In this issue:

Writing Avenues

Exactly what is a "believable character" and why is it so important?

Addressing the last part first is easy. If your character is as flimsy as cardboard, your reader will quickly lose interest. That doesn't mean the person has to be strong or the lead. Every character in your story needs to be able to stand on his or her own merits. A "walk-on" character is exactly that; a person who comes into your scene, does something and then disappears from the story. Now the rest of your story's cast must have character to be one.

What is a believable character? He is one that has struck a chord inside your reader. They have identified or embraced that character and care about what happens. Exactly what does this mean? I finished reading Melanie Rawn's "Dragon Prince" series. Her characters came alive and danced inside my mind. I kept turning the pages to find out what happened next. Were the characters real? Yes and no. They weren't real in the sense that they actually existed, but yes, they were real within my mind. I cared. I was so involved with their lives and situations that when one character died, I actually had tears welling in my eyes. I was emotionally involved and I had lost a friend. I wiped my eyes and realized just how silly that was. It was then that I realized what had happened. Melanie Rawn had grabbed my soul with her characters and that was what I had to do if I wanted to be a writer.

I'm sure you have read all the character development plans: eye and hair color, height, weight, skin tone and texture, sex, species, scars, likes and dislikes, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum.

You need more than physical features for a character. You need reality. Each person has weaknesses and strengths. Lock those down in your character but remember they can and should change as your story progresses.

Another secret is that characters must also remain realistic throughout the story. Read the following three small passages and see if you can figure out the problem.

Jeff placed in foot in the stirrup and lifted himself onto the horse's back.
"Are you leaving already?" Becky whined.
Three quick steps and he embraced her once again.
"Should I really leave?" Jeff whispered.

Grabbing the broadsword with both hands, he glared at the oncoming dwarf. The princess had to be defended. His left hand gently pushed the princess behind him for protection as he lunged with the sword.

Brad winked, his bright blue eyes glistening in the sunlight.

"Just put your back into it and we should be okay," Brad replied. He placed a shoulder against the large, abrasive stone, pushed and winced causing tears to flow from his dark eyes.
"It just has to work," Brad said.

They were subtle errors that I made in stories that I had written. What were they? If your character is on a horse, exactly how does he do three quick steps? How many hands does the swordsman have, assuming him to be human? If he is holding the sword with two hands, he can't use another to protect the princess. Finally, Brad has what color eyes? Bright blue? Can they be dark?

You have to become the actor. When you write a scene, step through the motions and you'll quickly realize a possible impossibility. Your believable character just fell on his face in your reader's eyes. The more real your characters are in the reader's mind, the more believable they become. Any instance that makes the reader stop and think, or causes him to reread, creates a lost reader and thus hurts your story in the telling.

Remember, actors don't change personas, personalities, traits and features in the blink of an eye unless they are putting in a contact lens. You'd better be acting out that scene.

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R. S. Nailor is Poetry Editor and Production Manager for the Emporium Gazette. His manuscript, THREE STEPS: THE JOURNEYS OF AYROLD, is currently in the final stages of editing. He has short stories included in three ebook anthologies from 23House and numerous articles and poems elsewhere on the internet. You can visit him at Lore's Webs.

Bringing Your Villain to Life
by Lucile Davis

As a writer you must bring your characters to life. This is true for both your hero/heroine and your villain or villainess. Just as you must build a whole life for your hero to make him/her believable, you must do the same for your villain. The truth is, you villain must have logical (notice I didn't write "good") reasons for acting as he does.

"How can I do that?" you ask.

It is as simple as putting on a costume and makeup. You must become the character, and this is where the techniques of acting can help. Let's have a look at this idea.

In a play, the dialogue and sketchy stage notes are the only things that tell an actor what the playwright had in mind about the characters. After reading a play, the good actor spends time building a life around his/her character in order to create a believable persona. This imagined life will never be voiced, but it will appear on the actor's face, in his/her movements, and the inflection in the voice. In theatre parlance, the actor has created a subtext for his/her role.

So, how does this subtext thing work for an actor? Let's look at an example.

