IWSG MARCH 2017 Gotta Love Those Characters

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IWSG FEBRUARY 2017Insecure Writer’s Support Group

FOUNDED BY 

Join the community here.  

Your co-host this month are:  

Tamara Narayan

Patsy Collins 

M.J. Fifield, and Nicohle Christopherson!

IWSG MARCH QUESTION: 

Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?

 

All the time.  Some of my best characters are ones I have reworked over the years.  It is funny really I need to spend time with a character until they flow in a natural way in my head and where I can go into their voice/head on cue.     When I can do this the ideas are deeper and the emotion/passion of the character takes over the writing of the story.  I get to be someone else for a little while which is so much fun and why I love this.   I have reworked many of my Star War RPG characters for different worlds and types of story.  The worlds change but a good character can make any transition needed, although I admit some fit some types of stories better than others.

 

Biggest Fear:  That I am never really going to finish anything and publish and that I’m not intelligent enough to create a readable book for a reader like me.  As a reader, I have high standards for books that transport me into the story and keep me there.  I read many and like a lot, but fewer that make me disappear and lose track of the world.

 

March Author Spotlight is on F. Stone, Marie Lavender & Edwin Herbert.

 

F. Stone Review & Interview

 

 

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FORBIDDEN

BY F. STONE

 

Year 2047, City of Samarra, capital of the Republic of Islamic Provinces & Territories

Fifteen American travelers have vanished. Surrendering to Mayor Aamir’s demands, Captain Sharif becomes the reluctant keeper of his city’s bloody secret – and the witness, Eliza MacKay. The devout Muslim is horrified to discover that if he exposes the cover-up, his family will suffer dire consequences.

The CIA has the lying Sharif in their cross hairs. Sharif’s only hope is to prove his country’s government is free of guilt. Secretly, he hunts forensic evidence. Cryptic messages, backstabbing informants, and corruption threaten Sharif’s resolve to see justice served. When he discovers the shocking truth, he and MacKay become the targets of a ruthless killer.

Sharif is tortured by his attraction to the impetuous Eliza MacKay. In spite of her struggle with PTSD, he’s drawn to her vivacious personality. Islam forbids the intimacy he craves. In desperation to save Eliza, Sharif plots an act most forbidden and fatal.

Romance Under Fire Author Feather Stone / F. Stone / Judy Weir:

 

Marie Lavender Interview 

 

 

Upon Your Love Book 3 (Heiress In Love Series) Historical Romance by Marie Lavender

The Hill family saga concludes as loyalties are questioned, faiths will be tested and undying love may come at a terrible cost…

Fara Hill, mother and faithful wife, is torn between her family at home and her urge to be at sea. Soon, she learns some disturbing truths. Was the past a fairy tale instead of reality?

Chloe Hill, loving wife and young mother, questions her faith when her husband sets an ultimatum she cannot meet. Will she be able to keep her marriage from falling apart?

Adrienne Bellamont Hill, born of a valiant captain and a fiery redhead, is untamed to her core and will bow to no man. Then Christian du Plessis enters her life with an offer she can’t refuse. Discovering the man behind the polished gentleman, she is drawn to him in many ways. Holding out for love is a family tradition, but can she resist the temptation of passion?

Christian finds this young woman to be a fascinating challenge, and is torn between keeping his distance from her and succumbing to her charms. A fierce battle of wills ensues as he sees she is much more than he ever imagined.

But danger lurks, threatening to destroy everything…

Can these two strong-willed individuals unite in the cause before time runs out?

Amazon Author Page Marie Lavender, Website

 

MYTHOS CHRISTOS

Edwin Herbert Guest post An Author’s Journey

 

 

 

Mythos Christos by Edwin Herbert

ABOUT MYTHOS CHRISTOS

Were aspects of the Biblical Jesus narrative modeled on previous Greek and Roman mythology? Is it possible Christ never existed at all? Mythos Christos is a unique story, in that it entails a connection between two time periods (circa 400 CE and the present) and reveals certain information about the roots of Christianity everyone should know.

Hypatia of Alexandria wishes to preserve for posterity certain documents from the Library of Alexandria which have been deemed heretical by the orthodoxy – the truth about the mythical origins of Christianity. She develops an ingenious strategy for saving the manuscripts, a treasure hunt that would make the most jaded buccaneer drool. However, no ordinary pirate, or highborn archbishop for that matter, could hope to follow the Neoplatonist philosopher’s sequence of burials. Only one steeped in Pythagorean mathematics and Platonic mysticism, her philaletheian, could possibly track her obscure trail of burials and unlock the final cache. But Hypatia’s plan goes awry and her treasure languishes for sixteen centuries.

