Wait… Is that Character based on me?

One of the most asked questions that a writer gets is: Where do you get the ideas for your characters?

Honestly, it varies from author to author. But I will tell you where I get the ideas for my characters.

First of all, I never base a character on ONE person. I learned the hard way that it just doesn’t work. If you are mad at the person in real life, then someone how it comes across on the character.

For example, I once killed a MAIN character in a book because I was very angry at the source inspiration in real life. LOL talk about major rewriting!

I like to take characteristics from several sources and create a character. Or sometimes I make up a character and give them a characteristic of a personal source.

1) From my Family- those nuts…uh… I mean very normal people (haha!) are always saying and doing things that are funny or interesting. My niece is definitely a constant source of inspiration.

2) My Friends - Of Course my friends inspire me. I spend time with a diverse group of people, with different views and goals. I would have to say that three of my friends inspire me more than others, though.

3) Strangers- Basing a character on someone that I don’t personally know is always fun. You get to imagine things about them and then run with it.

So, if one day you are reading a book of mine and think, “Wait… is that character based on me?”

Well… it just might be! Then again, maybe not… ;-)

The Passive Voice Monster

As a writer, I think it is very important to recognize when you have a problem within your writing. Sometimes it is harder than it looks, though, and that is where it is great to have another set of eyes reading your book.


I have a WONDERFUL critique partner. She is the best and is just amazing at what she does! She is always finding things that I have missed (like things that don’t flow within the story.) One of my favorite things that she discovered is that I wasn’t spacing when using “…”
Example: She stopped…and didn’t smile

It should be: She stopped… (SPACE) and didn’t smile.

I recently joined an online critique group to get a second (or third) set of eyes to look through my book. Just imagine if one person catches something, just think what three people find!

And this is where my latest problem was discovered (You are going to laugh about this sentence in just a second).

Here is my problem:

I fall victim to the ugly, green PASSIVE VOICE Monster!!

I know! It is scary! For those of you who don’t know here is the definition of passive voice: A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not the grammatical subject of the sentence.

And my biggest problem is overusing WAS.

“The sky WAS turning a dark grey as the storm moved in”

“The rain WAS pouring from the sky and it hit her in the face”

“She was terrified as she ran towards the trees”


Believe me, the WAS list goes on and on and on and…well, you get the point!

To keep the reader in the present, it should be:

“As the storm moved in the sky turned dark grey”

“Rain hit her in the face as they sky unleashed its fury”

“She ran towards the trees, terrified”

Sometimes its okay to use WAS and I have to find the balance. I think it comes up in my writing a lot because I say it a lot as well.

But it WAS (hehe) interesting to see something that I need to work on. Now I see it everywhere lol.

The Bug That Wouldn't Die

Now, before you get mad at the title of my post, I'm not talking about a real bug. No, I'm talking about something MUCH worse. A Virus. *shudders*

So let me give you a little breakdown of how last week went...
SUNDAY
Mother's Day... A Day when we celebrate our Mothers. Well, not at our house. The "BUG" had clearly snuck into our house while we slept and attacked my innocent niece. Around one in the morning, she comes rushing past my bedroom and goes into her Mother's room.

"Mom!" she cries. "I'm sick. I threw up all over the floor! I am so sorry!"

She is now sobbing. My sister gets up and goes to comfort my niece and also clean up the floor. Side note: The "BUG" must have loved it that my niece had ate some chocolate ice cream earlier... YUCK.

As the day goes on, it is clear that the "BUG" is not going to leave my niece alone. We cancel our lunch plans with the rest of our family and decide to stay home. We didn't want to give the "BUG" a chance to attack anyone else.


MONDAY
The house was eerily silent on Monday. My niece was feeling much better (But still stayed home from school, just in case). My Dad came over to watch her and my sister and I went to our jobs. Even when we got home things were still good. My niece ate some solid food and all was looking up...

*cues ominous music*

But.. the "BUG" had been waiting... waiting for us to let our guards down. And who did the "BUG" attack next? My poor, helpless baby nephew! The poor guy got sick and couldn't keep any formula down and he was NOT liking the Pedialite we were giving him. And each time he was sick, I know the "BUG" was laughing... and plotting.
My niece felt so bad. "I got the baby sick!" she said with tears in her eyes.

We tried explaining it wasn't her fault when the "BUG" made its next move. My sister jumped to her feet.

"I am going to be sick!" she exclaimed as she ran to the bathroom.

Oooookay. Everyone was sick, but me. I took in a deep breath. I was going to be fine. I don't get sick. I'm not one of those people...


TUESDAY
Okay, I am totally one of those people, I guess, because at one in the morning the "BUG" attacked me and didn't let me go. And the irony... I had ice cream before I went to bed. YUCK!!!

So the day was a blur of rushing past my sister to the restroom to be sick. And sleeping where there was not rest. Fevers... chills...

I HATE THAT BUG!


WEDNESDAY
I was able to drag myself off to work, which was not fun. I then found out that my other sister had been attacked by the "BUG".

THURSDAY
Thursday was better, but I still wasn't at 100%.

The "BUG" had moved onto my Dad and to my little sister's boyfriend.

My lord! When will this "BUG" die!?!!?


FRIDAY
No word from the "BUG". I can only imagine who he has moved on to.


*** An Update: The EVIL "BUG" moved onto the baby-sitter and her entire family. Sheesh!***

Wonderful Vacation

My vacation is coming to an end and it has been pretty wonderful! I was able to get in some writing and editing. I also got to take a couple of 'day trips'. The huge finale of my vacation is Saturday and Sunday, though.

My BFF and I are going to Houston to see Ricky Martin in concert. And let me tell ya, the 15 year old fan girl inside of me is so excited!!!! I will post some pics when I get back.

Quotes that inspire me

Well, I hope none of you had a week like I did! It was just insanely busy and chaotic! But, I survived! Through out the week I would find little things that would keep me going, giving me a smile here and there.

Here are some quotes that always keep me going:
"If your ship doesn't come in... swim out to it!"

"Hope is the dream of a man awake"

"What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything"

"Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."
"It does not matter how slowly toy go so long as you do not stop."
"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breaths away."

And the most important one...

"Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about!"

So my friends, never give up. Even when you have a bad week at work... or when things aren't going your way. Always reach for the stars!!

Quick One...

Just a quick post... Editing right now, so i am working on that! :) C-ya on Friday with a new post!

Weekend Get-away

Another work week is over with! Yay! I am headed to Dallas this weekend with my Cousin and Aunt to do some shopping! I love little weekend trips like this.
Here Are My Top Weekend Destinations:
Dallas/ Ft. Worth, TX
Tulsa, OK
Edmond, OK (really not that far away, but still far enough)
Wichita, KS
Little Rock, AR
St. Louis, MO (if I feel like a nice drive lol)

Where do you like to go to get away?