tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post8567576915934115260..comments2024-03-08T09:52:59.827-05:00Comments on Middle Passages: I'm inLizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170701034715108039noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-39351028158785659342010-09-30T14:47:15.531-04:002010-09-30T14:47:15.531-04:00Leaving a reader wanting more - that's my goal...Leaving a reader wanting more - that's my goal. Hopefully I can meet it!Cinettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11453731550912619157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-7239364224864913342010-09-28T16:56:34.036-04:002010-09-28T16:56:34.036-04:00Any character that makes you want to read more abo...Any character that makes you want to read more about him/her is definitely compelling!Sandra Ulbrich Almazanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15365908651235829765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-13138294518401849182010-09-28T16:02:42.587-04:002010-09-28T16:02:42.587-04:00Great post! And you are so right. I recently re-...Great post! And you are so right. I recently re-watched a few seasons of a favorite (and long gone) TV show, just because I needed to check in with the characters that compelled me. And I wish they'd come back and compel me some more. :)Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04225611074151575663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-78994304281815846932010-09-28T00:24:04.128-04:002010-09-28T00:24:04.128-04:00I love love love Gone with the Wind but refuse to ...I love love love Gone with the Wind but refuse to read the so-called sequels. From everything I've read, they fall so short of the original that it isn't even worth it. But Scarlett and Rhett did get together, of that I'm sure. :)Nicole Zoltackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07464800543376449290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-25940269271495561432010-09-27T00:27:47.520-04:002010-09-27T00:27:47.520-04:00True! I so believe that a great writer can give a ...True! I so believe that a great writer can give a rock dimension by bestowing an deep emotion into the reader's head! A boy picks it up and tosses it into the lake, leaving the family of rocks at his feet that cry out, 'don't throw daddy in!' LOL, yeah, you get what I mean!!<br /><br />Come and <a href="http://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/2010/09/writing-compelling-characters-blogfest.html" rel="nofollow">visit</a> me!Elizabeth Muellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06028099814857743134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-10499641603513396122010-09-26T12:52:11.684-04:002010-09-26T12:52:11.684-04:00I love those characters too and wanted to yell mos...I love those characters too and wanted to yell most of my way through The Thorn Birds. But, Harry Potter is my favorite. But then, I love fantasy.<br />Nancy<br /><a href="http://nrwilliams.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">N. R. Williams, fantasy author</a>N. R. Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02174506528962095858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-17258731900795093592010-09-26T07:08:30.673-04:002010-09-26T07:08:30.673-04:00I love how you give multiple examples and all the ...I love how you give multiple examples and all the advice. Great post!Basthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12561466241112288690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-43320939686196426882010-09-25T18:12:55.968-04:002010-09-25T18:12:55.968-04:00I think your list is complete - with one addition....I think your list is complete - with one addition.....a best-selling fiction writer told me that she never forgets her reader, and that she respects her reader.Pondsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407539138546412482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-3224055961109117712010-09-25T10:05:29.598-04:002010-09-25T10:05:29.598-04:00Hi, I'm dropping in from the blog fest. Nice ...Hi, I'm dropping in from the blog fest. Nice to meet you!<br /><br />Gone with the Wind and The Thorn Birds, my two all-time favorites (and both read several times.) The characters remained in my head long after the book closed for all the reasons you wrote about. I also think layering the tension works. <br /><br />This is a really great post. I'm happy to follow you.Kittie Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07756250649095903317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-70420062841849724492010-09-25T09:39:02.691-04:002010-09-25T09:39:02.691-04:00Loved Gilmore Girls...you're right, incredible...Loved Gilmore Girls...you're right, incredible characters!<br /><br />Nice post.Jennifer Hoffinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07616744694563644199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-87703966627986982572010-09-25T09:26:19.089-04:002010-09-25T09:26:19.089-04:00Not practiced at writing fiction? You just wrote a...Not practiced at writing fiction? You just wrote a post about how you wrote fiction, albeit in your head. Nonetheless, you were creating.<br /><br />And your list is spot on.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-22014259229924175752010-09-25T01:04:54.548-04:002010-09-25T01:04:54.548-04:00So um, are we the same person? Because you love ev...So um, are we the same person? Because you love everything I love. I was obsessed with the Gilmore Girls!!! And oh my word, The thornbirds and Gone with the Wind, be still, my heart!!! and oh dear Harry...<br /><br />Anyway, I digress...great breakdown for compelling characters. I think the very best mcs are the ones that leave you wanting to imagine the rest of their lives after the story.Carolina M. Valdez Schneiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11589934533051907801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-10012065492464016722010-09-24T23:09:29.382-04:002010-09-24T23:09:29.382-04:00The part that resonated most with me was "lea...The part that resonated most with me was "leaving the reader wanting more." If you can do that, you are probably doing everything else.<br />Thanks!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-22190345788509142962010-09-24T21:32:08.378-04:002010-09-24T21:32:08.378-04:00SOOOO true. When I love characters I sit, long aft...SOOOO true. When I love characters I sit, long after, and imagine other possibilities for their lives, what happened after. They stick with me and I think about them a lot. This post was great. <br /><br />I hope I can pull off all of the aspects you mentioned as I would love it if, one day, readers felt about my characters the way I feel about my favorites.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12096764010151024050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-31889706074895918682010-09-24T17:13:47.224-04:002010-09-24T17:13:47.224-04:00Great examples!! I think the best characters are ...Great examples!! I think the best characters are the ones who think about long after the book is finished or the movie is over. You wonder about them and hope for a sequel! ;) <br /><br />Glad I found your blog too. ;)Taleihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07317577935549931974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-50659571168152721802010-09-24T16:57:26.758-04:002010-09-24T16:57:26.758-04:00I think a character that sticks with a reader is w...I think a character that sticks with a reader is wonderful, and really the best way that a writer knows they've created a compelling character - when they get those questions, "What happened to them now??"Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18096173111325220168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-25431309671215134742010-09-24T16:52:56.206-04:002010-09-24T16:52:56.206-04:00I know the characters of a story I'm reading h...I know the characters of a story I'm reading have gotten to me when I continue the story in my head after I turned off my light.Bish Denhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359927719391990534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-42545386602739898182010-09-24T16:17:49.814-04:002010-09-24T16:17:49.814-04:00I remember back in the 90s when "fanfic"...I remember back in the 90s when "fanfic" was huge...people would get frustrated with the way storylines were going on their favorite shows (usually shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and write their own. I guess many of those people are writing books or blogs today!Stephanie Farishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10461865229341760836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-53131167384013162382010-09-24T15:47:29.184-04:002010-09-24T15:47:29.184-04:00Super list, Liza! I think you nailed the most impo...Super list, Liza! I think you nailed the most important things. I gotta believe them and I gotta care. And when they stick with me long after the book is finished, I know the author got it right.Tricia J. O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05993110400088806252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-8612298832496840492010-09-24T12:40:01.446-04:002010-09-24T12:40:01.446-04:00Something I recently read on an author page is tha...Something I recently read on an author page is that you always must increase the tension as you are writing. You read that and thought to yourself, "Well, that is obvious." Except sometimes when you are writing you spill too much too soon. It is all about layering the tension. Not telling too much too soon. How you roll out the story so that it has just the right amount of tension and punch is important. And it isn't as easy as it sounds. Since I read that I stopped working on my novel and started reading again. It is one of things I look for as I am reading. How is this author layering the tension in this story? When you read strictly for enjoyment you don't even notice it. When you read as a writer, you do. You start reading on two different levels. It feels weird.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14932408372240147454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-49161864926892493512010-09-24T12:37:26.381-04:002010-09-24T12:37:26.381-04:00I'm leaving my comment here, hoping you'll...I'm leaving my comment here, hoping you'll find it.<br />Thanks for linking your letter to my post today. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm so sorry it took such a tragedy to awaken those feelings.<br />Thanks again!jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01313127576303289593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-45922498664426575992010-09-24T12:09:19.776-04:002010-09-24T12:09:19.776-04:00Excellent thoughts. I do think we must appeal to t...Excellent thoughts. I do think we must appeal to the emotions of a reader, really make that connection, so they will wonder about them after they finish. Be it TV or books, they should do the same thing.Elana Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05877856005992028912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-86988577047102916522010-09-24T11:19:08.088-04:002010-09-24T11:19:08.088-04:00Such an interesting post. I have recently begun t...Such an interesting post. I have recently begun to think about this from a totally different viewpoint. Have you ever read a book where you really found yourself completely apathetic towards the main character(s)? I've read a few where I actually found the heroine to be down-right annoying and found myself with little drive to finish the book, except a somewhat apathetic curiosity to know if the character might possibly become more endearing as the pages turned. So I have begun to question what it is about these characters that leaves me cold, what makes them irritate, or at the very least bore me to tears. <br /><br />Generally speaking, it is when I feel this way about characters that I am also very aware that I am reading a book. When I love the characters, I am so engrossed in the story that somehow I lose the sense of the tactile pages and cover and go beyond those defined physical limitations into another world where the characters are completely alive and living their lives in 3D colour in my mind. When I am not in love with the characters, I am very aware that the book is there in my hands, with a definite beginning and end, with black text on white paper, and words that have to be translated from visual images to an imaginative world. <br /><br />It's interesting that you brought up the subject of Harry Potter. I found those books to be very interesting when I was reading them but promptly forgot all about them the second the last page was turned. I suspect it was because they are so incredibly formulaic. The characters were interesting, but the plot line was so clearly following a set standard that after I closed the book, I had zero interest in what happened to the characters. Somehow, I never once forgot that they were fictional and that they had no life outside of the the pages of the book. <br /><br />Other books, totally different experience! To this day, I mourn the heroine in a particular mystery series I read years ago. After writing three in the series, the author died and although she died long before I ever picked up the first book, I was so devastated to learn that she was never able to finish the series. Her characters were so alive, intriguing, and lovable that I feel like they came alive in my own mind and so I carry them with me to this day in a small part of my memory. <br /><br />So what is the difference? What is it about some characters that leaves me cold? Not sure yet, but I'm wondering ... is it that the characters are less believable? Or are they just fashioned after people I wouldn't actually like in real life? Or, in the case of Harry Potter, are they lovable characters but not strong enough to carry them past a weak/repetitive plot line?Rohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03631771953626754039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-50671407290279773782010-09-24T09:53:46.727-04:002010-09-24T09:53:46.727-04:00I agree with you totally. I don't consider my...I agree with you totally. I don't consider myself a writer, but "knowing" the character is more enjoyable (to me ) to write about. I like for a character to make me agree and disagree with them..and anticipate the next encounter (wanting more, i suppose). I wonder, is that the reason I check to see your post everyday? Ye'uh, that's the ticket..glnrozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12922837344762102334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907885067602758337.post-64611421326164721262010-09-24T09:23:07.300-04:002010-09-24T09:23:07.300-04:00I think you nailed it with leaving the reader want...I think you nailed it with leaving the reader wanting more.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.com