An American Rhodes Scholar, Lex Thomasson, finds himself hot on the philosopher’s treasure trail, deftly decrypting her linguistic and mathematical puzzles in succession using his peculiar knowledge and an ancient key: gematria – a table of Greek letters and their numerical equivalents.

Using this key, along with the Neoplatonist’s Book of Euclid – the “True Key,” Lex discovers ancient truths concerning mathematical relationships between certain Greek gods and, more astonishingly, numerical relationships in the Jesus tale as well.

Unfortunately, Lex is accompanied by a Vatican archivist, who is also a sociopathic killer with other plans for Hypatia’s collection of documents. Will the truth finally be broadcast to the world, or will the Church keep it under wraps, closeting their millennia-old secrets from the rest of the world?

Author Website, Mythos Christos on Amazon

 

Logo Created by Katharina Gerlach

Founded 2015 by students of “How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writer’s,” created by writer and teacher Holly Lisle.

RULES & GUIDELINES HERE

NEXT HOP is on Wednesday APRIL 26, 2017

Links Due April 20th, 2017

Hostess and post-Sync Time To Be Announced for April!

We of Storytime are still working out details and I will update here as soon as I know more.  Basics are the same.  General Speculative Fiction.   If you send me your name and email when I have those details I will email out to everyone who said they wanted to participate the updated and final details and update here on the site.   EMAIL ME HERE

 

April Storytime Blog Hop

April 26th, 2017

56 

Days to go!

Start Writing Now!

COUNTDOWN COUNTER ON SIDEBAR WILL AUTO UPDATE.

 

 

 

 

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53 comments

  • jmh

    Ouch, that’s a nasty inner voice. I hope you keep writing and ignoring it. We are definitely our own worst critics.

    It’s nice that you take the time to shine a spotlight on so many other authors. Bravo!

  • We are our own worst critics, especially when we are perfectionists. Silence that voice that says you won’t finish anything, that you’re not good enough. Giving it a face might help, someone or something that represents the nasty critic. Then when you start thinking these thoughts, look at a picture of your critic and tell him/her/it off. 😉

  • I have a character like that, he has stuck around in my head even though the story I had him in was mostly rubbish. One of these days, he will find a better home. I understand your fear, because mine is similar.

  • That’s so true about characters! The good ones stick with you and beg to be written somewhere, even if that’s not where they were originally created.

  • It’s funny, but I think those reader with high standards for the books they read turn into writers with high standards for the books they write. So nothing wrong with either of those! 🙂 I’m glad you don’t abandon your characters either, by the way. 🙂 I always feel bad for those lonely characters who had their story only half-written or first draft written and never get a second look!

  • It’s natural to need time with your characters before they flow properly. It’s like getting to know a friend. It takes time to really get to know them.

  • Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hadn’t consider the prospect of reworking characters. You’re right though, some fit better in other stories. I used to fear not finishing a book until I did it, though I wasn’t really ready at the time. I get having high standards and not wanting to let yourself down. Still, you have this cool blog and you’re an avid reader. I think you’re ready. Go for it.

  • spunkonastick

    I love being someone else for a while, too. Many of my characters have bounced around for years.

  • You must finish and submit, Juneta! No work is without fault. Reaching for perfection is a fool’s errand. At some point you have to let go. Otherwise, you’ll be lost in editing hell, and insecurities will continue to mushroom. Make your story the best that it can be in the moment to be sure, but keep moving forward. Share those characters in your head with readers!

  • jenlanebooks

    I like the idea of spending more time with characters to get to know them better. Pulling out an old manuscript is like chatting with an old friend. Can’t wait to read Forbidden by F Stone!

  • Hmmm…I wonder if you may have some perfectionist genes in your make-up. You just have to accept that no story is going to be perfect. Do your best. That’s all you can do. Send the story out and celebrate you did it!! Looking forward to Storytime too. I know you have written great stories for that quarterly publication.

    • I do have a bit of perfectionist, but I think its the FEAR that keeps me holding back, but working on getting over both of them. I hope to do just this in 2017. We shall see. I am doing 52 shorts stories for 2017 and then my other projects too. Not at the same time, scheduled in. I thought I would be more focus beginning of year but Jan Feb I have been distracted, scatter, not well part of the time and really slow, but hoping to change that for March.

  • Don’t let that critic talk you out of finishing and for heaven sakes don’t let it tell you you’re not smart enough! Keep listening to those characters and you’ll find your way to The End! Loved the post today, Juneta.

  • When you’re with your characters in your head, then you’re all in, Juneta. You’ll get there. You go, girl!

  • Victoria Marie Lees

    Juneta, you are very good at what you do. Characters are difficult to make real. I agree with everyone else. You can do this!

