It’s interesting how perspective works its way into our lives. For instance, a family can each take something different away from the same movie. My daughter turned on Finding Nemo the other day. I said, “This is a movie about a parent’s love, and how they’ll do anything for their kids—even chase them across the ocean.”
My husband agreed, but my daughter (17) heartily disagreed. “No it’s not! It’s about a fish with an overprotective parent.”
I’ve watched movies with my husband and had the same experience. Each of us relates to, or sympathizes with a different person in a movie. And that’s a good thing. If there are several characters that different people can each relate to, it makes the movie more successful.
So, on to writing: Does our novel only have one well written character? Does it have a well written MC and antagonist? Does the MC have a well written friend?
This is my thought: it’s really hard to write a good main character and to show his/her emotions and growth throughout a novel. Then, add to that the difficulty of writing a story with several well written characters.
Is this why the Harry Potter series was so successful? It has Harry—the underdog. Ron—the well-meaning best friend. Hermione—the know-it-all overachiever. There are the stuck up kids at school that everyone can relate to because every school has them, and an assortment of bad guys to keep things exciting.
More recently, there’s the Twilight series. Bella—pretty, but socially awkward. Her dad—loves his daughter, but doesn’t quite know how to act around her. The mom—ditzy and loveable, but totally into her own life. The Cullens—an eclectic family that each arrived at their “vegetarian” status through different life-experiences and cling together with fierce loyalty. Edward—good looking, smart, kind—would do anything for Bella. And Jacob—also good looking, smart, and kind—but who won’t do anything for Bella, except love her.
There are other examples where people read one book and they’re hooked with characters that come alive on the page. We don’t just see the main character’s “Sunday self” we get to see them at their best and at their worst, and how they interact with the others.
All I’m saying is: Does my most recent manuscript have a plethora of well-rounded characters like these novels do? Now I’m going to need to pay attention to this little detail while I’m editing.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
THE MARK
written by M.R. Bunderson is an Urban Fantasy with a little mystery and a little romance—it’s an enjoyable read, and perfect for the tween in your life. I got this book at the Storymakers’ conference last year, and it’s the only one I bought where I wasn’t able find the author and get her autograph.
The story starts with main character, Tori, using a biology magnifying glass and noticing that the small birthmark on her hand is actually a microscopic design of some sort. Her best friend, Shae, doesn’t see anything more than a brown spot even with the magnifying glass.
The mystery deepens when Tori and Shae double date with Shae’s boyfriend and his best bud, Eric, from out of town. When Eric takes Tori’s hand to help her into the car, she feels a wave of strong emotions that takes her back to a place she doesn’t remember ever being, except she has never felt more at home than at that mysterious place.
They find out that Amanda, a girl who goes to Tori’s high school, can also share feelings and memories with them. There are five kids total, four of them were stolen from their homes as infants or small children and adopted into relatively stable homes in America.
Together, they discover all the things they have in common—extremely good eyesight, the same lavender-colored eyes, they’re unusually healthy and none have ever been sick, and they each have a mark similar to Tori’s. They also discover their various extra talents—Tori can enter and share memories with the others, Eric feels when danger is near and desires to protect.
As they search for clues to their identity, and wonder if they’re a rejected scientific experiment or if they’re children of Atlantis, they meet two people from their homeland. Sebastian is their age, and has the ability to seek out others of their race, and has come to help guide them home. Marco is willing to kill in order to keep them from knowing the truth about their lives, and is willing at all costs to keep them from returning to their homeland.
If there’s a sequel, I’ll definitely want to read it. Kudos go to M.R. Bunderson for a well-written and fun to read novel.
The story starts with main character, Tori, using a biology magnifying glass and noticing that the small birthmark on her hand is actually a microscopic design of some sort. Her best friend, Shae, doesn’t see anything more than a brown spot even with the magnifying glass.
The mystery deepens when Tori and Shae double date with Shae’s boyfriend and his best bud, Eric, from out of town. When Eric takes Tori’s hand to help her into the car, she feels a wave of strong emotions that takes her back to a place she doesn’t remember ever being, except she has never felt more at home than at that mysterious place.
They find out that Amanda, a girl who goes to Tori’s high school, can also share feelings and memories with them. There are five kids total, four of them were stolen from their homes as infants or small children and adopted into relatively stable homes in America.
Together, they discover all the things they have in common—extremely good eyesight, the same lavender-colored eyes, they’re unusually healthy and none have ever been sick, and they each have a mark similar to Tori’s. They also discover their various extra talents—Tori can enter and share memories with the others, Eric feels when danger is near and desires to protect.
As they search for clues to their identity, and wonder if they’re a rejected scientific experiment or if they’re children of Atlantis, they meet two people from their homeland. Sebastian is their age, and has the ability to seek out others of their race, and has come to help guide them home. Marco is willing to kill in order to keep them from knowing the truth about their lives, and is willing at all costs to keep them from returning to their homeland.
If there’s a sequel, I’ll definitely want to read it. Kudos go to M.R. Bunderson for a well-written and fun to read novel.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
LOGLINES
In a moment of delirium, I signed up for an agent-pitch at the ANWA writers' conference. It must have been delirium that made me think I could sit face-to-face with an agent and talk coherently about my work.
It's one thing to write enticing loglines for your novel, it's another thing all together to remember it when someone asks about your book. However, in anticipation of the conferoence and the agent pitch looming in my near future,I have written a logline for each of my novels.
