Avoiding a Passive Beginning

S.P. Sipal asked: "How do I create a character whose story arc is to discover and own her inner power without making her come across as too passive in the beginning?"


Great question! The moment I read this one my mind went immediately to SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi. In SHATTER ME, Juliette begins in prison, completely broken, having been taught her whole life that she is an abomination. That could break anyone. But we follow Juliette on her journey as she learns to embrace her power and accept herself as a good person. 


Never once while reading this did I think to myself what a passive weakling Juliette was. Why? Here are a few things I noticed that Tahereh did to avoid that feeling:

1. Make the situation interesting. The circumstances are so unique and intriguing that the reader would want to know more no matter what the character was like. 
2. Make a multi-dimensional character. I know I harp on this a bit, but seriously! Your MC may be passive in some ways - but not in EVERY way. Juliette is broken when we meet her, but not entirely. We can still see glimpses of her core. And even if she doesn't realize it, we see that her concern for another human being trumps her self-pitying circumstances. 
3. Use the voice. Oh oh oh. The voice in this manuscript is so unique and poetic that it's hard not to keep going. It's Juliette's voice and it sings. You may like it, you may not, but you cannot deny the presence of it, nor the impact on the manuscript. 

These are all tips we can use to enhance our own manuscript. It's the combination that makes the manuscript. The world, the characters, and the plot all weave together in a dance to carry us through. It's a tricky balance, but when we get it right... WOW. 

Monday Madness

Before we begin I would like to point you all to an AMAZING contest run by Tahereh. I don't usually take the time to point out these things, but not only are the prizes incredible, the contest itself is unbelievably creative. So be sure to check it out.

Today's author is Beverley BevenFlorez. Beverley has quite a bit of information about herself available on her bio (thank you Bev) but was still difficult to figure out. Some Supernatural creatures hide their identities well.

She's obviously sweet and very involved in the kidlitosphere. She blogs every Friday about the best posts of the week so has a great resource available (and I don't just point you there because she's mentioned me twice). She has an agent, she's been writing forever (well, not FOREVER but you know) and she writes YA and MG fantasy.

She's friendly, she's loyal (her husband was deployed to Iraq for quite some time and their marriage is still strong), and she's creative. But what really clinched it for me was the description of her work in progress (which btw sounds awesome and I want to read it NOW so get to work). It's about a MERMAID. Yep. Sure she's written about witches too, but she clearly belongs in the former category.

She even lives in Orange CA so she can reach the ocean if she needs to.

So, Beverley, tell us - is it hard to get around without your tail?

I'm an Award Winning Author!!

Well, I got this cool Creative Writer Award from my friend Tahereh the other day (thanks Tahereh!) So, based on my usual rantings lets see if you can guess what is the truth and what is a lie...

BUT before I do - I nominate the following seven writers for this Creative Writer Award!!! You should check out their blogs too!

Julie Musil

Slushpile Slut

Anna Staniszewski

Heather Kelly

Heather McCorkle

LJ Boldyrev

Jamie Harrington

Okay so here it is, and bearing in mind this is a fictional blog and today is April 1st your job is to find the one truth: I'll tell you what, to make it extra interesting the prize for the first one to get it right is a profile on my Monday Feature. If I've already done you, you can nominate someone instead. :)

1. I've gone vampire hunting with Van Helsing.

2. I am married to a shapeshifter.

3. I served a short stint as an assistant to a mad scientist.

4. I've seen a ghost.

5. My MC in my manuscript Guardian (thank you very much Guardian of the Dead now I probably have to change the title) is a werewolf.

6. The monster under my bed is named Arnold.

7. My brother is a vampire.

BEWARE!! All may not be as it seems! Mwahahaha!!! I'll post the answer and the winner on my Monday Madness blog, so be sure and check back in. Hope this was as fun for you as it was for me!!

What Kind of Supernatural Being Are YOU??? Episode 2

Well, it seems there is enough interest in finding out what supernatural being you are to warrant a regular feature on my blog!! So, going back through the comments, and based on enthusiasm alone, I have decided to pick (another drum roll please)

Tahereh

Tahereh is a twenty-two-year-old writer from Orange County. Tahereh is obviously rather secretive about her true nature, offering little other info besides the identity of her agent (you'll have to check her blog to get the details). Therefore it is my best guess that she is actually a ghost. Perhaps she is somehow communicating with and transcribing her work/blog through said agent. So out with it Tahereh - exactly how many years have you been twenty-two?

What do you all think? Anyone willing to be the subject of my paranormal musings for next time? Let me know in the comments!