how you can use pinterest to improve your characters - pt. one | character images

So, I guess it's October.

Which means NaNo is coming at full speed and ahhhhhh!!!! I am excited but scared at the same time. I shall be tackling the first draft of my novel, Gifted, this year and eep! I just can't stop being enthusiastic!

But then, in the beginning of November, shall come this thing, this thing that will make your stomach leap with excitement and dread all at the same time.

Starting to write.

*cue horrified gasps*

Yes, yes, 'tis true! But do not worry, my cupcakes, I shall bring forth my amazing writer-ly wisdom and direct you down the path of success! The path of VICTORY!

*cough*

Anyway, today I'll be posting the first of three parts in a series about how you can use the amazing Pinterest to improve your already amazing cast of characters. Because, hey, who likes underdeveloped characters? (Hint, hint: no one.)

pt. 1

CHARACTER IMAGES

I have about...six different boards for character images on my Pinterest account. And they are all very, very useful to me.

"But why?" you ask. "Why so many?"

Well, my lovelies, I like to try to be organized - in real life and online. The real life thing doesn't work out the best, but the online thing does! Therefore, I have six different character image boards, which include:

Teenage Girls
Teenage Boys
Little Girls
Little Boys
Women
& Men

wait, what? aren't we talking about character images? what are the character boards for?

Why, my lovelies, character boards hold loads and loads of images of random people that I have found on Pinterest! You see, what I do is when I find, say, an image of a random teenage girl, I will save that picture to my Teenage Girls board, and later on, when I am looking for a new character image I will go through the images I have saved and choose one that looks like my character.

so...what is a character image, exactly?

Usually, for my characters, I find a model/actor who looks like I would imagine my character would, and "choose" them to be my character's visual "image". Usually, once I find an image for my character, I'll make them their own board and start saving as many pictures of the model/actor as possible (check out Raven and Baie's character visual image boards).

If I can only find one picture of my character's visual image, I usually just stick with that and work with what I have.

how on earth do character images help me improve my characters?

When you're writing your book, you want to have a clear picture of what your character looks like in your mind. You don't want just a faceless person who you try (and sometimes fail) to describe to your readers.

It's kind of like drawing. Freehand is fun and expressive, but copying something - say, drawing a picture inspired by one you saw on Pinterest - will give you a clearer view of what it will look like in the end. We as authors should want to know exactly what our characters look like so that we can describe our characters' physical attributes to the best of our abilities to our readers.

Do you use character "images" for your characters? If you do, do you like it? If you don't, does it sound like a good/fun idea? Talk to me, peeps!

stay beautiful,

beautiful people | baie vano

Hello, everyone!

It feels like FOREVER since I've done a Beautiful People link up. Probably because I haven't done one since... *goes to check*

February.

February 15th, to be exact.

Well, I'm doing it now! Because that's what counts, right?

Anyway, I am going to be using Baie Vano from SECRET NOVEL for this BP linkup (yes, I haven't told you about it because it's a SECRET). She is a secondary character I am trying to get to know better. Enjoy.

the lovely questions & answers

what can’t they live without?

Baie wouldn't be able to live without her family. She has two siblings, and they and her parents mean the world to her. She also probably wouldn't be able to live without food and water either because, haha, she needs those to survive.

-

name 3 positive and 3 negative qualities about the character.

Positive: 

1. Baie is very caring and kind.
2. She would do anything for those she loves.
3. She is very skilled in the art of the sword (or any blade, really).

Negative:

1. Baie has a tendency to blame herself when other people get hurt.
2. She also tends to believe the negative things people say about her.
3. She is very curious, which can be both positive and negative at different times.

-

are they holding onto something they should get rid of?

Baie does have some stuff that she is holding onto for the sake of memories, but none that she should get rid of.

-

do they have any pets?

Baie loves animals, but no she does not have any pets. Her parents are already sure that their kids are the only animals needed in the house.

Readers: OH THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PUN ANIKA.

Me:

-

if 10 is completely organized and 1 is completely messy, where do they fall on the scale?

