Another small character detail that often gets overlooked by writers before they start writing…….

Hi all,

So, OK, you sit down to write your novel/short story/etc. and you think you know everything about your character. The physical appearance. How he/she looks, what their hair color is, their eye color, whether they’re old or young, whether they are heavy or thin. Heck, you even know the entire mental history of the character as well, including the fact that he/she really, really hated his 5th grade teacher. But they also liked the cute boy/girl that sat by the window in that class and that’s what kept them going all year. Why you even charted out the entire timeline for that character, including emotional and sexual history. But then, yeah, there’s still something missing.

Do you know the birthdate of you character? Oh, sure, you know how old he/she is but do you know when/where they were born? Most writers are good with the general age part but have not nailed it down to an exact date. And why is this necessary for your writing? Well, I can answer in one world. Astrology. After thinking about everything about your character (mental, physical, emotional), IMO, it is important to also consider the astrological sign of your character. Is your character a sexy Scorpio (like my Dracula and Erik characters are), a sensitive soul (a Pisces) or even, a powerful, ‘bullish’ type character (an Aries). Thinking about when your character was born (day and month) will allow one to fully integrate and emphasize more of the character’s traits. Also, vice verse, you can work backwards so that once you’ve developed a character, you can assign he/she a birthdate.

Again, it’s probably not paramount to assign a birthdate (and astrological sign) to every, single character in your novel. If the character only has a walk on, walk off part, then no. But, if the character makes up a significant portion of your novel/short story, I’d say go for deciding on an astrological sign. Because by giving your character a definite birthday, not only can you write cool short stories (imagine the teasing Vlad endures when its his birthday) but you can also tip off a closer reader to what may be in store for the character or what the character may do. An astrological sign may even partially explain a character’s motivation in a work. So yes, astrological sign. Pick one for your character. It’s a small detail but one that can add up to be very significant in your written work.

Take care all,
Christine

PS----If you’re interested in astrological signs, check out this wikipedia link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_sign

The Devil's in the Details...........

Hi all,

Yeah, I’m over at this blog today:)

Anyway, I’m sitting in church yesterday and looking at the mass book. Yeah, yeah, I confess I should be more involved but I mostly attend church to drive my elderly mother (rest is a longer story). In any case, I look down at the book and the cover is one with Jesus and his disciples. So, I start doing what any really observant person does. I begin to count the disciples. Because in some paintings, artists get sloppy sometimes and leave one (or two) out. Now, for those of you who aren’t Christian, there’s suppose to be 12 disciples or followers of Jesus. My finger counts. One, two, three. And stops. At ten. So where’s the other two? Well, Judas was um..the bad one and he’s already gone in this picture (long dead). So yeah, that accounts for him. But then, there’s another disciple missing. Thomas. And then, I have a moment of “Ah, OK, that works” because in the scene that the artist is depicting on the mass book, Thomas is suppose to be out of the room. So, suddenly, I have a greater respect for the artist. Because now I know that he/she knows his ‘back-story’ (religion) and portrays it in the picture.

So what does this all have to do with writing? Well, I didn’t come here to blog about religion (though I may eventually touch upon this issue. As it relates to vampires, anyway). But, really the point that I am trying to get across in this post to the readers of this blog (some of whom I hope are also authors) is that a writer must never forget the small details. Because yes, the reader will pick up on them. And seeing that they remain consistent in your story (and logical), will have new respect for you as an author and hopefully, for your book, novel, short story, etc.

Some of the finer details a writer should worry about are the date. If you say that it’s a Monday and give the calendar date right down to the month/day/year, use a calendar and make certain that it truly was a Monday on that date. Yeah, the reader will check. That’s one of the first things I do. Also, keep eye, hair color, etc., consistent in your novel. Again, it seems logical but every once in awhile a character will have brown hair on page 25 and, on page 145, have blonde hair. Finally, be aware of left-handed, right-handedness. Because I write Dracula as a character and it is tradition to write him left-handed (My Phantom character is left-handed as well), I am always cognizant of the handedness of my characters and write them as such.

Therefore, then, I guess the point of this blog post is for us writers to be careful about the minor details. They seem insignificant but much like in the church painting that I saw on Sunday, will make a difference to your reader. Oh, and May 14, 1888 was also a Monday. In case you were wondering:)

Take care all,
Christine

Welcome to my blog!

Hi all,

Well, I finally figured out how this new blog site works so I decided to post an entry. I would like to welcome all of you who are reading this entry as well as to especially welcome my friends who have become fans of my work these past few years.

It’s been a long road but I’m happy and excited to say that my first novel, “Vampires at the Opera” is being published by L&L Dreamspell. A crossover of two Gothic novels, my novel interweaves and extends the original Stoker and Leroux tale. Slated to be released this Fall, I am now working with L&L Dreamspell on editing and developing my book cover. I feel privileged to be part of a great team that includes many other wonderful writers of different genres. I’ve always enjoyed writing so I think that this blog will be fun for me. Therefore, please check back regularly to read my updates. Though I am a writer and will write about writing topics on this blog site, I have a wide range of interests (vampires, horror fiction) and so, might post about these topics as well.

Until next time then, hope your days are filled with romance. And vampires. Much like peanut butter and jelly, they go together so well.

Take care all,
Christine