Where Do All The Characters Come From?

I often wonder how many personalities lurk about in my mind. The good, the bad and the ugly. They’re all there, often times surprising me when words are put to paper. Characters feed off each other, building the story as they go along. Of course you start off with a plot but from there, your characters take over.

For me it’s like playing chess with myself, each move striving for victory. I’ll have a goal as to what I want in a scene but when the characters react, I have to put myself in their shoes and deal with it accordingly. It’s strange but fun as the characters try to outwit the other until the scene is played out.

I never know what’s going to be said, my mind always working a few steps ahead as I type. Each night I close off with what I think is good. Only the next morning do I really see what has been written. My mind’s clear, my hopes high as I take that first sip of coffee and reread what I wrote. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised and others…. Well, let’s just say I shake my head and rouse those characters to redo the scene.

Ugh, More Snow

This is the longest winter I can remember in years. It started in November and hasn’t let up. I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad if I enjoyed winter activities. I can say the unusually long season has brought out the best in some of the most dedicated summer lovers. They even went so far as to buy snow machines. (I guess they knew something I didn’t as for how long the snow would last).

My dog Lucy loves the white powdery substance. The chill of it doesn’t bother her in the least. You would think she was in the Caribbean the way she romps about in it. She pounces into a snow bank, her face buried beneath its surface as if she were snorkeling in a lagoon in her pursuit of a mole… Or field mouse… Or whatever catches her scent.

In Lucy’s wake she always leaves icy puddles of water in the house as she transforms from snow dog to terrier mix before our eyes.

As for me I keep straining my eyes in hopes of seeing a patch green as a signal that spring is around the bend.

Picture Of The Day

I got this in an e-mail today and had to share. Talk about a man's best friend. They do everything together.

And So It Begins . . .

I'm officially a blogger. Again I am stepping into unfamiliar territory. Who knew writing a manuscript could get so high tech. Years ago I thought all you needed was a good imagination and a pad of paper. And of course years to churn out that masterpiece, tweaking and tugging into place so you can stand back and admire it with unhurried pride.

And that's when I woke up.

I've since learned writers had dual lives. I like to think of it of as a (Superhero / heroine) syndrome. They're nurses, doctors, hair dressers, cashiers --- heck even judges! They're cranking out one to three books a year, blogging, networking going to conferences. And still they manage to juggle careers, family life --- then once again when the muse strikes, they're on the case, tackling a story until they get their desired end. Of course the people who are closest to them know when they're on the next lead. The writer has that far off look, their listening and yet . . . well their thoughts are on the next page of their life.