Bring Your Characters to Life

Arizona's own Laurie Schnebly Campbell can help bring your character to life.

What kind of dialogue makes your characters real? What kind of description works best for your voice? No two writers will use the same techniques for these key elements, but having new tools to choose from can make writing description and dialogue easier as well as more fun…not only for you, but for your readers as well. For each technique, this session will use examples from books by the conference’s best-known guests.

Laurie Schnebly Campbell combines her background in counseling with writing novels like the one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition Of The Year.” Her latest book is a how-to on creating characters, and she’s taught writers online and in person from L.A. to London and New Zealand to New York…recently presenting her 100th live workshop to an RWA group. Besides teaching, she enjoys writing for an advertising agency, narrating for Talking Books, and vacationing with her husband and son in Sedona, the red-rock town named for her great-grandmother. “People ask how I find time to do all that,” Laurie says, “and I tell them it’s easy: I never clean my house!”

Laurie will be speaking at the Desert Dreams Writer's Conference April 27-29, 2012

http://www.desertroserwa.org

Registration closes March 31st. Don't miss this opportunity!

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Margaret Brownley. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

I understand you have a new release out called Dawn Comes Early. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous news?

First I want to thank you for inviting me here today. I never say no to chocolates or giving out advice! As far as my news:“Dawn Comes Early” is the first book in my Brides of Last Chance Ranch series. It takes place in Arizona Territory in 1896 and I am very excited about it. The heroine is a disgraced dime novelist who answers an advertisement to inherit a cattle ranch. You won’t believe what happens next…

Dawn Comes Early is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

The title was inspired by 2 Peter 1:19 NIV “…for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place--until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”

Kate Tenney is in a dark place and though dawn comes early she doesn’t see the Morning Star for quite some time.

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I’ve always loved reading about the old west. That was when men were men and women were women, but a cowboy wasn’t a cowboy unless he was wild, woolly and full of fleas. Of course my cowboy heroes are more likely to be tall, dark and handsome, but you know what I mean.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

The idea was inspired by a group of fifty ladies of the First Church of Millford who formed a society of old maids in 1861. Each member vowed she would not marry. Each woman paid five dollars on admission with the principal going to the one who remained unmarried the longest. According to an article in The New York Times thirty years later all but fifteen of the original had married. I was never able to find out who won the prize—and being a romantic I sincerely hope that no one did—but where real life stops imagination takes off.

What are your favorite historical research books and why?

I love reading old diaries, preferable unedited ones with all the glorious misspellings. The book I reach for most often is English Through the Ages, which keeps me from using a word before its time. I recently wanted to use the word hightail only to discover that it wasn’t in use until 1900.

Which character did you like writing about the most, and why?

I really liked writing Kate and Luke. They make an interesting couple; she’s a college educated woman and he’s “just a blacksmith.” He doesn’t know what she’s talking about half the time. He does, however, learn to read her heart and in the end that’s really all that matters.

I also had a lot of fun with some of the minor characters like Aunt Bessie. After reading Kate’s banned dime novel she decides to put some passion back into her marriage with disastrous results.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research affect your character development?

I’m a pantser which means I write by the seat of mine. To me a character’s all about voice. I have to hear them in my head. When characters start waking me to talk then I know we’re set to go.

I usually start by having each character say a simple prayer. This helps me get a handle on the character and what’s going on in his or her life. In Dawn Comes Early one of the cowhands prayed: “God, the father, thank you for your many blessings and don’t forgit to send rain. And if you ain’t sendin’ rain to us, don’t go sendin’ it to no other ranches, neither.” Boy, did that ever tell me a lot about him and the ranch.

What are some common speech terms, dress modes, transportation or housing facts that you found interesting for your time period?

Cowboy lingo is so colorful and fun. How can we not love it? Can you think of more mouth-pleasing words than hornswoggle, caboodle or skedaddle? Or what about fiddlefooted, ranktankerous, rumbumptious or splendiferous? A latte may be the haute cuisine of coffee, but give me an Arbuckle’s any day. The one drawback of formal education is that today we all sound alike.

Do you have any authors who inspired you?

As a girl I read everything Louisa May Alcott wrote. I was convinced she based Jo in Little Women on me.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

The most effective promotion is word of mouth, which today means having readers mention your book on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and the like. The only way I know to get word of mouth is to write a good book.

What do we have to look forward next?

The second book in the series Waiting for Morning will be published January, 2013. I also have a non-fiction book (my first) coming out. Grieving God’s Way: the Path to Hope and Healing will be available from Thomas Nelson in July. I wrote this book following the loss of our son and it’s very close to my heart.

Thanks, Margaret!

Thank you for having me!

To celebrate her book release, Margaret Brownley is offering a free book of Dawn Comes Early to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please check the blog Monday night to see if you won. Chances of winning determined by the number of entries.)

More Love and Laughter from N.Y. Times Bestselling Author
Margaret Brownley

“Daily Reasons to Smile” Contest

“I’ve matched up twenty-three couples over the years and in all that time I only made one error. Although I still think the marriage would have worked had she not shot her husband.”—Aunt Bessie in Dawn Comes Early (Brides of Last Chance Ranch)

Characters from Margaret’s new book will send you a reason to smile every day until April 11th. Join in the fun and you could win a book, potted cactus (the story takes place in Arizona Territory) or an iPod Nano and alarm clock docking station. To enter send an email to info@NancyBerland.com. Be sure to put “Reason to Smile” in the subject line. That’s it!


