#amwriting – Page 73 – Jean's Writing

Is your character hiding in the shadows?

Published on June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell12 Comments

Shadows can be cool and welcoming, or scary.

And characters hiding in the shadows can be effective.

But a story with characters that I can’t see, can’t envision or know drive me nuts. I have trouble staying with the story.

Recently, I discovered a book with a good story. A who-done-it, murder mystery, police and detective type story. That left me plodding through page after page.

I’m a fast reader. But with this book I just could not get into the flow. As soon as I was cruising along, I’d stumble and fall coming to a screeching halt.

What brought me out of the story?

The characters. This book is written with three prominent characters. Three detectives partnered together to solve the crime.

The lead detective is the protagonist and her two trusty sidekicks. Throughout the story, it is easy to picture the protagonist as the writer helps us envision her. However, after the first introduction of the two other detectives, the reader is expected to remember them.

Now I’m a very visual person. I like a book to read as vivid as a movie. A character’s quirks and mannerisms and physical traits should be introducing in bits and pieces so that they become real to the reader as the story unfolds.

When this doesn’t happen, I find myself flipping back through the book to get a glimpse of the person. And personally, that is just plain exhausting. No matter how good the story is.

A character is more than a pretty, or ugly face.

Dumping all of their vitals at the beginning of the story doesn’t endear them to the reader.

Sprinkle bits about their looks, the way they talk, walk, or their special talents throughout the story each time the character makes an appearance. I think it keeps the reader invested in them and the story.

It’s important to make sure that your reader can see what you see when they read about your characters.

Give them the details to share your vision.

Everyone knows to give each character a face, quirks, and personality.

It might help to make a vision board with a drawing or photo of your character.
Search for look-a-likes on modeling sites, ad campaigns, and baby pics. Remember this is just for your vision board.
Interview your character. Add pictures of their answers to the board.

So what do you think?

Is it important to unfold the visual impact of the characters as the story unfolds?

Do you forget what a character looks like without little reminders throughout the story?

What are your tips for keeping the characters as fresh as the tale?

Want to read more about character building? Check out the articles below.

Talk to me!

Leave a comment. Click to write me or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

How to bring your characters into focus by Susan Bearman

Visualization for Writers by Holly Lisle

MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS MORE THAN CARDBOARD CUTOUTS by Kirt Hickman

Want to know what goes great with your morning coffee?

Published on June 3, 2016June 2, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

A wonderful review, that’s what!

Absolutely nothing goes better with coffee.

Yes, waking to a text and email, from Reader’s Review notifying me of a 5 Star review, was better than pancakes.

Be sure and click on the above image to read the review. She’s now available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. com.

Now back to work on the next book.

I’d love to hear from you!

Click to write me or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember share this post with your Twitter peeps andFacebook fans.

How to keep your computer super organized and problem free

Published on June 2, 2016June 1, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell22 Comments

It’s Spring Cleaning time. Time to make sure your computer is running its best.

My computer has been a bit sluggish lately, so I guess it’s time to do a bit of housecleaning. (i.e., computer cleaning.) laptop_cleaningjpg

I hate cleaning of all kinds.

Housework is boring as is optimizing my computer. But, like dirty dishes, dirty unused files/programs make a mess.

As a writer, I love finding new programs. Too bad many of these programs don’t work as I expected. As a result, unused programs can clog up my system.

So, what to do?

Backup! Whether you use an external drive or an online service, backup your computer. I do this before I delete anything.
Go to Programs & Features, find outdated/unused programs and uninstall.
Update programs. Stop hitting update later when prompted to update programs you do use. Especially, the antivirus program.
Organize documents and files. Just like my closet, this area gets cluttered with things that don’t fit. Time to throw out outdated and unused files.
Defrag! This action will free up lots of space enabling your computer to work faster and more efficient.
I understand this will take most of your afternoon. However, better to do a little housekeeping than lose that 55,000 word novel in progress.

Below is a detailed article checklist to help you get started.

Tell me, when was the last time you cleaned up your computer?

Do you have a set schedule for computer housekeeping?

I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! CLICK TO WRITE ME OR CONTACT ME ON TWITTER @JEANCOGDELL, FACEBOOK AT JEAN.COGDELLAND AMAZON.COM, STOP BY AND SAY HEY! THE LIGHTS ARE ON AND I’M WAITING.

PLEASE REMEMBER, SHARE THIS POST WITH YOUR TWITTER PEEPS ANDFACEBOOK FANS.

13 WAYS YOU’RE SCREWING UP YOUR COMPUTER By Tim Fisher

Are you searching for a new look too?

Published on June 1, 2016May 31, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Well, I was and I hope you like my new look. Before you get started, let me tell you it took a lot of work. work frog-1339892_640

But a big thank you goes to writer and blogger who just happens to be my sister, Sheila Good, for her suggestions. After several hours, and lots of swearing, I got it done without destroying my original blog.

If you’re thinking of changing your look, here are a few tips that might help.

First, start a new website with a different name of course and made it private.

This private website is your testing ground. Private means no one can see it but you. You can manipulate it, change the theme and just have fun until you get the right look without destroying your original blog.

How do you know if a theme has a page that will work for landing?

There are websites on WordPress.com that have multiple pages. This is why it’s important to play with different themes. Once you find a theme, go to Pages – Add New Page and click on Page Attributes. (this box is usually on the far right.)

Under Template, there will be choices. Default or as in mine Guestbook. Other themes templates are named differently. If there are no multiple templates, time to try another theme.