If you've ever seen the musical Oklahoma!, you know the villain of the piece is Jud. Poor Jud is big, looks dirty and scowls: He scares the perky right out of Laurie, the heroine of the piece. A lot of singer/actors who take on the Jud role, pull on the persona of a lumbering, scowling ugly and that's as far as they develop the character. The smart actor (the one who wants to be remembered and presented with other acting opportunities) builds a life for Jud.

It has been said the character of Jud was fashioned after one of William Faulkner's character's from a short story titled, "Barn Burner." Whether true or not, adding this dimension to the Jud character creates a subtext that brings tension, emotion, and believability to what is usually thought of as a frothy musical. The young viewpoint character in the Faulkner story is the barefooted son of a sharecropper who can't live in society. The boy is hungry, sneered at as an outcast, and often beaten by his father, who takes out his anger and frustrations on his family. The father distrusts people and blames everyone but himself for the poverty in which he lives. To right the wrongs he believes have been heaped on him by others, the boy's father takes revenge by burning the barns of his enemies. The family is always being forced to leave under the cover of darkness or edict of an officer of the law.

Now take this boy, the son of a sociopath, and name him Jud. The boy, Jud, grows up unable to live with people and be sociable because he never learned how. He is desperate for a place he can call his own and someone to be nice to him. He finds a job with a kindly lady named Aunt Eller and her niece Laurie. He falls ill and Laurie nurses him back to health. It is the first time anyone was kind to him since his mother died. Jud begins to follow Laurie around, just to be near her and hoping she will say something nice to him. This is where the story of Oklahoma! begins. Laurie loves Curly and visa versa while Jud is the big, ugly guy who scares Laurie. The plot is afoot.

How does the Faulkner story subtext help the actor play Jud? It gives the actor a chance to do more than just stand around looking mean and ugly. The Jud character can now show the audience his feelings for Laurie by looking calf-eyed at her when she isn't looking. Instead of just looking mean when confronted by Curly, Jud's face might register mistrust. When it seems as if Curly is wanting to be friends (in the "Poor Jud is Dead" scene), the Jud character would react, first with mistrust, then try to be friendly, then seem to fall in with the plan in order to be liked. This takes the scene away from straight comedy into pathos. The audience is crying, instead of laughing, because they feel sorry for Jud. The subtext for Jud raises the musical out of the fluffy into the dramatic, making the performance one the folks leave talking about instead of humming the tunes. It is a new way of looking at an old story. Word of mouth brings more folks into the theatre, selling out the house, making the producing theatre more money, and you bet, the actor playing Jud gets another contract. (Yep, I've seen two different productions of the musical with the Faulkner-subtexted Jud character, and the word of mouth thing did happen -- both times.)

So what has this got to do with your writing? Creating a believable villain will add tension, emotion, dimension, and believability to your story. Your hero will, of course, triumph, but the three-dimensional villain you create just might motivate your reading audience to talk about your story. And the first reader you want talking about your story is the editor you send it to for possible publication. If that editor can't get that hateful, sympathetic, psychopathic villain out of her/his mind, he will be all over the editorial board fighting for your book to be published.

Remember that old saw about "there are no new stories, you just have to be creative in the way you tell them." An unforgettable villain is a very creative way to tell an old tale. Happy writing!

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Lucile Davis is a freelance writer and author of 18 children's nonfiction books and numerous children's biographies. She does freelance work for newspapers, magazines, businesses, and organizations. She is also an instructor for The Institute of Children's Literature, an accredited correspondence school advertised through Writer's Digest and other sources.

Charismatic Characters
by Shaunna Privratsky

Characters can make or break a story. A cardboard-cutout figure smothers the flame of the most sizzling storyline. On the other hand, unique characters with magnetism can turn a predictable plot into a page-turner.

There are plenty of ways to instill charisma into your subject. Give them names, appearances, mannerisms, vocabulary, emotions and actions that make them distinctive to the reader. For instance, your choice of names can send an unconscious message or meaning. "Bambi" brings to mind a much different image than "Barbara." Is your character a "Joseph" or a "Joey?" You probably wouldn't choose "Agatha Krunk" as the name of your lovely young heroine. Yet it would make the perfect handle for your vicious villainess.

Try not to assign similar sounding names to characters. For example "Edward" and "Eddie" may be confused or "Marie" and "Mary," especially if they are similar in appearance. Anything that puzzles the reader or makes an editor scratch her head detracts from your story. Some authors go to further steps. They shun character names with even the same first letter to avoid all confusion.