She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Bio.
Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this—except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction."

So that’s what Margaret did. She’s now a New York Times bestselling author and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist with more than 25 novels to her credit—not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

Check out author’s website at www.margaretbrownley.com
Buy http://www.amazon.com/Comes-Early-Brides-Chance-Ranch/dp/1595549684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330169454&sr=8-1

The Creativity Gene

Where does creativity come from?

I will tell you that my mother is an artist and my father is an accountant. Taking that at face value, one might automatically conclude that my mother gave me her talents. There was a time when I drew. I was pretty good, but it wasn't my passion. Growing up, I knew that was required to stick to something that was hard, that would be put in front of a critical public and have them make snide remarks.

My drawings (yes, I still have them) are for my own personal consumption. They're not perfect and I never plan to devote the time to get them that way. I never plan to put them in front of anyone to critique. My mother has a critique group made up of other artists. Just like in writing, being around others who share your passion is required to improve your talent. Of course, there are also those that don't 'get' you but that's a topic for another story.

Growing up, I realized that my father was extremely talented too. Now before you start thinking he was cooking the books, I mean his talent was in the way he saw patterns in numbers that helped him invest and budget. Many times I would go grocery shopping with my father and we'd talk about value of products--taste is important, not just the price tag.

But there were also the times when we'd be alone in the car and he'd entertain me my making up lyrics to songs. My favorite--Car wars, nothing but car wars. Get in your cars and drive away, sung if you will to the Star Wars theme song a la Bill Murray style. There were many more and to this day I still sing the lyrics he did, often when my kids are in the car:-). Some traditions deserve to be passed down.

He also made things up besides lyrics. Once when we were waiting for one of my sisters to get off work, he told me he'd been a jackass in another life and my mother had been a snake. They'd kept each other company in their animal forms until he found her in this life. Now that's creative!

So where does my creativity come from?

Both my parents. I'm a very visual person as well as being analytical. As for why I chose writing, both actually wrote at one time. My mom created short stories for children and my dad wrote a murder mystery in the style of Mickey Spillane.

Where does your creativity come from?

Connie Flynn Goes A.W.O.L.

At Amazon - http://amzn.to/smoZp5

This just in . . . Connie Flynn, Basic Track Instructor for Bootcamp for Novelists Online, will go AWOL beginning March 10.

Not the usual AWOL, I suppose.  I mean, a person’s not supposed to give notice when they go AWOL, are they?

But it was time.  In November I blogged that my heart was in my writing and since then I’ve worked to finish my fantasy novel – yes, I’m still working on that one – and on getting my out of print books up on Amazon, plus pull two other finished mysteries into shape to publish.  Every time I turned around, the demands of teaching the Bootcamp and my college classes interfered, making my progress very slow.  Finally it came to a head, and after some heart to heart conversations with family members and close friends I eventually concluded I couldn't do it all.

I decided to take a six month leave of absence from Bootcamp for Novelists.   I’m rescheduling my upcoming classes and will return on September 7 with Sparkling Dialogue, followed by Punch Up Your Prose.  Come the new year (yes, 2013, how quickly time flies) I’ll resume the Four Pillars of Structure. Registration will remain open for those classes and I will offer 2-4 course package discounts.

In the meantime I’ll be busy finishing the book that’s been burning in my heart for so long and will keep in touch with former students and future students through the Bootcamp Bunker.   I now might even find time to take in some movies or spend a day at the mall and there will definitely be more lunches with family and friends.

So see you in September.  I’ll be looking refreshed.
Connie

P.S.  Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of my debut paranormal novel, SHADOW ON THE MOON.

Create Complex Characters

The most interesting characters are the hardest to write. Beth Andrews will explore ways to create complex, layered characters who will jump off the page and into your reader’s heart. Don’t miss this workshop at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference.

Registration closes March 31, 2012
http://www.desertroserwa.org

Judi McCoy's March 6th Book

With her passing last week, we'd like to showcase Judi's next dog walker book here on Much Cheaper Than Therapy in her memory.

Fashion Faux Paw

It's Fashion Week in New York and Ellie's in charge of the dogs' modeling outfits that match their mommy-mdoels for a fashion competition. But before the first round closes, one of the designers drops dead of anaphylactic shock, her Epipen useless because someone's emptied it.

The victim's peanut allergy was well-known, so Ellie and her dog Rudy must comb through the brash designer's rivals, colleagues, and many enemies to discover who was so desperate that she committed the ultimate crime of fashion.

RIP Judi.

buy http://www.amazon.com/Fashion-Faux-Paw-Walker-Mystery/dp/0451236270/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330379572&sr=1-1

Tribute To Davy Jones

Monkees singer Davy Jones passed away Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 66.

Davy was a singer, actor, and here's something you might not know about him, he was a jockey. Yep, before he became a teen idol in the sixties and seventies with a group called the Monkees, he planned to become a horse racing jockey. But instead he followed his dream to be an entertainer. Lucky for us that he did because for many of us he was our first teen idol crush.

These's no doubt a lot of us will be humming, "Daydream Believer" today as we write.

Goodby, Davy. We will always remember your talent, and your sweetness.

Rest in peace.