How to Make Your Characters Believable

- Guest Post by Nhys Glover

Let me first state that I don’t believe it’s possible to make characters believable. When you write, those characters have to become people to you, before they ever have a chance of becoming credible to someone else.

That doesn’t mean you have to know your people inside out before you begin to write. I know some writers create a whole biography for their central characters before they start. But that’s not how it happens for me.

When I write, I start with a picture in my mind of the person I’m going to write about, in much the same way as I might describe someone I meet for the first time. They’re just an image in my mind behaving in a certain way, at that point. If I like what I see, then I’ll allow my Muse to follow him or her on their adventures. I try to write about everything they think, do and say that moves the story forward.

But ultimately I’m an observer, and so when my people do things that surprise me, I have to know why. That’s when I start to get more deeply into their heads. Why is Pia so shy and insecure in The Titan Drowns? Her subservience is actually rather annoying to me. So I let her show me her early life in Norway, before the Last Great Plague changed everything for her, as it did for every survivor. And when I saw where her thinking has led her astray, I was then able to introduce her to people on the scene who could give her a better perspective, and I could put her into situations that provided her with further awareness. So just like real people my people are always growing.

Sometimes my people are based on historical figures, and I allow those real lives to give me the perspective I need to find a place for them in my story. That’s what happened to Maxwell. I’d read about one of the celebrities who went down with the Titanic, and I found him fascinating… stuffy and very upper-crust, but with the heart of an artist and a champion of the underdog. So I let that real person morph into my imaginary person, complete with an imaginary wife who is a manipulative, unfaithful schemer.

Place influences people. So my Max had a very typical Victorian upbringing that warped his sexuality. In his case, he’s remained celibate because sex is disgusting. My job as the facilitator of my people’s growth is to introduce them to just the right person who can love them. In Max’s case it’s Eilish, an uninhibited but hitherto equally celibate woman from the future. And sparks fly from the first moment.

In the New Atlantis series this kind of instant attraction always happens because it’s part of my world’s dynamic. As I said, place influences people. It must. In the case of my world of New Atlantis, Old Timers suddenly go from emotionally numb to painfully alive as soon as they meet their Key or Soul Mate, which spins them out and often brings up stuff they’ve kept buried for hundreds of years. By describing that psychological process I add to my people’s authenticity.

So if you want to make your people credible, believe in them yourself. This doesn’t make you crazy; it just makes you capable of ‘suspending belief’. If you expect your reader to suspend belief to get into your story about flesh-eating zombies, then you have to do it too, whole-heartedly, before you even put pen to paper.

Author Interview – Zoe Brooks

What is your favourite quote, by whom, and why?

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” Albert Einstein

I have always loved fairytales and I think adults should read them too. We tend to discard them as we grow older but they are the purest form of stories, you can learn so much by reading them.

What is your favourite food?

I love seafood. When our son was young we had many happy holidays camping in Brittany and Normandy (in France). We used to eat at restaurants overlooking where the fishing boats were unloading. Our four-year old son used to consume adult-sized plates of mussels, particularly liking the ones which had little crabs inside. As he grew older we started to holiday in Greece and would eat meze beside the beach – octopus, squid, as well as mussels etc.

What is your favourite place in the entire world?

South Bohemia in the Czech Republic. I fell in love with it about twelve years ago. With its forests, mountains and old castles, it is straight out of a fairy tale. I bought an old farmhouse there and it is where I write all my books. Of course I also love the Cotswold hills in England, where I was born and still live, but when it comes to writing it has to be South Bohemia.

When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve always written poetry: I was first published at the age of thirteen and was regarded as one of the bright young things of British poetry, but poetry doesn’t pay the bills and I had to focus on my career. For over twenty years I had a very demanding job working with disadvantaged people and loved it, but about a few years ago it all became too much and I changed my career. I decided I would follow the dream of writing novels. I had always made up stories but up until then they were for my enjoyment only.

What inspires you to write and why?

I have two main inspirations – when I am writing. Firstly I am influenced by my former career, during which I met and talked to some amazing women, who had been to hell and back. Those women influence both my heroines, who both are outsiders who have to struggle against prejudice. Secondly I am influenced by knowledge of history – I studied history at university – which is full of fascinating stories and themes. In this book I used the history of how women healers were persecuted and killed (as witches) between the 14th and 17th centuries.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?

