Character Inspiration

Developing characters is one of the most important part of writing a good story. One of my favorite authors has taught me so much in this area. J.R. Ward is the author of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Her characters are so rich and so in depth that as a reader we feel like we are sharing in their lives as they find their mates, beat addictions, heal, and fight evil. I find myself not enjoying "quick reads" as much as I used to because I want this detailed and emotional character development.

J.R. Ward has written the following titles to date in the Brotherhood series:

Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged

I've read all but Lover Avenged two times, and I will be reading that one at least twice. I just finished it this weekend, and was once again amazed at the author's talent for writing.

She's also written The Insider's Guide, which is a must have for readers and writers. I can't believe how much awesome insight she shares in this book as to her writing methods and how she thinks of characters as real people that she interacts with. You can see an excerpt here: http://www.jrward.com/bdb/books-ig-1.html . This will really give you a good example of how she works with her characters.

I'm not one of those writers that has every detail of a book thought out ahead of time because of a dream I've had. Things don't come to me that easily. Since reading the Brotherhood books I've been inspired to work on my character's details through research and creativity. I actually have two different books in my head, now I just need to get the details on paper. One if more along a young adult paranormal title and the other is urban fiction. I really appreciate the inspiration I've gotten from other authors like J. R. Ward.

~Brenda

Music as Writing Inspiration

After reading about several authors that used certain music to inspire them in their writing I started thinking about that. One group that really gets me thinking about the characters I'm writing about is Shinedown. It's not just their music, but also the lead singer and his charismatic, yet dark, persona. This is one of their earlier videos that really demonstrates what I'm talking about. The CD with this song on is in my CD player at least once a week or more. Click "video" at the top of the widget to see the music video.



~Brenda

Why I Read What I Do

I thought a good first post on this blog would be to explain why I read the books I do. When I was a kid I read everything I could get my hands on. Along the way I started reading Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe, then later Stephen King and Dean Koontz. In high school I read my first science fiction book by Arthur C. Clarke. After that I devoured every science fiction book in our small town library it was time for college. I discovered J.R. Tolkien and the world of fantasy. As with all of us, life interfered, I survived an emotional abusive relationship, and finally met my soul mate ten years after college.

I'm almost 50 now, and still discovering new books and new ways to express myself through writing. Last year I picked up a book series called Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I'm sure you've heard of it:) This was years after I had fallen in love with Angel and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so Edward was a little tame for my tastes. Still, the books lead me to discover Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. You'd think there wouldn't be a genre I hadn't explored after reading for as long as I have, wouldn't you?

I'm rambling a bit to get to my point. I don't like reading about "real life". I had enough drama in the first 28 years of my life. I see enough real violence in the world around me. I want to read about bigger than life characters who can kick butt, rescue friends and family, and do extraordinary things. I love books where the characters are sexy, sarcastic and never predictable.

This blog is also a place for me to gather my favorite author websites and blogs in one place to make it easy for me to keep undated on what they are up to. I may even chat about my writing adventures. I've written non-fiction for a long, long time and switching to fiction is a little frightening to say the least. Thanks for stopping by!

~Moonsanity