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My Writer Besties
Writing can be a lonely pursuit. Talking to your friends and family about your work in progress is nice, and I did plenty of that, but they don’t really understand what you’re going through and eventually—although they would never say so—they get tired of hearing it. A couple of years ago I was at a spot in my writing career where I had published a few books and had made several connections with other authors at conferences and online. But I longed to connect with writers in my own backyard. To that end, I joined a local writers group, the Pocono Liars Club, which met at my local library. This…
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Character Picture Board
Characters are the most important element of any well-crafted story. So, not surprisingly, a lot goes into creating them. Many writers develop full histories and personality descriptions for even minor characters, including things like where they were born and details of their childhood—even though none of that information ever makes it into the story. And of course, authors need to consider the character's physical appearance. What color are their hair and eyes, what is their race? Are they short, tall, portly, skinny? Even a carefully chosen name can enhance the image the author is creating.
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The Men We Love
You’d be forgiven for thinking this post might be about our husbands, our brothers, or our sons, but my fellow Lady Writers and I want to share a little something about the other men in our lives: the characters we write. Each of us picked a favorite, and it was no easy task. We’ve all written multiple novels and have been a part of many characters’ lives. But there are always standouts, those characters you come to love above all others. Here are ours. The Two Men in My Make-Believe Life Sahar Abdulaziz I’ve written quite a few male characters to date. Some have been devious, sneaky… sociopathic……
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Max the Muse
People often ask authors if the characters in their books are based on real people. I personally have never done that….with people. Sloan’s dog Max, who first appears in Deaglan’s Deception, book 3 of my series, is based on and named after my son’s dog. Max is a Cocker Spaniel who has been my writing buddy for years, snuggling into my lap as I just manage to reach over him to get to the keyboard. He is very much like the dog in my book, down to his wiggly butt and ear splitting bark. But, alas, Max isn’t living with me anymore. My son moved out of state a year ago, but left…
