Terescia's thoughts and such.

Character strengths are what draw us, as readers, to the characters we love, but without flaws characters cannot be the multi-dimensional people we need them to be.

Giving a character a flaw is about more than making them physically or emotionally imperfect. Flaws must be thought out to show opportunities for growth and development, to give us something to hope for or to show us something that will lead to the character’s ultimate downfall.

It’s not usually a good idea to sit down and randomly pick a flaw to give your character. Fleshing out your characters might start with physical appearance, but the substance of your characters’ traits will come from what they’ve done or dealt with in the past. Flaws that are the direct result of a character’s past are the most powerful flaws to give your characters.

Your heroine was burned by a good deed in the past, so she’s developed a certain amount of cynicism that the hero can’t quite understand until he gets to know her better. Take it a few steps further and you can create strongly driven characters who have something of a dark side to them.

Creating character flaws is an important overall part of your character creation. Without their flaws, their strengths won’t mean very much.

In the June 2008 edition of Scientific American magazine in the Neurobiology section, the article “The Healthy Type” by Jessica Wapner brings up the link between expressive writing and health when it states “…besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.”

This got me to thinking about all the benefits I get from writing, whether I’m blogging, composing articles, or writing fiction. I do experience an almost euphoric sense of well-being when I’ve written something. Is the euphoria a result of my satisfaction of having completed something or a result of my having expressed myself? Some of this might be related to the phenomenon of being in “the zone” but I don’t only write when I’m on a roll. Sometimes I work at it and yet I still feel good after having done it.

I can’t say much more about the physiological effects of writing, but there are some benefits that are easy for me to define.

• Blogging makes me feel connected to other people. Even if no one comments on a post I’ve made, there’s a sense of community whenever I put something up on my blog. I never feel like I’m writing to a void. I always imagine someone reading what I’ve written and this gives me a sense of well-being that sticks with me for a while after I’ve posted.
• Writing boosts my creativity levels. Once I begin writing, I gain momentum. Ideas come to me like rain to earth and the creative energy spreads to other parts of my brain. I start to think creatively on many different planes, solving problems and questioning assumptions.
• Using a keyboard keeps my fingers limber. This might sound like I’m trying to be clever, but I truly believe that keeping my fingers moving is a way to fight off stiffness in my finger joints. Now, I’m many, many years (I hope) from having issues with things like arthritis, but one key to relieving symptoms of this inflammatory disease is to keep your joints limber by using them.

I’m sure there are other benefits to writing that I’ve missed. Consider sharing your own ideas about how writing benefits you and your health. Does it help you fight off illness?

Resources:

• Scientific American, June 2008

I’ve found a new tool to shave a bit of time off my internet rituals. I’ve discovered Flock, a web browser based on the Mozilla Firefox browser I currently use — but am now weaning myself from. Flock has a feature that lets me set up multiple blogs and post to them easily. In fact, I love the blog editor built into Flock. I don’t have to log it to a bunch of different interfaces to post. I was using w.bloggar, and it was great, but frankly most of the time I would forget to use it. I don’t do that with Flock because the blog editor is built into the browser. Because of that, it’s just harder to forget about it. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I attended the Lori Foster Reader Writer Get Together this past weekend in Ohio. I surprised myself by actually talking to people and enjoying it. Yeah, I like writing because it’s a solitary pursuit. However, the time comes occasionally when I really need to get out and talk to other writers face to face. Body language is important to a writer. How else will I portray my characters’ emotions in those instances when I’m in another character’s head? So, I have to mingle every once in a while to remind myself of the nuances of body language.

I did all that and more. I met many great authors, got to chat about and discover new books I would love to read, and spend time with friends I haven’t had a chance to see in a while. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Best of all, I found the entire get together/conference to be highly motivating.

I must say, reading makes me want to write so bad I can taste the words in my mouth. I get this sensation in my stomach that feels like nerves but has more in common with a heart attack than an upset stomach. My chest feels tight and my breathing turns shallow. It’s a very physical sensation and I love it and I hate it. The spring winds up and I’m torn between the desire to keep reading or to just set my book aside and go at it on my own computer with my own work. I know some authors say that they avoid reading other people’s work when they’re writing but if I did that, I might lose some of my best motivation for creating my own worlds. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been on a self-imposed hiatus from writing for the last several months. I did this for several reasons I’m not going to go into right now. The thing is, I’m losing the battle. I’ve been wanting to write so badly the last few weeks that I feel like a loaded spring (forgive me for the cliche). I’ve been wound up and I’m trying to remember all those wonderfully compelling reasons WHY I’m not supposed to be writing. Other work? It’s not that important. It’s only important when the deadline hits and it isn’t done. Then I start to freak out a little.

Anyway, the point of this post?

Write when you feel like writing (despite the fact that I’m not doing it). Everything is easier then. When you’re struggling to get anything out onto paper, you’ll hate yourself for resisting the urge when you had it!

I give myself another few hours and then I think I’m going to give in. I don’t want to be the person holding myself back. And I certainly don’t want to regret not writing when I had the desire to do so. ;-)

To keep from littering the blog with reviews while I’m in a heavy reading phase, I’m just going to offer a link to the review I wrote this morning for The Prince’s Virgin Bride. Now that ebooks are around, it’s amazing how easy it is to get hold of out-of-print series books, like this Harlequin Presents. It turned out to be a great read. If you enjoy series romance, I suggest you read it and see what you think about it. My review is here.

Review of My Favorite Marquess, reviewed by Terescia Harvey, also posted at WeWriteRomance.com (because I share the love!) Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished reading The Footprints of God by Greg Iles. Although not a romance by category, the book contained romantic elements so I’m going to talk about it here.

Dr. David Tennant is a member of the secret government agency working on Project Trinity. He doesn’t exactly believe in God, but after a Super MRI he’s developed narcolepsy and he has vivid dreams that he’s begun to believe are rememberances–of Jesus. A tragic event in his past connected him with psychiatrist Rachel Weiss. Now they’re on the run together as they try to figure out the connection between David’s dreams and the future of mankind.

Writers –> If you’re looking for advice on how to create opening hooks, read the opening of this book. It was strong enough to push me into an impulse buy in my local Walmart. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve ever found yourself trying to increase your writing productivity, read this:

If you don’t have passion and purpose, greater productivity won’t help you

If you want to write, but aren’t sure what’s holding you back, maybe you’re on the wrong track.

This post spoke to me today (and it’s not audio, so it’s a big deal to me). Having passion for your work is essential to a fiction writer, simply because it’s so easy to not write. What’s holding you back? Lack of true passion for what you’re doing? If you think you’re having trouble sticking to your goals now, just wait until you’re answering to someone for your work.

Your passion must push you to work even when you don’t want to.

If you’re having trouble writing, are you writing the right thing? Does your current work in progress have a hold on you? Is it keeping you up at night as you work out plot details, and are you growing right along with your characters? Are you thinking about your book even when you don’t want to think about it? Are you consumed by the desire to finish what you’ve started?

The truth is, work is work, but how much sweeter it is when you’re filled with a passionate desire to do that work.