You think I'm a gifted writer? You want to read more? Why, yes, I happen to have copies of all five of my novels here in my purse.--This is the way a writer dreams--it's the way I do, anyway.
Here are my loglines. I'd love a comment on what you think.
Farewell, My Denmark:
A Danish convert reluctantly joins the 1863 Mormon pilgrimage to America. She gets more adventure than she bargains for when thieves catch her searching for stolen heirlooms, and she fears she may not live long enough to open her heart to love.
My Sweet Danish Rose:
When her family immigrates to America, a Danish girl stays to care for her aging aunt, but is left on her own when the aunt is sent to the poor house. In order to escape the home of the tyrant who has taken her in, she must decide whether or not to forsake her religion for love.
The Almost Missionary:
A young man sets out on his mission hoping, but not believing that he can defy his family genetics and be a successful missionary. It isn’t until after his father’s heart attack, and he almost goes home early, that he learns what it means to be the Lord’s servant.
Fairy Dust:
A menopausal woman wakes to discover she has fairy wings and a fairy mission to perform. She must master the art of flying, solve the fairies dilemma, battle pixies, deal with a hateful neighbor, and turn her family into believers—all while keeping the house clean and having dinner ready on time each night.
East of Eden, a ghost story:
A young man has a strong attraction to a beautiful ghost who haunts him. It’s through recurring dreams that he’s his great-grandfather, a man who was involved in Arizona’s biggest unsolved gold heist, that he learns the identity of the spirit and gains the strength to battle the demons in his own life.
It's one thing to write enticing loglines for your novel, it's another thing all together to remember it when someone asks about your book. However, in anticipation of the conferoence and the agent pitch looming in my near future,I have written a logline for each of my novels.
You think I'm a gifted writer? You want to read more? Why, yes, I happen to have copies of all five of my novels here in my purse.--This is the way a writer dreams--it's the way I do, anyway.
Here are my loglines. I'd love a comment on what you think.
Farewell, My Denmark:
A Danish convert reluctantly joins the 1863 Mormon pilgrimage to America. She gets more adventure than she bargains for when thieves catch her searching for stolen heirlooms, and she fears she may not live long enough to open her heart to love.
My Sweet Danish Rose:
When her family immigrates to America, a Danish girl stays to care for her aging aunt, but is left on her own when the aunt is sent to the poor house. In order to escape the home of the tyrant who has taken her in, she must decide whether or not to forsake her religion for love.
The Almost Missionary:
A young man sets out on his mission hoping, but not believing that he can defy his family genetics and be a successful missionary. It isn’t until after his father’s heart attack, and he almost goes home early, that he learns what it means to be the Lord’s servant.
Fairy Dust:
A menopausal woman wakes to discover she has fairy wings and a fairy mission to perform. She must master the art of flying, solve the fairies dilemma, battle pixies, deal with a hateful neighbor, and turn her family into believers—all while keeping the house clean and having dinner ready on time each night.
East of Eden, a ghost story:
A young man has a strong attraction to a beautiful ghost who haunts him. It’s through recurring dreams that he’s his great-grandfather, a man who was involved in Arizona’s biggest unsolved gold heist, that he learns the identity of the spirit and gains the strength to battle the demons in his own life.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Upside of Down, by Rebecca Talley
Natalie wrinkled her forehead, almost afraid to ask, and said, “What does that mean?”
“You do know you’re pregnant, right?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Excuse me?”
“You’re pregnant.”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “I’m what?”
Natalie Drake certainly has her hands full raising a large family, dealing with her difficult mother, and maintaining a relationship with her rebellious teenager. Just when things seem to be going smoothly, she finds out another unexpected surprise—she’s going to have a baby. Faced with so many challenges, Natalie must learn to trust in a plan that isn’t what she imagined and discover that every situation has an upside.
Beloved author Rebecca Talley carefully creates this touching and heartfelt story that is sure to inspire you. With true-to-life characters and situations, The Upside of Down will reignite your faith and remind you of the importance of family.
Rebecca, tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA. I attended, and graduated from, BYU where I met my husband. He was the FHE “dad” and I was the FHE “mom.” We have been happily married for over 25 years and are the parents of 10 wonderfully creative and multi-talented children. We live in rural CO on a small ranch with a dog, cats, a spoiled horse, and a herd of goats. It took me a bit to adjust to the rural lifestyle after growing up in southern CA, but I love living in the country.
Your newest novel, THE UPSIDE OF DOWN, was released in January. What was the inspiration for this novel?
While I was watching the new version of Cheaper by the Dozen, I thought it would be fun to write a similar story set in an LDS household. Since I have a large family, I drew from many of my own experiences to create my characters and establish the storyline. I had lots of fun writing it, especially as I relived some of the funny things that have happened in our family.
What do you hope people take away from THE UPSIDE OF DOWN?
I hope people realize that no matter who we are, none of us is spiritually invincible. We all need to rely on the Lord, in good times and in bad. No matter how desperate a situation may seem, the Lord can lighten our load if we’ll turn to Him. The atonement is for all of us. And, even in the midst of trials, we can have peace.
I also hope people will learn something from my book about Down syndrome and realize that underneath it all, we’re all children of God and we all deserve love and respect, no matter our chromosome count.
Where can we purchase THE UPSIDE OF DOWN?
Amazon carries it and it should arrive in LDS Bookstores soon.
You can learn more about Rebecca at www.rebeccatalley.com and www.rebeccatalleywrites.blogspot.com and www.theupsideofdown2.blogspot.com
Thank you, Rebecca, for the interview.
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