I have been told I write magic realism. I had never heard about magic realism before – but basically it’s realistic but with something magical or strange in it. My books are set in an unspecified place and time, which some people find disturbing. The book is also women’s fiction – I write about women, all my books have strong heroines. There’s some romance in the book, but it’s not the only thing by any means.

Who or what influenced your writing once you began?

A major influence was my dear friend, Hannah Kodicek. She was a story editor in the film industry – her most successful work was on the Oscar-winning film The Counterfeiters. She also lectured on story editing and structure, so it was not surprising that it was to Hannah that I turned when I decided I wanted to write novels. I think she was nervous about critiquing a friend’s work, but she needn’t have worried. I found what she had to say fascinating and inspiring. Hannah died suddenly of cancer nearly two years ago. Before she died she made me promise that I would publish my books.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?

Because I write magic realism, I do a lot of research to ensure the world I create is realistic. The central character is a traditional healer and perfume-maker. I knew a little about traditional medicines but absolutely nothing about perfume making. I went to the Bodleian Library at Oxford and found some old manuals about making and selling perfumes. It was fascinating – I found out  about the raw materials and how perfumes are blended. There was a lot of overlap with traditional healing. Did you know that traditional healers used to identify illness by the smell?

Have you developed a specific writing style?

A recent review said that my “writing alternates between lyrical and straightforward”, which is I think a fair description of my style. I try to write accessible popular books which get under the skin of the reader.

Have you ever had writer’s block?  If so,what do you do about it?

Yes. I always get it fifty pages into writing the first draft of each novel. I was very pleased to see on a BBC programme that Ian Rankin has the same block only his starts at page sixty five. I start full of ideas and excited but by page fifty, it’s not exciting any more and I realise any plotting problems I’ve got. My usual answer is to take a break. I might go for a walk, do some gardening or even start cleaning the house ( yes, it really is that bad).

How did you come up with the title?

In the realistic world that I have created one of the fantasy elements is Shadows. The central character and the book’s narrator, Judith, has a Shadow called Sarah. Shadows are very like human beings, but they do not have the emotions of humans. Because they are different they are victims of prejudice and persecution. Judith’s love for Sarah is at the heart of why she takes action to help when Shadows are attacked, it is also why she is drawn to a man called Bruno, who too knows what it is to love a Shadow. The Shadow concept came very early on in the writing of the series. Shadows allow me to explore what goes into being human, about prejudice and relationships.

Choosing Your Setting is as Important as Your Plot

- Guest Post by Kat H. Clayton

There are lots of elements that are important to consider when you start writing a story that will hopefully lead to a fully fledged novel. Characters, plots and themes are some of the first things that come to mind, but something equally important is the setting.

Honestly, I think and choose my setting before I really delve into the story itself. I’ll have a vague idea of my plot and a few scenes fleshed out in my mind, but the process can’t continue until I find the perfect setting for my story.

I write contemporary suspense/mystery novels, so there’s limited world building that goes on for me. I can make up towns and settings, but they have to be based within the framework of our natural world (i.e. no space colonies or underwater cities, unless of course they become reality).

For my mystery/suspense series, The Kings of Charleston, I had to find a place that to me evoked an air of mystery. Where could I place my characters that would allow even the setting to play a role in building up the tension? There were a couple of places that came to mind, but I had to really think carefully how to choose just the right one. I know there’s no keeping secret where I chose to set my novel since it’s in the title, but I think that only demonstrates even more how important the setting is to this story.

I let you know right away that the novel is set in Charleston and you immediately start to get an idea of what to expect from the story if you are familiar with the city. Charleston is a very old city (in terms of old for the United States) with lots of history. Along with that history comes a fair amount of stately mansions with tales of ghosts lurking about, old graveyards and superstitions. Another spooky element to me is the Spanish moss that hangs all over the trees like tattered cloaks. It always looks creepy to me, especially after dark or when the trees are bare and the limbs look like skeletal hands. Even the oppressive summertime heat and humidity adds an air of sexiness and intrigue.

Charleston not only added a lot of mystery, it added some sophistication because it’s known for its hospitality and old world charm. It was the perfect setting for a group of wealthy families with lots of decorum and traditions, but also with lots of secrets to keep hidden.

