Pinterest

Anne Claire's post over at A Novel Idea led me to Pinterest.com yesterday. Why do you ask? Because of this!

These are my character's for the third book, BLEED IT OUT! And they're all in one place. This is just my board, the only one for right now, but I plan to make a board for each WIP so I can refer to them often and not have to open dozens of files on my laptop to get the photos I want.

This website could be a great tool for writers. You don't have to only put your characters up there. You can use it for setting, motivational photos, inspirational...anything you want! There's also a social factor where you can become friends with other users.

How to start:

1. Go to www.pinterest.com
2. Request an invite
3. Wait less than a day to be invited to join. (It's a brand new site, they probably don't have a lot of room just yet, but they're working on it.)
4. Join with your Facebook or Twitter account.

5. Start pinning!

Can I Get a Re-do?

My first novel, as you may know, will never see the light of day. It was a "prequel" to LET ME OUT and the book I'm currently revising. These are stand alone titles. They are connected, but not in a series. This being said, the hero of my first novel is FREAKING HOT! And I want to use him in another book.

He is yummy. My crush for Daniel Craig actually started my writing career (he's my muse) and even though my first book didn't make it, I want to use him again (and again and again...) Of course, he'll have a different name, different personality, etc. But what do you think?


Is it wrong to use characters twice? Do you re-use yours?

Do You Care?

There have been several instances where I've read a novel and either the MC isn't real enough for me or I can't relate to them at all. Sometimes there's no sympathy and that's when I usually stop reading.

Recently, my husband started reading my second novel (and this is part of the reason why I decided to revise a little more). He noted that he was stuck on Chapter 5 because it was hard to sympathize with a MC that was so cold and calculating. There wasn't any real personality to her. I'd also received this little tidbit from a trusted reader and that's when I started thinking seriously about this topic. So I went hunting for ways and advice to bring life and sympathy to those near and dear to me.

Paula Eykelhof of MIRA Books, in an article written by Brenda Novak, says,

“Readers will care about what happens next only if they can care about your characters, connect with them in some way and feel interested in their personalities and their fates.” 

And in her article, 10 Ways To Improve Your Romance Novel, Brenda Novak expands a little further:

Be sure your protagonist always has something important and personal at stake. When choosing your point of view, tell the story from the viewpoint of the character (or characters) with the most to lose.

So I ask: What makes the reader care about your characters as much as you do?