Saturday, August 31, 2013

Basing Characters on Real People





Creating a compelling character is more than picking a name, race, and gender. Readers need to invest in your characters. For that to happen, a writer must give their characters back-stories, families, flaws, motives, well-rounded personalities, etc. Given this, some may consider basing their characters on family, friends, foes, teachers, movies stars, or that creepy guy they saw at the gas station last week. So the question remains, should writers base their characters on real people?

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

642 Things to Write About: You realize you have inadvertently become a stalker


"You realize you have inadvertently become a stalker."

All the books and blogs say you need to make a personal connection. The Internet is the perfect place to get to know a person you've never met. I found her blog and read every post. I found her Facebook and scoured her likes and interests. I found a dozen interviews she was featured in and studied every detail. I assembled a profile to record every piece of information that could be even remotely relevant. That's when I realized I was a stalker. In my defense, all the books and blogs say to make a personal connection (in your query letter) with the literary agent you want to represent your manuscript.


Reference (because plagiarizing isn't cool)
The San Francisco Writers' Grotto. (2011). 642 things to write about. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.