As you can see, so much could already be conveyed about my story simply by choosing it’s setting. And even if you are not familiar with Charleston, hopefully my descriptions of this mesmerizing Southern city will help you see my vision of why Charleston is the perfect backdrop for this particular story.

Reviews Are The New “Gold” in Publishing Currency

- Guest Post by AFN Clarke

You’re an Indie author, you just finished a new book and you know the only way to sell it is to promote it.  But you’re also told by successful authors that without 10 – 15 reviews promotion is a waste of time and money, as most readers won’t buy a book with few reviews. But how can you get 15 reviews, without promotion and sales?  It’s a circular and exasperating predicament.

Here are a few tips to building those prized reviews quickly (what I suggest for Amazon can be replicated on most other ebook retail sites):

1.         Give your book away for free to boost readership and reviews.

Offer a free pre-publication edition of your book to family and friends in return for a review. Make the offer 1-2 months before publication – the moment it appears, your readers can post reviews.

Alternatively, whatever your book’s final price, launch it at something like 99 cents.  Offer to gift your book for 1 week to those in your social networks in return for a review (Email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ etc). The Gift A Copy button is under the Click To Buy button on Amazon. Yes, you pay for each book you gift, but that sale registers in Amazon’s algorithms, increasing your book’s ranking and visibility. The resultant reviews aren’t Verified Purchase Reviews, but better than nothing. Never demand a review, request one politely AND ask for an honest review – the whole purpose is to increase the number of genuine reviews for your book.

Giveaways are another way to get your book out there to readers quickly for free in the hope they will post a review. Ask any reputable author/reader website to work with you on a giveaway or contact sites like Freebooksy, BookGoodies, Free Book Dude, The Frugal eReader.

2.         Request reviews through the author community.

Established author/reader websites are great places to request a review including: Author Marketing Club; World Literary Café; Book Tweeting Service; BookGoodies; GoodReads; Zwoodle Books; The Kindle Book Review; Facebook; Kindleboards.

3.         Create a virtual blog tour.

Well-known bloggers reach thousands of readers that you could never reach alone. Reputable websites like Orangeberry Book Tours (OB) offer an amazing selection of virtual book tours through their extensive blogger network. The cost is very reasonable and the service excellent. For me, OB is a busy author’s dream-come-true.  Just the 7-day tour for my politically provocative thriller An Unquiet American yielded great results.  I’m now in the middle of a longer tour for my latest book The Orange Moon Affair – the first in a new thriller series – and while it’s already doing well with 4.9 Stars on Amazon, my guess is that once the 30 day blog tour is over I will have at least 25 more reviews and thousands more readers who will have heard of my book, and many who’ve hopefully bought it.

The key is to keep working with people/service providers who can help you go viral – to leverage what you do, expand your promotion efforts exponentially and get you out to tens of thousands of readers.

4.         Ready to promote?

Once you have a decent number of reviews I recommend you read the Author Resources section of The Kindle Book Review and follow Jeff Bennington’s tips for effective marketing.  Also read Jim F. Kukral’s The Ultimate Digital Promotion Handbook at the Author Marketing Club. Start promoting using their recommendations and slowly build your own expertise.

5.         Track your results

Before you do any of the above, enroll your book(s) in Kindle Nation Daily’s eBookTracker and track your Amazon pricing data and sales ranking.  Note when your sales ranking rises -  in response to reviews? Advertising? Specific promotions?  Price changes? It’s a great way to determine what works and what doesn’t.

May you win the “gold” and have the greatest of success!

AFN CLARKE is the son of a British MI6 operative, pilot, sailor, screenwriter, father of four who’s lived all over the world, served in the British Army and recovered from the physical/emotional traumas of war.  His bestselling memoir CONTACT was serialized in a British newspaper and made into an award winning BBCTV film.  He’s insatiably curious, loves heated discussions and has a rascally sense of humor. He now writes fiction of various genres – thrillers (The Orange Moon Affair and An Unquiet American); human drama (Dry Tortugas), humor/satire (Dreams from the Death Age; Armageddon), horror (Collisions) with more coming soon.  For more information visit http://www.afnclarke.com, connect on Facebook or Twitter (@AFN Clarke).