Writing A Novel: When Characters Come To Life

When outlining a story, I put a lot of thought into my main characters so that I can make them seem as realistic as possible. However, sometimes a secondary character will surprise by taking on a life of its own.

In BAND GEEK, this happened with the characters Ken and Lenny. Ken was originally meant to just be mentioned in passing and did something very bad to Lana, but ended up becoming a pivotal part of the story. He also turned out to be very likeable as time went on. Lenny was written as a comedic character, but he ended up having a lot of heart ... and he has one serious scene, which gives him a bit more depth.

In my latest novel, I'm really starting to like the character Rachael, who's one of Griffin's sisters. He has three younger sisters -- Rachael, Deborah and Judith, named for my cousin and two sisters-in-law, respectively -- and I originally intended for them to have very small roles in the book. As I wrote for Rachael, though, she developed more and more of a personality -- as is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

What I like about her is that she's strong, outspoken and opinionated, even though she's only 14. She's not the oldest sibling in her family, but she is the oldest girl and is extremely protective of her loved ones. She's a bit of an idealistic and will stand up for what she believes in.

Though I'm an only child, I have plenty of friends with siblings and in most cases, the oldest girl has a certain role in the family. The sister of my childhood friend, Lani, is seven years older than her and seemed like an adult to me when we were growing up. Now that I'm 38, a seven-year difference isn't that big of a deal, but at 15, she'd babysit for us and was so maternal. She was almost like a second mother to Lani and readily accepted the responsibility of looking out for her little sister.

One of my other friends has three sisters and though she's technically not the oldest in terms of age, she's the "oldest" in regards to attiude. My friend is the one who helps organize family dealings, handles family crises and has the shoulders that everyone cries on. Again, she's very maternal and take-charge, and is deeply protective of her siblings.

I guess I was thinking of these women as I wrote Rachael since she has some of their traits. I know that it may seem strange to say that a character "takes on a life" of her own; after all, she's my creation. But even your own writing can surprise you and go in a different direction than what you'd planned. Most writers have experienced this at some point and if you spend a lot of time writing, you probably will, as well.

I'm really pleased with how my recent chapter turned out because it covers a significant event in my novel. I just hope that I can find more motivation in the coming days so that I can continue!

Please read and review my first novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

More Reviews Of BAND GEEK -- And A Defense Of A Character

Got two more great reviews of BAND GEEK from bloggers! You can read YA Book Addict's take and the one written by Unabridged Audra. Thanks again, ladies, for your support -- it's much appreciated. And readers, again, make sure you check out their posts and comment on them so that you can have a chance to win my special giveaway package.

It really means a lot to me to know that so many people are enjoying my writing and characters. I try to have faith in myself as a writer and to not put too much stock in reviews because I don't want the negative ones to bring me down, and I don't want to get too caught up in "believing my own press." But let's face it, I think I can speak for most authors when I say that we definitely care what others think, good or bad. Getting a really positive review makes my day and boosts my confidence in my abilities.

But it seems as if even the readers who adore BAND GEEK still dislike Mel's mom, Lydia. Poor Lydia; that character is misunderstood, I guess, LOL. It's funny, because when I wrote Mel's nemesis, Kathy, I wrote her with the INTENT for her to be the villain. She's the leader of the "mean girls" who taunt my narrator and has many unlikeable moments. However, some have commented that they actually came to hate and like Kathy in some scenes; she's turned out to be that girl whom you "love to hate." Lydia hasn't quite garnered that respect, maybe because she's a mother and should know better? I don't know. Truth be told, though, I didn't write her to be the bad guy. I wrote her to be a very stressed and hypercritical parent who wants what's best for her daughter and goes about dealing with Mel in the absolute wrong way. She does try ... and seems to have failed, even if she does get redeemed. I suppose that it's good that I created a character who's geting such a strong reaction! The good news is that the mom in my latest novel is the complete opposite; she's very laid back and sweet -- to a fault, actually -- and dotes on her daughter. Like I said in my last post, there is no right or wrong way to react to my book, but I wanted to share my perspective and the thoughts that went behind creating this woman.

