Getting To Know Your Characters...

It's funny how asa writer I become close to the characters in my books. I know they're fictional people but when they're in your head all the time they become real to you. I guess that's what helps us as writers. They have to be real in order to tell their story. Sometimes I get so into a story I'm working on that I feel like they're not fictional. I'd really like to meet some of my characters. They would be fun to talk to and meet up with for lunch. Some of them I'd like to get to pop up side the head, but I guess that goes with the territory. I'm currently working on the 2nd installment of The Winner Series. I love this story line. It's a little reality mixed with fantasy. Who doesn't want to win a trip with a handsome movie star? Then to get to spend the trip in a romantic snow covered chalet. It does sound like a great thing to do. I sat last night getting in three chapters and almost 2000 words. It may not sound like much, but I kept having to go back to the 1st installment to get facts straight. Actually to tell the truth as I was looking up a part that would be mentioned I got lost in reading the 1st book. My son looked at me and I know he was wondering why I was reading my own book. If you can't enjoy reading your own work then how can you expect anyone else to. So my advice is this, make sure you know your characters. You need to know who they are, what color their hair is, their eyes, their likes and dislikes. It's like a bio for them that you need to think of. Ask yourself questions and interview your character. If you know more about them then their story will unfold and you'll fall in love with them. Have you ever seen a live person somewhere and thought they looked like what you see in your character? I have done this so many times. It's actually fun when you do this. All of my characters can be seen in my head. If only we had a program that could read our thoughts on our characters. Then we could put their picture on the cover. I think that's what makes designing the covers so hard. I have a idea in my head of what they look like and I won't settle for anything less. I drive my cover designer crazy... As always, good writing and May God Bless You...