Book Title: The Jewel
of Nirel
Author: Ann Snizek
Release Date: July 27, 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Length: Over 86,000 Words
Publisher: Snow Flower Enterprises
Presented by: As You Wish Tours
Tour Schedule:
The
Jewel of Nirel
Character
Building
One of the main points of fiction writing is building your
characters. You need your readers to
connect with your people, human or not, in order for them to invest their time
in reading the entire story.
I have several characters in my books that are as real to me as many
flesh and blood people. I know their
likes, dislikes, quirks, mannerisms… every little bit possible. This allows me to write in a realistic way.
Start out by writing up a profile for each character. Put their physical description, but don’t stop
there. Add any quirks or particulars
that make them who they are. This isn’t
for your readers to look at necessarily, but for you to use as a reference. It allows you to track that you said they
love apples on page 10 and not be allergic to them on page 110… unless of
course something happens to change that fact about them.
You need to know about their personalities too. This allows for consistency throughout your
writing. We each have characteristics in
our personality that our family and friends can say,” that is exactly like
you!” We want to have that same
connection with those we read about. If
we have someone in our book do something out of character, it should be known
to the reader without always saying that it is out of character.
I like to pick one or two personality traits that stand out the most in
each character. I develop some level of
backstory for the main people… enough to understand why they are the way they
are. This helps with their future
interactions and reactions to events and co-characters.
The depth that you go into it all depends on you. Naturally, the main people get the most
detail, but where to stop is up to you.
I’ve heard that have a character write a journal helps. While not all my characters are the journal
keeping kind, I have used this for a few and I like how it worked out. I even discovered a few things about them
that I didn’t know.
I think the key is to never underestimate the importance of developing
your characters.
BLURB
For the people of
Tunuftol, and other countries on the planet Nyssa, names found them starting at
twelve months old… at the earliest. Along with the names came certain skills or
powers. Depending on what you did with your powers determined what type of person
you were, and sometimes affected future names. Therefore, names had great
importance in Tunuftol, and Krissa had more than a few… nine to be exact. Her
full name was Krissa Lysandra Rue Alverna Harley Mya Magryta Freya Wittek,
which is quite a mouthful.
The dangers haven't ended for our friends yet. The weather is starting to warm and the war started last fall is under way. Journey with Krissa and the crew as they struggle to keep their world safe and find their place in it.
The dangers haven't ended for our friends yet. The weather is starting to warm and the war started last fall is under way. Journey with Krissa and the crew as they struggle to keep their world safe and find their place in it.
AUTHOR BIO
I grew
up in Vermont mostly and now live in Virginia with my family (those still at
home). My husband and I have a blended family of seven kids. My childhood was
spent moving around a lot. (non-military) About five years ago, we started
home-schooling our youngest children. Now there are only two remaining in
home-school. I have tried to nurture the love of books in our children and now
our grandchildren -- always nurturing their imaginations. Recently, I have
become active in our community with literacy, starting a local (and online)
creative writing club and volunteer tutoring at the Adult Learning Center.
I struggle with Fibromyalgia and PTSD. So, have to be
careful not to overdo things... I don't always listen to my own advice. I have
a dry, sarcastic and corny sense of humor and always try to look at things
optimistically. (again not always successful) However, I feel that if I don't
give up -- for long -- then things will work out for the best eventually.
AUTHOR LINKS
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4 comments:
This is a great post with great tips, esp as I start a new MS (:
Thank you SO much Dorothy for having me today!!!! <3
Thank you Fida Islaih. I'm glad to help. :D
Oh! What an amazing post to read! Thank you for sharing it with us!! You are an inspiration for all of us!
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