How to create authentic characters Characters based on other fictional characters are faded copies of other copies. Go back to the source. Base your characters on your own observations about people. How they behave, how they think, what motivates them, what changes them, and how they interact with each other. It’s much more difficult that way, …
Category Archive: The writing life
Aug 15
On a much brighter note, enthusiastic readers make it all worth it.
I’ve talked to three readers in the last couple of days. One said, “I started reading THE ACCIDENT AT 13th AND JEFFERSON, and now I can’t stop reading. I keep telling the kids to wait one more minute when they need me.” Another, who usually only reads newspapers and history, picked up his wife’s …
Aug 02
The sad thing about finishing a book
I am sitting in a hotel room in Phoenix, waiting for my husband to finish his business at a conference so we can go to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. This seems like a perfect opportunity to indulge in some deep thinking about the possibilities for my next book, but it’s just not happening. And I’ve …