****Stay Tuned till the end of this post for a writing prompt to spark that creativity!****
Making it real. Hmm…How do you make your stories seem realistic? Well what I mean by that is to add qualities that a reader can relate to. One way to do that is to include holidays and birthdays, among other things. But let’s start there.
The idea for this post came to me when I was spending a few hours last night trying to come up with birthdays for my characters. (I know this sounds a little crazy lol) My husband asked why I was looking at horoscopes, my response was that I need to find out what their birthdays would be based on what horoscope describes them best. So I read each one and tried to think of how close to their personalities they were to the description. (Again maybe a little over kill but I am thorough in my research lol)
I found myself wanting to come up with a birthday for each main character even if I wont be using it in book 1, I will have that information for book 2. My thoughts were, how can you be describing your characters lives and the ways they cope with certain situations without including real events in there. Like a birthday, theirs or a parents, or a holiday, considering the timeline for the first novel in my two part series starts in end of summer and continues on through the holiday season. Wouldn’t it seem abnormal to pass by such common events in ones life? So when its relevant to include those things in your stories I think it makes it more personal and relatable.
Other ways to make a story seem more real, is to add, real life issues. Maybe your character is…
-clumsy
-has a bad tooth
-a favorite pair of sneakers that has a questionable smell but they just can’t throw away lucky sneakers
– Maybe they have a limp
-a strong accent
-or a food allergy
Make your characters come alive, by giving them little quirks that ‘normal‘ people might have. Although I agree that no one wants to be considered normal because everyone is unique but its just an expression. Make them unique but real enough so your readers feel immersed in the story.
No one is perfect, so in turn whether or not your character is an awesome mythical being or just a librarian (no offense to librarians being an avid reader and lover of most things printed, I have the utmost respect for them) make them have a fault, or a relatable quirk. At the end of the day like I said no one is perfect and that’s what makes us all unique much like the stars we see in the sky each night.
****Writing prompt****
‘Clumsy’ she thought as the shirt she planned to wear to her 40th birthday party tonight just got a new coffee stain. She typed furiously so she could complete the article in time. Alone, the office was quiet as she struck the last key. The doors to the elevator across from where she sat opened but no one stepped out, all she heard was a strange noise…
Please feel free to comment your addition to today’s writing prompt below. If you haven’t already please subscribe below, and click the Facebook links below for my Author Page as well as my group page. Thank you for your support. Until next time,
JUST KEEP WRITING.
Tiffany’s Writing Journey 