Your character's description is as important as his name. Never go overboard: Less is more, as the saying goes. Give telling details, but don't dwell on them overlong. Use description to evoke a sense of the broader culture or background. Avoid the use of mirrors as if you were a revenant fearful of being trapped in its depths.

Perhaps your subject has an endearing quirk, a peculiar wink, tilt of the head or an unusually firm handshake. Mentioning it once or twice will cement the character in the reader's mind.

How your character speaks is a unique facet of his personality. An Irish brogue is far different from a Southern drawl or the rolled "R's" of a French-speaking person. Diction, or how they talk is sometimes more important than what they say. "Please pass the potatoes, Master James." sounds vastly different than "Gimme the spuds, Jimmy."

If you want your characters to "breathe," give them real emotions, even if they're not exactly socially acceptable. Let them "screw up" or think an unkind thought about how fat Uncle Randolph is getting since he retired. The reader needs to empathize with the subjects.

Maybe Aunt Hortencia slaps her husband when she finds out he wasted their life's savings. Her actions come from hurt and anger, emotions the reader can relate to. "I'd do more than just slap him: I'd be furious, too!" When this happens, you've successfully led the reader to place herself into the story.

Believe it or not, your main character should have the LEAST description. Why? Because you want the reader to imagine himself in the same situation, even if he is a different nationality, has different hair or eye colors, or even if he is the opposite sex. Constantly stressing the hero's blue eyes, blonde hair and bulging muscles reminds a raven-haired female that she doesn't fit into the story.

The best characters are those who linger in our memories like old friends long after we've turned the last page. By using some or all of these techniques, you can create a charming cast of characters with charisma.

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Shaunna Privratsky has authored over one hundred fifty articles and stories and just released "Foray into Freelancing", the second e-book in a series designed to stimulate prose and put writers on the fast track to freelancing success. Details and free sign up to The Writer Within Newsletter at http://shaunna67.tripod.com

Finding Time To Write
by Michele Acker

Do you work full-time? Are you a stay-at-home parent with young children, or a full time student with classes to attend and daily mounds of homework? Whoever you are, I'm sure you've had days when you despaired about having no time for yourself, let alone time to write.

But you can find time to write, if you want to badly enough.

Following are a few suggestions that will help you carve time out of your busy day. Not all the suggestions will work for everyone, but hopefully, you can find one or two that will work for you.

1) The first consideration should be to the people who are most important in your life. Kids, especially, don't like to be left out and will resent it if you go off by yourself and forbid them to disturb you. Instead, get them involved. I have older kids who love for me to discuss story ideas with them. It gives them the feeling they are part of my work, and don't discount their suggestions. My son has given me some wonderful ideas.

2) Depending on when you're most alert, either get up an hour earlier, or stay up an hour later to write. You'd be surprised how quiet the house is when you get up before the rest of the tribe.

3) If you're a stay-at-home parent with young children, you can always find time to write while the little ones are napping or occupied with watching a movie.

4) Hate to walk the family dog, vacuum, wash dishes? Love them instead. Don't think of those things as chores anymore, consider them as opportunities. Think about your latest novel or run snatches of dialogue through your head.

5) Do you drive to work? Consider buying a small tape recorder and tape thoughts or scenes into it as you drive. Recorders nowadays are small, easily portable and can be taken anywhere.

6) Consider either carpooling or taking public transportation. The extra time will allow you to read, jot down notes, work on plot problems or even write long hand.

7) Train yourself to work in ten or fifteen minute bursts. It can be done. Writers are constantly thinking about a particular story or novel and if you take a few minutes whenever you can to write down what's currently going through your head, you can weave the pieces together later when you have more time.

8) Take break and lunch times and use those to write. Either eat while you're writing or doing research, or eat during your breaks and use your lunch hour to get some serious writing done.

9) Try getting to work an hour earlier, or staying an hour later. Not only does it give you time to concentrate, but it allows you to miss rush hour traffic as well, which can be a real time waster. I get to work at 7am and spend the hour from 7-8 answering emails or sending out stories or queries.