    • Thank you. Crossing fingers, turning in a circle 3x, and missing the crack, lol. I hope so. I guess I think I can because I am still plugging at it.

  • Loni Townsend

    There’s one of my characters who I haven’t quite mastered the voice for, and I tell you, she’s a toughy to write. My guess is that all of her scenes will undergo mass revisions just to get her attitude to come through.

    I’m going to agree with most of the comments here. You can do it! You will write a story that will blow you away (and everyone else too)!

    • I bet that is interesting trying to find a voice that is not as familiar to you. Wishing you much success and I bet she is going to be a great character. Thank you.

  • You can do it, I know you can do it. Your words “The worlds change but a good character can make any transition needed, although I admit some fit some types of stories better than others.” resonated with me. I also sometimes switch characters between worlds and historical eras, especially if they are someone else’s characters. What emerges is usually pretty original, never mind that it started with another writer’s characters.

    • I’ve been inspired by other writers character but never really reworked them. I have however tired to capture a movie persona in character. Most of my reworks are my original character created for SW RPG or another story. That is cool tho and probably a good template for creating.

  • Arlee Bird

    I can relate to that “biggest fear”.

    It makes sense that the more time you spend with characters and stories, the more comfortable you become with them and the better you can relate. It’s like real people and real life. Actually I think it is real in an alternate time/space sort of way. It really needs to be for an author to convince readers to buy into whatever story and characters they’re trying to lay on them.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

  • Have you considered writing short stories or even a serial like I’ve been doing until you build up enough confidence to write a novel? It worked for me! 😀

    • Yes, I write short stories all the time. I am working on 52 shorts for 2017 but I am a bit behind. Need to get writing. I’m gearing up to try that but its been a bump and struggle ride.

  • The fact that you have high standards means you won’t quit until you’ve made your story great. Just keep working at it and you can’t help but improve.

  • I understand your fear. While I have completed and published stories, I worry if I will ever truly make it as a writer. I tell myself that I just need to publish more, that if I get enough books in a series, then people will check me out and become my fans. I guess it is a feeling that never goes away. The curse of being a writer.

  • Well, you’ve put together a great website, so it seems to me you do indeed have the brain power to write an intelligent story. The blog hop looks interesting as well. 🙂 http://www.raimeygallant.com

    • Thank you so much. Those words made me happy, thank you. Would love to have you join us on the blog hop. It is always fun to see what stories everyone comes up with.

  • Star War RPG characters – now that is all kinds of cool!

    • Thank you. I love my SW characters they are my oldest and dearest character friends that I have created. I never went so in depth until I started creating characters for SW RPG.

  • It usually takes us a while to really get to know and understand anyone, so it makes sense that the same thing will apply to our characters.

    • I’ve had a rare character or two who just appeared fully like old friends, but it normally in the profiling and world building where their voices take shape for me. Love it when they just appear tho.

  • I share your fear (about never finishing anything) and for years, it was true. I finally gutted it out and self-pubbed. Sigh.

    • I am hoping this is my hear. I will probably start with self-publishing but I think I’d like to be a hybrid author. Congrats on finally getting it done.

  • I take characters from RPGs and other stories and rework for new stories too. Believe in yourself. You can do it!

  • You know, I am the same way. I have to engage with my characters. Get to know them and feel where they are at. Then I am able to sit back and right. I’ve been working on my first manuscript since 2009 and just this year, the feeling has come up within me, that now is the time. I don’t know how many times I have revised this manuscript. I stopped counting. But now I feel it is time to move forward and send it out so it can get published.
    Wishing you all the best.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat

  • I do like pretending to be one of my characters too. It helps with the dialogue and it’s just plain fun. 🙂

    Anna from elements of emaginette

  • I hear you about your biggest fear. When I read a book or a story that totally blows me away, I want to weep because I don’t know that I can ever do the same thing for another reader. But we have to keep going, keep trying – our readers are out there, waiting on us. 🙂

  • I’m seconding Angie! LOUDLY! of course, you can do it! You’re talented and clever, and you work harder than anybody, and you have real standards that keep you from wrecking your career by publishing just any old thing. You’ll get there.

  • OMG is it 56 days to the next hop?!! Can’t say I wasn’t warned 😉
    Yep, characters that live in your head longer get more ‘composting’ time, so that makes ’em richer and more fertile. Fun isn’t it?
    Will you get there? Well, part of that is needing the occasional kick in the butt, but you also need to take as long as you need sometimes too – you can tell if something’s not ready.
    (But don’t forget, I’ve read some of your work – don’t worry about not being good enough 🙂 )
    A x

    • Yup Storytime is coming soon.

      It is fun.

      Thank you so much. HUGS, you are so sweet. I can say the same about your stuff. I remember when you said you had nothing, not even a blog, and now look at you go.

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