Monday, August 22, 2011

GUEST BLOGGER: LISA KESSLER-Characters make the Story…



Hi everyone –

Thanks to Marie for inviting me over to her blog today!

My life has been a crazy whirlwind for weeks now and the book blog tour for Night Walker continues in its quest for World Domination… One blog at a time!

Muahahaha! *ahem*

Sorry, it’s starting to get to me, can you tell? LOL

Anyway, now that I’m finally able to share Night Walker, it’s been rewarding to hear people tell me that they “loved” Calisto, or were “worried” for Kate. In order for a story to work, you need to have characters that the reader can care about and root for. Without them, even the best laid plot won’t keep readers turning pages.

When I first started writing and publishing, it was short stories.

Horror short stories to be specific.

I had very few words to create characters that a reader would care about enough to be frightened for them, or conversely, to loathe and be terrified to meet them in a dark alley. It was a great training ground as a writer to learn to use as few words as possible to create a character that a reader connected with.

Short stories also taught me to develop character quirks. They don’t have to be huge, but a quirk can help make a character more memorable and lifelike. We all have quirks, some larger than others, but ask any friend you’ve known for a long time and they can probably give you a list of your quirks.

Anyway, Calisto has a habit of answering questions with another question. By the end of the book, I found his quirk endearing. I’m sure it was infuriating at times for other characters in the book, but it also made Calisto more than just an immortal. It gave him a little touch of human… :)

So do you have any quirks you’re willing to share? Have you given any of your fictional characters quirks? I hope you’ll share…

And if you’re interested in checking out Night Walker, you can find the links to grab a copy and excerpts from the book here…

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/night-walker/
Lisa
I’m very chatty online, so feel free to connect! :)

http://Lisa-Kessler.com

http://lisakessler.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/LdyDisney

http://facebook.com/LisaKesslerWriter

http://facebook.com/NightSeries

http://goodreads.com/LisaKessler

9 comments:

  1. Lisa, I admire you for writing horror stories. *Shudder* I'm a big chicken and couldn't do it. Character quirks, though? Yes. I completely agree that they make characters more real and appealing. I can't wait to delve into my copy of NIGHT WALKER and discover Calisto's quirks for myself. :)

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  2. Hi Cate -

    You know what's funny? I'm a huge chicken too!!! LOL But I do love to read creepy stories, then walk around the house and turn all the lights on! :)

    I hope you enjoy Night Walker!!! Calisto is very old world sexy...

    Thanks for commenting!

    Lisa :)

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  3. World blog domination! Wow, what a great goal! :)

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  4. Hee! I'm far from it, but a girl's gotta have goals right? LOL

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting Aubrie! :)

    Lisa

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  5. Good post. It gives me lots to think about, like maybe my characters aren't quirky enough. Funny how I like to read about them though.

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  6. Hi Phyllis -

    Sometimes it helps to envision how your character speaks and how they do simple tasks like cooking a meal or something and see what you notice about them.

    Little quirks help characters to stick with readers long after the book is done...

    Good luck!

    Lisa :)

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  7. I agree - writing short stories is a great way to make your writing concise and learn how to make every word count.
    I've never really thought about quirks - but I'm going to go and give my current characters a few right now.

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  8. Thanks agin for coming by Lisa! Great post!

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  9. Thanks for having me visit Marie! :)

    And Nina have fun adding quirks! It's one of my favorite parts of character building...

    Thanks for commenting everyone!!!

    Lisa :)

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