Monday, April 18, 2016

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SO, DO YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR?
Hello to all my wonderful friends and followers. Sorry for being gone, but like I always say: "Sometimes work gets in the way of more important things like writing."

So, to pick up where I left off. I think I was giving ideas about how to create a novel.

Today, I'll talk about where did all my characters come from? Well, since Mark is the first character in my novel, the question is where did I get him and why did I make him the way he is?

First, I did not want a clone of myself. I tried very hard to make him unique. He is not really the hero type, but he has his strengths and weaknesses that make him rather unique. I though about what kind of boy he should be. How old, something about his looks, his likes and dislikes, etc. At first, I think I had him too wimpy, so I went back through the manuscript that I had written so far and rewrote some scenes where he could be strong and aggressive, yet compassionate. I gave him some faults too like his anger issue and desire for revenge, lacking the capacity for forgiveness. I think characters don't ring true unless you give them weaknesses and faults to overcome. For example, Mark starts out angry. He wants revenge for his family's deaths. Throughout the book he struggles with that issue. In short, I had to ask myself, how would a seventeen year old senior in high school react to losing his entire family, except for his kid sister. Then, add to that, having to enroll in a new high school where some of the kinds hated him.
So, where do you get your characters? If you're serious about wanting to be an author, you have to make your characters as real as possible.

Before I quit for now, I need to ask, have you "Liked" and "Shared" this blog post on Facebook yet, or "Retweeted" it on Twitter yet. Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourselves and give comments to my posts. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. You can read some GREAT reviews on both of them.
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About Paul West

Paul West is a freelance writer and novelist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paul claims to be a "Prune Picker," though he now makes his home in Taylorsville, Utah.

You can follower him on Twitter: @PaulWWest

Published: Monday, April 18, 2016

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