Friday, May 10, 2013

Tour Post #21

 
Tour Co-hosts:
The Writers Voice is a multi author blog where prominent authors from around the web come together and share their thoughts on all things literary or otherwise. Here is a peek at our team of authors!

When you are reading, what make a character compelling to you? Is it the same aspects that make a character you are writing compelling?

“Unlike many readers I don't want to see myself in the role of the hero. I want characters who have something I don't, something real, unique and different. I love getting to learn about someone who is unlike myself and broaden my horizons.”
–Emma Michaels

 
“I enjoy characters that are multi-dimensional. They have to charm me, but they also have to make me want to smack them in the head when they make mistakes. No one’s perfect, so characters shouldn’t be, either.”
–Raine Thomas




“A believable character, even if the world is not. I hope so.”
–Quinn Loftis



“I don’t like characters who are perfect. I want them to have flaws, just like normal people do. I also don’t like it when characters are always good or always bad. I want them to have layers. Maybe a character is mostly a good person, but is there something that could convince the person to do something bad even though they think they’re justified in their actions? Does the bad guy have a weakness that shows why they do the things they do?”
–Shana Norris

“Characters that are compelling to me have flaws and problems that affect real people every day. I’d take a character with some deep, dark secret over a popular female high school student with a nasty mean streak.”
–Tanya Contois



“Chatty, witty, thoughtful characters that take risk and seek thrills. You know the mad kind. Not really my characters, I don’t force them, they are.”
–Carlyle Labuschagne


“My characters are a mixture of personalities I have encountered in my life. I think I draw a lot from people that have crossed my path throughout my life. However, I create a character from different character traits of more than 1 person.”
–Victoria Simcox

 
“Yes, I think so. I don’t like characters to be wholly good or wholly bad. I hate the perfect guy who never puts a foot wrong. Again, it’s not realistic, and it’s entirely one-dimensional. Guys mess up. Girls mess up. Everyone does. It makes for a very dull, very predictable book. I love characters who are flawed and tortured, and who take some figuring out. It’s great if a character can flat-out floor you with their actions when you expect them to do something completely different.”
–Frankie Rose


“Someone who’s believable, makes decisions based on their motivation, and is real. I do my best to write my characters the same way.”
–Brenda Pandos

 
“Pretty much… I like a strong heroine or hero who is passionate and driven. Whiny, weak minded, wishy – washy MC’s grate on my nerves. I also look for a human element, something that connects them to me in a personal way. If I can say to myself, “Yeah, I know exactly how he/she feels, I’ve been there too,” I’m pretty much sold on the character.”
–Amy Maurer Jones

“I relate most to a character I find like myself. I know that’s a bit self-centered, but it’s the truth. I like characters that I can see myself in. The more I can relate to a character the more I like them. That’s why I’m in love with each and everyone one of my characters, because they hold a part of me in them. I pour a certain part of my soul into each of my characters, making them close to my heart no matter what.”
–Michael Loring


“I like to know the character’s back story…at least know what makes them the character they are. Yes, I do try my best to give my readers character depth.”
–Devyn Dawson



Thank you for reading!
We hope you will join us soon at
The Writers Voice

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Tour Post #20

 
Tour Co-hosts:
 
The Writers Voice is a multi author blog where prominent authors from around the web come together and share their thoughts on all things literary or otherwise. Here is a peek at our team of authors!

Is there one piece of advice you wish
someone would have given you
before you started writing?

“There is so much I have learned since I started but really, I could only have learned it by doing it so I feel it turned out perfectly. For other authors, don’t be afraid to be authentically yourself and write characters that aren’t the norm and always make sure to stay humble.”
–Emma Michaels


 
“I wish someone had told me to do this sooner. If I’d started years ago, I’d have that many more books out there!”
–Raine Thomas


“Plot out EVERYTHING. I wasted a lot of time writing my first book, because I didn’t plot out the story and the major events. It took a lot of meandering before I realized I needed a plan of action before sitting down to undertake a project like that. Now I plot out everything. I know some people work better the other way, but I will always like having a clear goal to work towards. I see it like this—if you’re embarking on a journey, you will always have a map, otherwise you’ll end up very lost and very frustrated.”
–Frankie Rose

 
“Believe in yourself and your craft”
 –Quinn Loftis


“It’s not going to be easy, so you have to love writing and you have to have a lot a faith in yourself to make it worth it. Develop a thick skin and resist the urge to read reviews on your books as much as possible!”
–Shana Norris

 
“Not that I can recall. Before I became a published author I was a book blogger so talking to so many different authors really showed me that it is not as easy as people who aren’t in the literary field believe it to be.”
–Tanya Contois



“You can never edit enough.”
–Carlyle Labuschagne

 
 
“Hire a proofreader.”
–Brenda Pandos


“Don’t be afraid to ask others for help, their opinions, and moral support. I let my personal lack of faith in my ability to write hang over me like a dark, dream-crushing cloud for too long. Two minds are always better than one. Don’t be insecure about your work. If your writing inspires someone else to give you advice, you’re on the right track.”
–Amy Maurer Jones

“Yeah, actually, there is. When I was writing Dehumanized I didn’t realize how the word-count was so important to the length of the novel. I thought I literally had to write three hundred pages on Word! It was very daunting…but I strived and before I knew it I ended up with Dehumanized being five hundred pages! If someone had told me it was all about the word count rather than the page count, I wouldn’t have been so stressed about it!”
–Michael Loring



“Go past your view of perfect and walk away for a few weeks - go back and read the book and edit it.”
–Devyn Dawson



Thank you for reading!
We hope you will join us soon at
The Writers Voice


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