This post will officially take my blogging virginity, and to avoid shame I have told no one about my blogging aspirations-and when I say that I mean absolutely not anyone; my boyfriend, my roommate, even my mother!
I want to explain a little about my inspiration for starting this blog and then my next posts will be all about literary epics and failures.
I graduated from college recently and landed a job right out of school! I know, I was extremely lucky to find anything in this economy, let alone a job that was actually right up my alley, but my job as a marketing professional is 8-5, so for someone who was extremely active in college I found myself with a lot of free time on nights and weekends. I started reading books again- something I have loved all my life, but never had time with all the textbook readings required in college.
When my dad bought me a Kindle for Christmas this past year, I went a little crazy, reading about 3-5 books a week. I love reading YA and paranormal books, and was staying pretty true to these genres, but something annoyed me one afternoon that sparked my idea for this blog. It was a sunny weekend afternoon- ok probably it was a gray, cold, winter afternoon in Michigan, but stick with me- I was enjoying a YA novel on my Kindle when suddenly the protagonist made a decision that made my head spin. Everything I knew about this character screamed that this decision was not the right one for her, and that she would never choose this path. I was left scratching my head and extremely frustrated.
I wanted to tell someone right away, so I called the BF- he didn’t get it, or more likely didn’t really care. So, I was left fuming with no one to talk to. That’s when I remembered Book Soulmates, a book blog that I absolutely love, and then the idea was formed. I would create a blog, that maybe someone would read, to discuss books from a character perspective. I truly believe that characters should be an author’s best friend- they should know them so well- better than family, friends and lovers.
Yada yada yada, right? This is not why any of you are here. You came to this blog expecting to read something that has to do with a book. So, let’s get on with it.
Good luck! Nice to see a blog with an interesting angle besides just focusing on a particular genre or something.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if characters can always be an author's best friend; if the author writes more than one book, it can start to feel like writing the same person over and over. Personally, I particularly enjoy writing people I don't always agree with; the protagonist of my last one was really pretty awful, in fact, at least in the beginning (can't start people out TOO well if you're doing a redemption story). I see a lot of people fall into acting like their character's parent, steering them away from bad decisions and whatnot. It's VERY tempting to do this, but it doesn't make for much in the way of realism most of the time.
Adam,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! Made me slightly giddy like a school girl to know someone read this post. I agree with the best friend comment, but whether friend or foe- there is nothing more frustrating to me as a reader when a character seems to be undefined.
I agree with you comment about author's parenting their characters, too. I find it hard reading about characters who seem too perfect. I want to scream the character to do SOMETHING, anything to make them seem like a real person, because let’s face it, real people make mistakes.
Thanks for the well wishes, I hope I can offer a different perspective.
Well, there's sort of an upside to under-defining. A LOT of readers (particularly in YA these days) want to feel like THEY are the narrator. The only way to ensure readers will do this is to make the character sort of a blank slate that they can project themselves onto. I think it's a crummy way to build a character, personally, but I have to admit it could be protection against the readers who respond negatively to narrators they disagree with. This is the REAL reason to be careful with pop culture references. It's not that it'll date your book (it'll date anyway - the references will eventually be part of the charm) - it's more that if you have a character who's into, say, Lady Gaga, a lot of readers who don't like Lady Gaga will judge the character - and the book - harshly.
ReplyDeleteYeah, i could discuss this side of things all day :)
This is a great reason to blog. I often find myself frustrated with a book and experience the same issue - who to share that frustration with? Thanks for following me on Twitter! I wish you luck in your blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks! This looks like it'll be fun!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to stop by and welcome you to blogging!! You joined for the right reasons :) Blogging has really helped shape my reading tastes, refine my views and have an outlet to vent or cheer about a book to people who care and more importantly, will understand!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks so much for your kind words about our blog - totally made me smile!!
Cheers to epic blogging! Let us know if you need anything :)
♥Isalys
I can't wait to read what you write about. I absolutely agree with you about frustrations with characters!
ReplyDeleteYayyy!!! Welcome to the book blogging community! Thanks so much for the shout out! I can't believe we helped you with your decision. That is way too cool. If you need anything please feel free to ask away!! Can't wait to read your reviews. I promise to tweet about this { I ♥ twitter }.
ReplyDelete♥ Vanessa
Book Soulmates