3T Writing Tidbit - An Easy Way to Create More Interesting Characters

We're told to hook the reader with the protagonist within 5 pages by showing them as likeable, or doing something heroic, or being funny, or one of a number of other things.

Which is fine, but what do we do with the character for the other 295 pages?

Here's an idea which also has some personality analysis behind it.

There's this thing called Myers-Briggs® Personality Type which authors sometimes use to give their characters a constellation of related traits.

But did you know that, when that personality feels threatened or frustrated, the Opposing Role -- the exact opposite -- can show up as a defender? Makes us more interesting as people (and a little scary) -- and it can do the same for your character!

Give them a set of related characteristics, but also give them one or two exact opposites. Now you not only have the nut on the guitar, you have the bridge and can have fun with the string between! (In other words, it gives your character depth and resonance.)

Example: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is extremely smart and driven. Yet he's dumb about his cocaine use and suffers bouts of ennui, the exact opposite.

The cool thing about this technique is you can also use it to pep up your character's physical description. My vampire lawyer Julian is tall, dark, and handsome - and graceful. But instead of having the expected slim, artistic hands, his are square and competent (which draws the heroine Nixie in spite of his stuffy lawyerliness). The contrast can draw in the reader, too!

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.  

2T Repeat Performance

I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!

Originally published September 4, 2013 for Deal Sharing Aunt

Thank you to Deal Sharing Aunt for having me here today!

Who are your three favorite vampires?

Rhage from J.R. Ward’s Lover Eternal, not because of who he starts out as, but because of who he becomes when he meets the woman who is the love of his life.

Julian Luna from Kindred: The Embraced, an eight-show television series from 1996. He was hard yet fair, flawed yet trying to overcome those flaws. Sexy as anything. And in love with smart, hardworking, ethical human reporter Caitlin, which made him vulnerable and all the more wonderful.

Angel or Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Dracula from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. I’m not sure which of these television or novel über vampires should get the nod. Angel for who he was, Spike for who he became. Dracula because just the cover scared me as a kid and the story still makes me shiver.

3T Writing Tidbit - What's your point of view?

I wrote a story a while back where the couple was a woman of 26 (25 being the average age of a woman's first marriage at the time) and an ageless (looks around 28) vampire. There were other characters in the story but most of them were about the same age, except for one retirement aged man and two older women.

Now, one of the older women had moments of quite broad humor. But most of the characters in this story were quirky. And I myself am an older woman, so I didn't see any problem.

I was surprised therefore when a reader wrote with how offended she was with how I treated older women in the story.

Here's why. We all read stories through a point-of-view character. When we really get into a story, a lot of times we'll see ourselves as that character. Think Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes literature.

What I didn't get at the time was this: not everyone's point-of-view character is the heroine (or hero if the reader's male).

Here's what I figured out. An older woman might not see herself in the main female character - she might see herself in the older female characters.

So be careful writing your characters. If you have an evil character, make sure you have a balancing character - one of the same characteristics who is good. Because you never know which character the reader will identify with.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance

I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!

Originally published September 3, 2013 for Rachel Brimble Romance

Thank you to Rachel and Rachel Brimble Romance for having me here today!

1.         What do you wish men understood about women?

So many things J. Sometimes we don’t want them to fix things, we just want them to listen. Active listening is supportive, and encourages—mmhmm and uh-huh are perfectly fine and helpful.

2.         Do you only work on one book at a time?

I used to. But there are tons of awesome authors out there producing five or ten (or more) wonderful books a year. Which is great—it encourages me to always look for ways to write more, and write better. I still usually do one thing at a time, for example, write new material on one book in the morning and edit another in the afternoon. Some parts of the process need time to simmer, or time off between passes, and I try to take advantage of that. In August, I’m doing pre-edits on Downbeat (Biting Love Book 7, coming March 2014) during weeks two and four, and working on a new proposal during weeks one and three.

3.         Who is your favorite fictional couple?

Francis Crawford of Lymond and Philippa Somerville, from Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles (books). Then in no special order it’s Holmes and Watson from Sherlock Holmes (books/television); Bones and Booth from Bones (television); Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy from the Dresden Files (books/television); Rhage and Mary from Lover Eternal (book) and Ramses Emerson and Nefret Forth from the Amelia Peabody series (books).

 

3T Writing Tidbit - Writing the Holidays

 If you google "Writing the Holidays" (I'm writing this the last day of 2024, so I'm assuming people are still googling, but who knows what evolution AI will have effected) you'll get everything from writing holiday stories to writing despite the holidays to writing to stay sane through the holidays.

