Karina Sanchez

Ha! That sounds at once positively ridiculous and fun. I’ll just have to make sure I don’t do it out loud in public, though I could seriously see myself doing that.

Thanks for joining us Daniel. It’s great to have your input.

Good idea, Daniel!
You’ve got a point there. Just give them something that will make them stand out immediately, and they will be more memorable. Of course, this wouldn’t work for every character— imagine giving an evil baron an allergy to broccoli. Somewhat… incongruous. But a very good idea just the same.

Do that often enough, Daeus, and you’ll eventually get to the point where you can tap them on the shoulder and say ‘hey, I want to talk to you— got a minute?’ and they’ll stop whatever they’re doing, turn around, look you full in the face, and talk to you— with very little effort on your part. I know this sounds crazy, but I never said I was…[Read more]

Well, it’s getting pretty dark outside, so I’m going to have to cut that interview short. So far, I don’t think I have encountered anything new or missing in my character, but perhaps that will come later on, or with a different character. The one great benefit I have already seen is that I realized that I have not been doing a good enough job…[Read more]

Excellent! Go for it!

And I generally try to avoid giving the kind of dares you referenced, since I myself would never take one. 🙂

Ah, I see.

How about this, “summons you doom, as conquering plight…” I think this would fulfill your purpose, but if not, how about, “Calls forth (or summons) your doom, as in their plight”.

Well, normally when someone dares me to do something I take special care not to do it because it is probably one of the dumbest things on earth a fellow could do, but I think I will actually try this. Honestly, nothing even remotely close to such a procedure ever entered my mind, but I can see the value.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an…[Read more]

Amidst all these formulas and rules and technical stuff, I just wanted to say something really simple but really important for writing any character, minor or not. You have to know them. You have to not just be acquainted with them, but actually know them— what drives them, what their motives are, why they are like they are, why they are where…[Read more]

Hi Hope,

You’re concern was correct about the second to last line. I would provide you with a suggestion to replace it, but I’m not completely sure I understand what it is saying. If you could give me a version of it in everyday english, taking care to make it extra clear just in case, maybe even going into a little of the context, I am sure I…[Read more]

Yes, absolutely— wonderful point about the innkeeper needing to serve the plot instead of just filling up a place in society that will have to be filled anyway for the sake of reality. Every character should be in some way essential to the plot of a story, even if it’s just to bring out some facet of a major character’s personality. Even if the…[Read more]

Yes I certainly do! I also have been a great listener to Audiomachine, and one of my favorite albums of theirs is ‘Tree of Life’. You’re right— good war music. I’ve been struggling to find more peaceful or dramatic music for the more peaceful or dramatic scenes, though. I listened to so much classical music a few years ago that now it has to be…[Read more]

Yes, that’s what I mean’t.

I like that point about making sure your character has resources. To turn a minor character into a major character without talking more about them, we need to make sure our character is a person of resource who can cause dramatic changes quickly. So, say I am writing a story and wan’t to ramp up the tension real fast,…[Read more]

Er… yes, I think so. I’ll let you know if I still can’t figure it out. Thanks!

Wow, that might indeed be too complicated to set down rules for… but I’ll give it a try.
If I’m understanding your question correctly, you would be referring to the odd character the main character meets in the street, or some other place, and who is not really consequential to the playing out of the plot except to get it started or completely…[Read more]

Okay, apparently I have no idea how this works. I’ve never been on Facebook a day in my life. Would someone please explain how this works, basically? I got the posting on a topic thing right off— that was easy, but how on earth do I request a friend or accept a request from someone else? And what does ‘updating my status’ mean? Any information…[Read more]

Hi Kate,

What I was asking is, “How do you take a character who only appears for a short while in your book, and have him turn your story upside down (or right side up, depending on how it started)? Are there principals that apply no matter what type of story you are telling, or is that just too complicated to put down as a set of rules?”

All the characters I referenced in my last post are from Bleak House (don’t let the dreary name deter you) 🙂 and yes I would definitely recommend that you read that one. It is the only Dickens I’ve read narrated by the main character, and thus it is a little different than most Dickens, but it’s a really great story. I haven’t read as much…[Read more]

Those sound like some very enjoyable characters, but I’ve never heard of them. Which book are they from? The only book of Dickens’ I’ve read is a tale of two cities, though I wan’t to read more. Do you have any you particularly suggest?

Since you have put a question to me, I will put one to you. I would ask this, “Are there techniques you can…[Read more]

Yes, you got it fixed— it works now. Thanks!