Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Wed, Feb 24 2010
Maybe your characters should sneeze and use a debit card
I paid a couple of bills today and it reminded me that story characters need to do something mundane once in awhile so that readers can identify with them. Unlike those early romantic movies in which heroines woke with no sign of bed hair, readers now want their characters to experience some of life's grittier moments. You don't have to give a blow-by-blow account of a main character's chores, but a mention of the four library books they putting in the car to return or the ATM card they keep leaving in their jeans pocket and laundering gives us a little insight into their personality and thought processes. And a little extra information can give even further insight. As he puts those books into the car and two of them fall out the door, one might be on the history of the Middle Ages and the other might be Grilling for the Common Man. What would your character check out from the library?
posted at: 15:43 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I paid a couple of bills today and it reminded me that story characters need to do something mundane once in awhile so that readers can identify with them. Unlike those early romantic movies in which heroines woke with no sign of bed hair, readers now want their characters to experience some of life's grittier moments. You don't have to give a blow-by-blow account of a main character's chores, but a mention of the four library books they putting in the car to return or the ATM card they keep leaving in their jeans pocket and laundering gives us a little insight into their personality and thought processes. And a little extra information can give even further insight. As he puts those books into the car and two of them fall out the door, one might be on the history of the Middle Ages and the other might be Grilling for the Common Man. What would your character check out from the library?
posted at: 15:43 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