I have a short but different take. Be aware of the holidays and use that awareness to write better stories (holiday or not).

In the northern hemisphere, days leading up to December 21 are getting darker and darker. Not only do days themselves shorten, but the daylight itself becomes thin, like nightmare lighting. The effect is more marked the farther north you go.

In the southern hemisphere, this happens in June, but they deal with it the same way northerners do.

GIVE ME MORE LIGHT

Sydney hosts the largest festival of lights. In my subdivision, December sees us rivaling small countries in use of electricity.

Here's the writer's take on it. Check out these two images (made with Stencil).

 

 The first really pops! Lots of things going on, lots of color and light.

The second is much more sedate. Only a few people, and there's only two colors of light, blue and pale yellow.

But here's the twist. Look at the text. In which picture does it stand out more?

Well, right. The second. So does that mean we should always go for the more singular, subdued light?

Sure -- if you want the text to stand out. But if you're writing a mystery, the best way to hide a clue is in plain sight -- with a whole passel of color and light and bustle going on around it.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.   

2T Repeat Performance - Series Inspiration

I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!

Originally published September 2, 2013 for Blackraven's Erotic Cafe

Thank you to Blackraven and Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe for having me back!

How does the inspiration come to you for the next book in this series?

Short answer? There are a bunch of alpha males and quirky females running around in my head jostling to get out :)

Longer answer, the series has a broad arc of three stories per villain, each bad guy more cunning and harder to beat. The final book as planned will be the boss villain against Kai Elias, the leader of the Iowa Alliance.

So then it’s a matter of fitting each hero/heroine into their best place in the arc. For example, one of my heroines had to be a doctor, to help reveal information on my vampires’ physiology. I also needed to establish the setting of the north woods cabin for a future story. So I created Synnove.

Then I had to pick a romantic interest. Since I love to crash opposites into each other, and Synnove is substance over style, that meant creating mega-style adman Ric. As a boy, Ric was turned by vampire villain Nosferatu, so I got to reveal some cool background about him and Elias.

The thing that sold Synnove for me is that her cousin is Twyla Tafel, whose story was started in The Bite of Silence. Twyla’s Happily Ever After was waiting for her in those north woods. Better yet, the event triggers Synnove’s HEA. When the pieces fit, I have the start of a story. When they resonate into something more, it’s worth writing.

I have to admit, though—it’s not all planning. Sometimes a character will simply leap out of my psyche and take over the pages. Logan and Twyla were both like that. And Aiden, deadly assassin and Ric’s sidekick, whom you’ll meet in Beauty Bites, grabbed Book 8.

When do you decide that it's time to close a series?  What are the signs you look for?

I think it depends on the series. Some, like J.D. Robb’s Eve Dallas or Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe are open-ended. Some have a natural end, like a trilogy with three friends, each of whom finds their love. Some have a scripted end, where the last hero meets the biggest villain. Some jump the shark, where, in an effort to make the stakes larger or the twist unexpected, a story reaches outside itself for inspiration. It’s important to expand the story first, then bring in the shark :).

Did you think the series would go as long as it has?

In my head it always has J. I’ve had to learn better ways of creating new situations and increasing the stakes without jumping the shark. As many writers do, I have themes that resonate strongly for me, and those will show up again and again. But I feel very fortunate to have great editors, writers, readers and the whole community of people who love stories whose support and encouragement keeps my writing fresh.

3T Writing Tidbit - What's in a Name?

I recently wrote a rant post on repetition, how over-repetition drives me nuts, and techniques to avoid that. Avoid over-repetition, not driving me nuts.

Here is one place to break that rule. When first establishing a character, do repeat the character's name several times.

 Back when they had TV intros, several took advantage of this. Whatever you think of the set tensions, I can still remember "Who am I? I'm Rick Castle Castle Castle" and "Every writer needs inspiration and I've found mine Detective Kate Beckett Beckett Beckett".

Now, this doesn't have to be a straight repeat like Nixie Nixie Nixie (or Beetlejuice... nope, not saying that one 3 times). You can change up how you get your character's name in the reader's mental ear. Make it part of the title (Biting Nixie) or have established characters talking about her before or after she shows up. Make it explicit by having her introduce herself or make it implicit by weaving it into the scenery (a lawyer or banker on a billboard; a singer's song streaming in the background).

Mix these approaches up to make sure your character's name stays with the reader.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.