My Writing Ramblings: This Week I’ve Been Mostly….

This week has mostly consisted of large bouts of wanting to crawl back under my duvet and not come out again until the summer. However, I’ve armed myself with a thick jumper and continuous cups of tea (as much to keep my hands warm than the fact that it helps makes everything better which tea does.)

To try and fight off anxiety this week, I’ve been reading a lot. I began reading The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger at the beginning of the month and finished it this week. It took me a little while to get in to I have to say. I am not sure why.

I’ve also finished Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott. Novel Kicks took part in the blog tour for her latest novel (click here to view the post.) I started this book and finished it within two days. I couldn’t put it down.

I absolutely devoured Kill Me Again. It was a great crime/mystery and has ignited a reading phase, as I had not read much since the New Year started. I never like when I have slow patches in my reading, as I love reading.

I am now currently reading The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides and liking it so far. Has anyone read any of the books above or read anything good and have a recommendation?

The other thing I’ve been doing this week is continuing to look at my characters for my own book. They have been getting a lot of attention actually. I’ve been thinking about them a lot. Before now, I have always panicked that I am spending too much time planning but now I’ve sat down and begun to plan, I am enjoying it. I like the process of getting to know my characters. I am finding it so helpful.

Currently, I’m learning more about one of my main characters, Carrie.

I’ve made notes about her physical attributes like her hair and eye colour, how she likes to dress and what her house looks like (I’ve found Pinterest helpful for that sort of thing.)

I’ve also made notes on scars and tattoos and the story behind them, likes and dislikes, what music she likes (she likes Pop and The Beatles.)

I’ve asked her what her idea of happiness is, what trait of hers does she like the most or the least.

Her answers have been along the lines of she likes trashy TV and will watch Celebrity Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here as well as The X Factor and The Voice but she also likes documentaries on most subjects. She’s fascinated with history.

Her fictional heroine is Alice (from Alice in Wonderland.)

I’m still in the process of asking Carrie all of these questions and I love it. I am still discovering so many things about her and it’s like getting to know a new best friend (cheesy but so true.)

What do you do to get to know your characters? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next week writing people.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.