Category: Character Development
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Character Spotlight: Ursa Hincken, villain and bear owner
Ursa is definitely my favorite villain in The Magic Council. She’s also the most unique. Arbora Anders is basically a foil of Kora–the opposite of Kora, an “anti-Kora,” if you will–weak where Kora is resolute, unbending where Kora is resilient. Darryn Polve is a foil of Zacry Porteg. He’s awful. Where Zac is hard-working, deep-thinking,…
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The stories we tell ourselves
I recently wrote character spotlights of King Rexson’s three sons: Valkin, Neslan, and Hune. Before The Magic Council: The Fight for Home starts, the princes are kidnapped by a group interested in the politics of magic and in advancing magic’s cause politically. While they are held captive in Ursa Hincken’s basement, Ursa’s sister August tells…
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Character Spotlight: Prince Hune the Misfit
I absolutely adore Prince Hune. He’s named after his uncle and grandfather. The youngest boy in the royal family, he gives life in the palace its heart. He is eight years old when The Magic Council starts. Hune has an active imagination and loves animals, especially his pet dogs and pony. He’s the only child…
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Character Spotlight: Prince Neslan, the Middle Child
Prince Neslan is the middle of the king and queen’s three sons, a year younger than Prince Valkin. He is independent, more intellectual than active in his hobbies, and wise beyond his years. He was named after Neslan Dormenor of the Crimson League, and while he looks nothing like that Neslan–the prince has father’s blond…
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Character Spotlight: Thad Greller, more than comic relief
Thad is the youngest son of the Duke of Podrar. His father is the king’s chief adviser. I picture him as a few years older than Vane, the main character. Thad doesn’t have a huge role in the book, and you could certainly call him a comic relief character and not be incorrect. But I…
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My characters are like old friends at this point.
One could argue I should not have waited 12 years to get an editor, buckle down, and put out second, definitive editions of my Herezoth trilogy. But (including some time away from my fiction to focus on more important things) I have spent twelve years in Herezoth, with the Crimson League, and their families, and…
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The fine line you have to walk when writing fiction
There is a fine line any author needs to walk. To a real extent, this applies to writers of nonfiction as well, but it’s true of fiction in a unique way. This “fine line” is one of the major reasons we all need beta readers and editors, because it’s hard, if not impossible, to tell…
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Dialogue that I love has these characteristics
I generally love great dialogue more than just about anything else in a story, especially as a viewer (I love classic Hollywood movies for the dialogue!) and as a reader. While there is plenty of action in Herezoth, my novels tend to be dialogue-heavy because dialogue is my strength as a writer (as I’ve been…
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How I craft my characters
I admit that the title of this post is a bit like clickbait, because the answer is: I don’t feel like I “craft” my characters at all. For the most part, they just come to me as who they are–what they look like, their backgrounds, their way of talking, their temperaments and personalities. All of…
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Advice for beginning writers 5: hive mind compilation!
I recently asked on my Facebook page what advice my fellow writers have for beginners. I got some great responses! Paraphrased by me, with credit given to the author who contributed the idea, here is what people offered. I will put author names in quotes as their official Facebook page is named, so that you…
Creative Writing with the Crimson League 