Well, Baie can be very organized at times and then very messy at times. I'd say that she's a 5 or 6 in most places. In certain places though, such as school or her bedroom, she is probably a 3.

-

what most frustrates them about the world they live in?

Baie gets frustrated most with the evil and pain in her world. She doesn't like it when people get hurt or when bad things happen, and she gets frustrated when it does happen.

-

how would they dress for a night out? how would they dress for a night in?

night out:

• Baie would wear a cute dress and her absolute favorite type of shoes, what we would call strappy sandals. She likes floral or nature prints on clothing, as well.

night in:

• On a night in she would wear something simple; a comfortable sun dress or maybe just a shirt and some shorts.

-

how many shoes do they own, and what kind?

I'd say Baie has about...6 pairs of shoes. 2 pairs of strappy sandals, 2 pairs of boots, and 1 pair of flats and 1 with heels. The boots she'd wear more outdoors, but the rest are more indoor or formal shoes.

-

is there something or someone they resent? why and what happened?

NOPE NOPE NOPE.

Too many spoilers would come if I answered that questions. Sorry!

-

what's usually in their fridge or pantry?

There's always something sweet in their house, the result of her older brother, Cayson. And a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't think I could name them all, and I probably don't know them all either. There are always some fruit and vegetables, though.

It's been SO long since I've done Beautiful People! Did you enjoy this? What do you think of Baie? She's SUPER sweet and caring and (*cough*) my favorite character I've ever created in the history of my books (and that goes back a while!).

guest character interview | Rory

Hi, y'all!

I am doing an interview with the main character from Allie Taylor's story, Rory. I'm reading what she has so far and GUYS IT'S AMAZING.

We talked over the phone for the interview (OVER THE PHONE GUYS) and it turned out amazing. Allie posted the part where she interviewed my MC for my Snow White retelli-- wait, you haven't heard about that yet?

Oh, bother. Now I'm gonna have to tell you all about my book. *dies in terror*

Well, in short, I'm entering the RoogleWood Press novella contest and the theme is a Snow White retelling. The MC's name is Eira (pronounced Yair-ah) and she is who Allie interviewed. You can check her interview with Eira out over HERE.

Well, let's get on to the actual highlight of this post: las interview.

(questions will be in bold, answers in regular, and if I want to add something it'll be in italics).

1. What would Rory do with a few hours of free time?

She would probably be reading. She is a straight A student, so she might also be doing extra circular stuff.

2. Does she have a "person of interest"?

Yes, his name is Brizen and he goes to the same school as Rory (oooohhh I like that name). He is sort of like a big brother to her (but, more than that probably. ;D). Brizen is a little tender and can be a bit harsh. He doesn't like opening up to people.

3. Does she like music?

She loves music (hurrah for music!). Rory's aunt is very musical and usually has it playing in the house.

4. Is Rory - in the world's terms - more of a "girly girl," a "tomboy,"or in the middle?

Rory is very much in the middle (Great choice! I'm in the middle, too :D). She works on a farm, but also has a big sister, Bessy, whom she looks up to. Bessy is very ladylike.

Thanks for the interview, Allie!!! I had a bunch of fun (and cannot wait to read more of Rory's story). You can see Allie's writing/personal blog @ The Depth of My Faith. IT'S REALLY COOL. It is undergoing some changes, so if things look a little messy...well, yeah, you'll know what's going on.

ALSO: things have been changing so rapidly in my life I'm just like *mind explodes*. First, I HAVE GLASSES (which I think I might have mentioned before). New glasses = new author/blog photo so I'm really excited!

Second, I'm taking a photography class through the school year, so y'all better get ready for a bucket load of photos to come your way come school again!

Third, you guys asked for a picture of my now three and a half week old sister, Saria (pronounced Sah-ri-ah), so, here ya go!

ADORABLE!! We had her newborn pics taken by a friend who is a photographer, and I got to go and watch. She was so adorable in all the poses!

What do you think of Rory?

Do you like character interviews?

What about my novella?

Do you think my baby sister is cute?

Until we meet again,