I have three books currently checked out of the library, but I'll be sending two of them back unread. Why? One because it is too heavy, literally. At nearly 500 pages, it is too much to hold. I want light reading right now (pun intended). I've decided, once again, to read from my own shelves, mostly the "shelves" of books on my Kindle and on Donna's Kindle. As you know, we can hold hundreds of books in one hand using our devices.
Using our imaginations
If I quit getting books from the library, I wonder if I could dream up a whole cast of characters and make up my own stories. Nah, I need your help.
First, there's the main character. What does it take to draw us into a story? Someone we care about. I just googled "main character" to find an illustration, and here's what I found:
1. Know what drives your lead character.2. Use secondary characters to add drama and contrast.3. Give main characters suspense-building challenges.4. Brainstorm stakes for each protagonist or antagonist.5. Describe central characters vividly.6. Develop main characters via minor character interactions.
4 comments:
The biggest question I have is what genre is our character in. That's going to determine who they are and what drives me. I usually read mysteries, so the biggest driver there is wanting to make sure that justice is done. Quite often that includes clearing a personal friend who is a suspect.
When I was a young girl, I used to write stories with my Aunt Karen and with my friend Martha. We liked funny stories, so we would write them as outrageous as possible. Martha and I wrote a series of mysteries about a bumbling character named Walter. Karen and I wrote a lot of stories based on Star Trek.
I plan to write a book before I die. It's a life goal. I've been working, on and off (mostly off), on a book about my adventures in Yellowstone Park when I was eighteen.
I hope you will write a book. I'd recommend choosing a character who is like you, but is a better or worse version of you. Or I'd choose a character who is based on someone you have met in your life who you found intriguing.
Good luck, Bonnie. I hope to hear more about this project!
I find the same with print books these days, my iPad is much easier to handle.
Hmm…revenge is always a good motivator, or perhaps atonement
Wishing you a great reading week
The main character should have a cat who is almost a character in itself. Perhaps the main character is animal-driven (think crime or murder at the local ASPCA)
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