I'm not a parent, but I do have a niece and a honorary nephew, and have many friends who are new parents. It's interesting to see different parenting styles. Not all adults handle their children in the same way. Some are awful and abusive (I'm not referring to any of my friends here; just parents in general). Some are firm and loving. Some, like Lydia, love their kids but let their own issues affect their relationships. I wrote this story with my teen years in mind, but now that I'm an adult, I can understand the parents' side a little, too. Just because you're a grownup and have children doesn't mean that you have all of the answers. In BAND GEEK, the adults are as a flawed as the teens, if not more.

One of the things that I like the best about writing is exploring the idea of different types of real-life relationships -- for better or for worse. I hope that the characters in my next book make as much as an impression as Lydia, Mel and Josh are for readers of BAND GEEK.

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD, currently 4.6 stars on Amazon and 4.09 stars on Goodreads!

Writing A Novel: Making Characters Different And Interesting

Woo hoo, BAND GEEK got another great review today! This one is from Shari at My Neurotic Book Affair. Make sure you comment on her post so that you can get a chance to win my CD and handmade wire wrapped music earrings.

So far, almost every reviewer -- even the ones who haven't cared for my book so much -- have mentioned how much they like and relate to my narrator, Melinda. This makes me so happy because while writing her, I came to love her (and Josh) almost as if they were real people and put a lot of work into making them come alive. I'm pleased that others are enjoying them as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Now that I'm working on my next book, I'm still trying to get to know these two main characters, Sadie and Griffin. One of my biggest challenges is writing a narrator who's interesting and relatable -- but has a different voice from Melinda. It's taking some work because the girls have some similarites: like Mel, Sadie is overweight (though much more so), is reserved and a bit of a loner, hasn't had much experience with dating, and has musical talents (in Sadie's case, she sings). I put a bit of myself into my characters so it's not surprising that all will pick up some of my real-life traits. But being a writer means you have to "write what you know" and then expand upon that. Sadie's background and homelife isn't at all like Mel's; plus, Sadie is experiencing her first year of college, so the setting is shaping this newer character. I'm still finding her voice, but it'll happen soon enough.

I think it's common for an author's characters to take on certain similarities because they're all coming from the same place: from that author's imagination. My favorite writers have managed to share their voices through their creations -- and mix things up just enough to keep me guessing and wanting more.

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Family Drama

 

One of the most difficult things that I had to do while writing BAND GEEK was write adults who antagonized the kids, but were also sympathetic. Melinda, the narrator, has a very shaky relationship with her mother and Josh constantly clashes with the band's conductor, Mr. Francis. But while the teens see these adults as "villains" (though in some cases, Mr. Francis really is in the wrong), I also tried to portray the situation from the adults' point of view.

In real life, I sometimes argued with my parents as a teen and in my mind, they were always wrong. Now that I'm an adult, I can look back and see things a bit differently and understand why they did some things they did. When it came to Mel and her mom, I tried to write it from both sides. Melinda is hurt by her mom's comments about her weight and resents her parents for not being around often enough. Meanwhile, her mom is stressed because she's taking care of a sick parent and is concerned about her daughter's health. Her mom is not the enemy, but Mel sees her as that.

In Josh's case, he and Mr. Francis are both in the wrong. Josh hates the conductor's tyrannical method of teaching and likes to bug him until the teacher gets angry. Mr. Francis, on the other hand, is sick of having a student interrupt his class and doesn't know how to deal with it. Josh has a much bigger role than Mr. Francis in the story so you can see things more from his point of view, but the conductor does have valid reasons for why he acts the way he does.

When I began writing this book, I was still in my 20s and figured that I have an advantage when it came to writing young adult literature. After all, I was still close in age to my teen characters. But now that I'm in my 30s, I actually feel like I have more of an edge because I've lived through my teen years and have been an adult for much longer. I can now relate to the younger and older characters. Because of this, I think the adults are more realistic.

I attempted to give all of my characters depth and show how they do good and bad things -- and learn from their mistakes. I hope you think so, too.

Please check out my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.