Watching bones :D ANYWAYS

The thing that really hit me today was characters. I know you would think writing your fourth book you would be in touch with all of your characters personalities, but I got to see a new side to my main guy Seth. Now i have a lot of fun with Seth, he has been depressed, happy, angry, in love and basically everything else, except crazy. Well guess what I got to do today? My hero has gone mad due to, call it a drug addiction (but its not). I get to see a whole new side that I didn't know he had (if you are not a writer you will not understand this at all).

So you go through all your characters. When I first started writing a book I usually start of with stereotypical personalities and then grow on it. For example I will go back to Seth. At first I knew Seth would be a man who was over coming depression and was almost never happy. As time went on I figured he was depressed because his parents died young and he was protective of his sister. She was the only family he had left, until she died under the wrath of my main girl's father. You see? Now all in one chapter he has a past which is sure to add to his personality in the future.

As the book went on he became happier and happier. He went from being alone to having someone and that made all the difference. there is depth, there is a way for me the writer to get in the characters head, and he has went from being a depressed kid in the corner to a person with a past.

Rule: All people have a past, characters must too.

Now as you may have noticed, you are not perfect, and as hard as it may be to believe I am not either, so your characters can't. My main female Elizabeth has a stutter, Seth is a wreck half the time, Isabella (Elizabeth;s sister) has insecurities.

Rule: No one is perfect, either is your character

One last thing, most people need to be able to be able to relate to at least one part of their characters personalities, so if you are having trouble, make them have one part of you. All my characters have some part of me, and as time goes on maybe I will be able to make one completely different. Especially if you are just starting out this can be a good start for you.

I really hope this helps, and makes sense you guys!!

-Ally

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bones is still on :D ZACK IS BACK! ... if you watch that show you will know what I am talking about. anyways just catching up. see you guys in two days!

"I looked behind me. the train was leaving the station making my long blond hair ruffle in the wind." This was the first sentence I ever wrote in my novel. The chapter title was fittingly, The Beginning. I saw no better way to start this blog. Since then the first sentence has changed, first off I have changed all my book from first person to third person (never ever again!). Now the first sentence is, "Elizabeth Parker looked out the window aimlessly. At first glance she looked like a confused adolescent wondering where she was going." A little better yes? It is amazing what two years can do to a girls ability (well one and a half). Okay enough of me. After much debate I have finally decided what to make my first post. Fittingly, I decided it must be writing the beginning of a novel. Now before I start anything I am inclined to say these are my opinion and techniques, and I don't mean anyone else is doing anything wrong. Do what works for you. 


Now I decided to write a novel after a lot of drama went on in my life and I needed a positive way to let out my anger. I had been having nightmares about the story line of my book since I was ten. I still have them, but as I get older the story progresses from a scene, to a novel. It started out with only six characters. My main character Elizabeth was a princess stolen away to fight her father. That was the story. That was it. I was ten, give me a break. Back then her now love interest Seth Kennedy was her best friend. It wasn't until I was twelve that I thought I could make it into a romance novel. My story progressed in my head for two years (closer to three actually) before I put anything down on paper (and guess what? No more princess!). My dreams have been my main source of inspiration, and I found the only way for me not to fear the dreams was to put them on paper, because a lot of them were very gruesome.  


I suppose that was step one of starting a novel If you want to get any where, you need inspiration. Currently I take inspiration off of anything including, dreams, music, other novels, movies, and personal experiences. Another thing I think you need is pressure. One of the reasons I stuck with the novel was because I had one hundred people over me telling me that I would never do this. I felt the pressure to finish the book and shove in their faces, as if to say haha, look how far I have come. 

All it takes is an idea. It has to be good, yes, but never put an idea because it is far fetched, or you don't think you could do it justice. Writing is a skill, just like everything else. I didn't pick up a guitar and already know how to play it, just like when I started writing it was dreadful. Now granted if you are older you will have more quality in your writing but if you are starting off young like me chances are you won't be much better. 


Now back to the idea of something being to far fetched. Have you seen half of what people are writing about. We have Star Wars, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, The Hunger Games. Hell I even remember reading a very clever story about a girl who got sucked into facebook (literally). My story is far fetched, and it takes me two hours flat to make someone somewhat understand what it is about. Nothing is too far fetched if you can make it interesting to the reader. 


All you need to do is give writing a chance. If you have an idea and are considering writing, write four chapters. By then you should know if writing is for you. I knew as soon as the rising action started that I had to do this, and if I didn't I would regret it for the rest of my life. Now I don't know what I would do with myself if I wasn't writing. Sure, it is a big change in your life and you need to set aside time to write, but think for one minute. Think of that moment when you finish your novel. Hell I get pleased when I finish reading a novel, but the feeling I got and still get after writing one is priceless. You write for the giddiness you feel when you have one more chapter to go, that second when you fall in love with your heroine, the moment you cry when you kill off your favourite character, and that first person telling you your work is amazing. I can't describe it. -Erin