10) Let the internet help you research. Find and bookmark potentially useful sites so you can find them again easily. Use the research others have done to help you find potential markets. Join organizations that specialize in your genre such as RWA or SFWA, and take advantage of all their benefits. Join mailing lists and pay attention to other people's experience with editors and agents so you don't make the same, time wasting mistakes.

11) Consider buying an Alphasmart. At less than $300, they're cheaper and more portable than a laptop and they don't need an electrical outlet to operate. While a laptop will only run for about 4 hours without recharging, an Alphasmart can run for upwards of 300 hours on only 3AA batteries. The great thing about them is not only can you upload from an Alphasmart to your PC, but you can download stuff to your Alphasmart to work on later. Because the screen is only four lines wide, it keeps you writing instead of wasting time editing. Use them while you're waiting for a doctor's appointment, or having your oil changed. Take them to your kids soccer practices, or while they're having fun at a skating party.

12) Consider taking a weekend vacation. Go to the beach or the mountains, away from your family and spend that time working on your novel or short stories. If you can't afford to go out of town, rent a nearby hotel room for a night or two, order room service and lose yourself in your writing. Forget how much work it can be and learn to enjoy yourself again.

Lastly, take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep and eat healthy foods. You can't be creative if you aren't healthy.

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Can Fictional Characters Become Human?

The worth of a book is to be measured by
What you can carry away from it. ~ James Bryce

If the reader remembers a character or characters with any emotional appeal, be it warmth, caring, revulsion, or cold shivers, the author has penned a memorable book with living actors. When you build such characters, there comes a point in the writing when they sit up and start to breathe on their own, according to Jack Hadkins.

Scads of information on how to build characters wait online. Check out the many sources. Incidentally, I found a gem on creating high powered characters by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Alas, I lost it and couldn't locate it again. If any reader can find the article, I'd be most appreciative if you'd E-Mail it to me.

A sitting judge, Barbara Rollins, fiction and nonfiction writer, takes a look inside the character's bedroom, purse or billfold, car, and office. Many surprises await the creator who will try this. Capstone Press recently released four books for children in grades 3 to 9 by Barbara with co-author, Michael Dahl: Ballistics, Cause of Death, Finger Print Evidence, and Bloody Evidence.

An unforgettable last line, or within the work, preferably dialogue, is a trick of the craft that guarantees a worthwhile book or story for me. How about "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn?"

At the time of filming Gone With The Wind, 1939, Hollywood Production Code determined what could and could not be revealed or said on screen. Rhett Butler's memorable last line raised red flags. Among the suggestions were "Frankly my dear . . . I just don't care," ". . . it makes my gorge rise," ". . . my indifference is boundless." Heard enough? Fortunately, Selznick elected to pay $5,000 fine and keep the original, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Now that's worth repeating.

"Hey, Stellaaaaaa!" Remember? Surely, it rings in your ear--Stanley Kowalski's repetitive call in Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire, starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando.

When I'm hunting a heart-tugging love story, my inner self turns to the book, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing and a line where Han Suyin shows her love and understanding of Mark Elliott, her journalist lover. "And on most Sunday afternoons he'll want to go on runabouts of his own." Sometime I'm going to memorize the rest of the paragraph.

Would you like to join me in attempting to follow James Bryce's advice and write a story that measures up to the quoted examples? Perhaps the reader will carry away feelings of having read a worthwhile book with outstanding characters and a never-to-be-forgotten line or section.

If we writers can do that, "Here's looking at you, kid!" Was Humphrey Bogart in Casa Blanca really the first to toss out that line? Whatever, it sounded best coming from him and now from us.

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Susan Long Turner is co-author with Russ Turner of "Wings Born Out of Dust" which is available now from 23 House Publishing and is also available in trade paperbacks and hardback at other major online bookstores. Visit her Website

Once, in a land far away, there was a beautiful, young woman who had a small son. The woman's name was Akira-Ah, the Singer. Her voice was extremely melodic and when she sang, it is said that even the grass would listen.

Akira-Ah climbed daily up the side of Hrusk-La-Mo to bathe in the mountain's cold and icy waters. She would carry Bahra, her son, strapped to her back. When she arrived at the stream's edge, Akira-Ah would nestle Bahra in some high grasses near the water then strip off all her clothes and bathe in the cooling waters.

