Character Studies

Working hard in the writing department today!

I have spent a few hours this fine Tuesday afternoon doing in depth character studies for my Finding Hope series. I found a wonderful questionnaire online to help with this tedious work (questionnaire) and have actually enjoyed myself immensely. But there is no denying that it is hard work. The questions cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from anything like hair color to clothing to style of speech and how a character expresses anger and what their core beliefs are. It's been a lot of work and a lot of time (and I've only done two characters so far) but I am learning a lot about these people who have taken up residence in my head and on paper and that is always fun for me.

Also, knowing your characters so well adds a deepness and richness to the stories you write, even when all of that information doesn't make it onto the page. Pieces of it seep in here and there and add something beautiful to the story. It is more complete and whole when you know your characters well. The readers may never know everything about your characters, but when you do, you write a better story. So that is why I have been hurting my brain all afternoon trying to understand who my characters are and what makes them tick.

My work space is closer to normal today. Messy :)

Simple Update

I have spent the last couple of days immersed in Sherwood once more! Dusty is taking shape nicely. :) I'm very excited about this book (as I tend to be about all of my books). Dusty tends to be a bit more serious in nature than my previous books, but it is still fun to write. :) As of right now it definitely looks like I'll have it finished in time for a late 2016 release. No promises though. 

This is what my work space looked like today. Not quite as messy as it sometimes gets. :)

In other news, I'm home from house-sitting and I have three more weeks before my move to Manhattan! Which I am super excited about! :) 

House-Sitting // Writing

It's a new month, everyone! June....

The weather is turning warm (almost hot, in fact) and I am counting down the last of the days in my hometown! A month and a quarter or so and I am moving!

I promised updates of the house-sitting adventure, so here you go!

So far I am enjoying my time here. I'm alone, but I've never minded solitude. In fact, I relish it. :) But I am still taking part in activities in social settings so I am not completely isolated. I'm not a hermit! (yet) The pets are wonderful. The cats and I have finally established relationships. Well, with one of the cats it took a matter of hours. The other one was more standoffish and took about a week or so. But we're all on speaking terms now :)

Those are the lovely animals I have the privilege of sharing a home with right now. :)

The constant near-silence that I am blessed with here at this house definitely lends itself to both reading and writing, and I have been doing a fair bit of both. :) My focus in the writing realm is Dusty right now, as I have every intention of publishing that book this year. We shall see if I can indeed accomplish that or if it will have to be a 2017 release.

I am curious to know, from any fellow writers out there, if I am not alone in listening to instrumental music to keep my creative juices flowing? I nearly always have music playing when I sit down to write and I find that it really does help.