I thought you were a researcher or something."


"I am."


"Who's 'they'? You said 'they' can't hurt me. Are they looking for the information?"


"Cody, listen to me. This is really important."


"What?"


"If I'm ever not back by midnight-"


"Don't talk like that."


"Cody. If I'm ever not back by midnight, I need you to destroy the computers, take this flash-drive, and run."


"You're crazy."


"Understood?"


"Understood."


***

So there you have it! Hope you enjoy!

--Jess

P.S.

For the Campaigners visiting my blog today, HELLO & NICE TO MEET YOU!!

Character Blogfest Day 1

Today is the first day of the I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest hosted by Cassie Mae (at Reading, Writing, and Lovin' It) and Angela Cothran (at Live to Write... Edit when Necessary). I'm sorry that I'm posting so late in the day. We drove all the way to Indianapolis today (it was a 5 hour drive). Anyway! The first prompt is:

Characters on the couch:
Have one of your characters answer the following questions:

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?
2. What do people believe about you that is false?
3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?
4. What would the same best friend say is your redeeming quality? Why?
5. What do you want the most? What will you do to get it?

Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to a brand new character in a story I came up with over the weekend. So, please welcome... Cody Jackson!

ME: So nice to have you here, Cody! Now, let's get started with this interview!


CODY: Um... okay.

ME: What's your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?


CODY: Um, why should I tell you?


ME: Because I'm the writer and I can't write a good story unless I know things about you. I'm like your conscience. You can tell me anything.


CODY: Okay, fine. My biggest vulnerability is my curiosity. My dad who disappeared two years ago told me to protect information that I'm not even allowed to look at. I haven't done it yet because I respect my dad. But seeing that some dudes are coming after me for it, it must be pretty important. And of course it's a secret. I'm not going to tell the world that I'm hiding secret information.
Wait a second. How many people are going to be reading this post?


ME: Don't worry about it, Cody. My followers can keep a secret. So, what do people believe about you that is false?


CODY: That's a pretty big question. Everything people know about me, or think they know about me is false. I don't stick around in one place longer than a week. I don't usually go by my own name. I'm telling you, everything people know about me isn't true.


ME: Wow. Okay. So, what would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?


CODY: I don't have time to make friends. But if I did, they'd say my fatal flaw is that I have trouble letting go. And because of that, I keep everyone at a distance. After my mom died when I was ten, I've tried to keep to myself so I don't get hurt again.


ME: I'm so sorry, Cody. What would your one redeeming quality be? And why?


CODY: I can survive on my own. And for me, that's saying a lot. My dad never said much about why people were coming after the information but if I don't keep it safe, terrible things could happen.


ME: What do you want the most? And what will you do to get it?


CODY: *hesitates* I want my father back. And I'll do whatever it takes to get him back.


ME: You'd do anything?


CODY: *nods*


ME: Cody, thank you so much for joining us today! I know you're kind of on the run so I'll let you go. Good luck finding your dad. Hope to see you soon!


Thanks for stopping by, today! To read other people's entries, go HERE.

--Jess

YA Highway: RTW

Okay, this is the first time I've done the weekly Road Trip Wednesday over at YA Highway. Today the prompt is:


Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters.


I'm going to bend the rules a little bit and use a character from my book versus one of the characters in the book I'm reading. Alright, here I go!


JAINA: "Excuse me, sir, do you need help with that?"
LEO: (Looks up from pile of metal) "Nah, it's fine."
JAINA: "Are you sure?"
LEO: "Yeah, I've had to fix a lot worse..." (starts fiddling with the machine parts, nervously)
JAINA: (Stands watching, not sure what to do) "What are you going to do with it?"
LEO: "I'm going to fix it."
JAINA: "It looks pretty messed up to me."
LEO: "I can fix anything."
JAINA: "Really?" (she raises an eyebrow.)
LEO: (nods then mutters something to himself.)
JAINA: "What's your name?"
LEO: (looks at her but doesn't reply)
JAINA: "Well, it was nice meeting you. I should get going." (she stands up and starts to leave)
LEO: "See ya." (he waves and his hand lights with fire)
JAINA: "What was that?"
LEO: (quickly puts the fire out) "Nothin'. It's perfectly normal. Just a little issue I was born with."
JAINA: "Your hand just caught on fire."
LEO: "Like I said, it's perfectly normal."
JAINA: "Maybe you should take a break from fixing that."
LEO: (looks at the machine then at Jaina) "Okay, fine."
JAINA: "Come on, let's go. I'll get you something to eat."


A little random, I know but I couldn't think of anything else to write about today, lol. To see other entries, click HERE.


What YA characters would you like to see meeting up?


--Jess

Character Blogfest!

Hey guys! The other day, I entered this really cool blogfest hosted by Cassie Mae and Angela Cothran. It's all about characters!!

I've always had trouble writing new characters. Well, the main one isn't too hard, but it's the supporting characters that always turn out flat. So this blogfest is here to helps us show off our characters, and maybe learn something about them in the process.

Days to Post:

February 6th - Monday: Characters on the couch: Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers). 

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?
2. What do people believe about you that is false?
3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?
4. What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?
5. What do you want most? What will you do to get it? 

February 8th - Wednesday - Dialogue Introduction: Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

February 10th - Friday - Emotion Flash Fiction: Emotion is the engine of a story. Pick an emotion and in a flash fiction piece of 250 words MAKE us feel it! We want to connect with your character. This will be a challenge in 250 words.

There will be two winners for each day. Go check out Cassie's or Angie's blog to enter!! It's going to be lots of fun!!

Have a great day!

--Jess

Editing (Part 2)

Okay so I'm not sure how you guys edit your novel (or whatever you're currently working on) but I have a very hard time with changing my work. Now, it's not that I'm attached to what I've written. I can usually spot the things that are wrong in my book, but I'm just unsure on how to fix it!
As I have previously mentioned, I've been having my mom, my younger sister and a close friend read through it and tell me whatever they think might need to be fixed. Of course, we came across a problem. In some of the scenes, my characters looks are inconsistent. Sometimes a girl has brown hair, sometimes it's blond. Some of the characters change between two versions of what I've imagined them to be. To fix this problem, Alyssa (my sister) and my best friend helped me come up with descriptions for each person which was going along pretty well, until they came to a disagreement. The second main boy in the story looks completely different in their minds. The funny thing is, I've imagined the boy in both ways! So not only are they in disagreement, but I'm torn between what he should look like! I know that this really shouldn't be a problem and that I should just make a decision and move on with it... but this is my first novel and I can't help feeling that it has to be perfect.
Of course, I know that it won't be perfect, even in the final draft. I still think it's a good thing to shoot for... don't you?


Have you had any problems that should be an easy fix but you just can't find the solution? 


--Jess