Listening to the rhythm of the waters as it cascaded and bubbled over and around the rocks, Akira-Ah created a new song that she would sing at the gathering of families. Akira-Ah listened to her song resonate within the chamber walls of the small cascade area, and smiled at the harmony.

Her lilting voice carried into the lush growth of the jungle where a tigress, following the spoor of the beast that had killed her cubs, raised her head to listen. Fascinated by the sound, the tiger momentarily forgot her rage and padded towards the source. Finally the tigress came upon Akira-Ah as she emerged from the water with her long dark hair dripping.

Seeing the tiger, Akira-Ah screamed for help then dashed into the luxuriant overgrowth of the jungle and back to her village. Left behind were her clothes and Bahra, hidden in the tall grasses.

At that moment, Bahra awoke and began crying, startling the tigress. It moved cautiously towards the wailing baby and sniffed guardedly, then licked Bahra.

The small child attempted to suckle the moist tongue and the tigress realized that the baby was hungry. She moved carefully into position and let Bahra nurse on her swollen teats.

For many days the tigress nursed Bahra and Akira-Ah never returned assuming her child had been devoured by the tiger.

Finally, hunters from the village decided that the tiger must be killed to appease the gods and allow proper rites for the soul of poor Bahra.

When the hunters climbed Hrusk-La-Mo to the bathing area that Akira-Ha used, they were surprised to find the tigress still there. She was laying near the tall grasses that Akira-Ha had told them about.

"Such sacrilege," yelled Po-Li-Lo, the Tracker. "The tiger remains at her kill."

The hunters then raised their voice, shot the rifles and caused a commotion that scared the tiger away. They chased it into the jungle.

It was Bar-To-Mun, the Smiling, that noticed the small child as they raced by the tall grasses where the tiger had lain.

"Comrades," he yelled. "The tiger has not eaten Bahra. He is here."

The group gathered about the small boy and stared in wonder. So many days had passed and still the child was healthy and alive. They looked at one another for this could only mean one thing: the tigress had nursed the child in Akira-Ha, the Singer's, absence.

"The tiger is good," whispered Po-Li-Lo, the Tracker.

The others silently nodded agreement.

"We shall make the tiger a goddess," Po-Li-Lo said. "One should take this child to his mother. The rest of us will stalk the tigress."

Bar-To-Mun scooped up Bahra and carried him back to the village and Akira-Ha.

Upon seeing Bahra, Akira-Ha grabbed him, fell to her knees and wept openly while cuddling her son close to her bosom.

"A thousand blessings upon The Father," she cried. "Sacred Mother, blessed thanks for protecting Bahra." Akira-Ha then stood and silently moved, steps that were barely an inch at a time. She walked in a circle while keeping her head bowed. "Many thanks to all gods, both great and small. You have safely returned my son and in honor I will create a new chant for the village to praise you."

Po-Li-Lo, the Tracker, used his skills and followed the tiger's tracks. Soon the hunters were chasing the tiger through the jungle until she, weak from nursing the child and too tired to run, turned and snarled at the hunting party.

Po-Li-Lo raised his blowgun, inserted the dart and directed it toward the tiger. A mighty puff and the miniature arrow flew on its way.

The tigress roared when the dart struck her then quickly succumbed to its drug.

The hunting party quickly removed the dart, tied the tiger up and carried it to their village where the preparations to make the tiger a goddess had started.

Sahamu-Ni, the Seer, raised the tiger's head and ceremoniously slit its throat with the jewel encrusted ritual knife. The tiger's eyes flared open in that moment of pain, her eyes glinting like golden moons on a clear night. The blood flowed into the gut-skein, the Goddess' life to be shared among the tribe; its soul to guard over one.

Bahra grew into a man and became a great hunter, his dark eyes seeing what most men could not. It is said that on the day that Bahra was given his full name, Bahra, the Stalker, his eyes flashed yellow, like twin moons of the Goddess.

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R. S. Nailor is Poetry Editor and Production Manager for the Emporium Gazette. His manuscript, THREE STEPS: THE JOURNEYS OF AYROLD, is currently in the final stages of editing. He has short stories included in three ebook anthologies from 23House and numerous articles and poems elsewhere on the internet. You can visit him at Lore's Webs.