How To ... Flesh Out Your Characters

On Friday, Steph gave us some great tips for naming characters. Today, I'm going to share some of my tips for turning your cardboard cutout into a fully developed character.

Even with the coolest name in history (like Aspen Brooks or Nicolette Antonavich) your character is not going to be able to carry the weight of your book unless you know more about them than height, weight, eye and hair color. You have to understand what makes them tick, how they will respond to the situations you present them with in the course of the book, whether they like Diet Coke or Pineapple Fanta (My protagonist, Phoebe Castro, likes Fanta, by the way).

So what if your character doesn't appear to you in a dream as a fully realized, three-dimensional person who tells you everything you need to know about her? Well, there are a few shortcuts I've picked up along the way to help me move from characteristic to character.

1. Archetypes. When I'm first developing a character, one of my first stops is The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders. This book categorizes male and female characters into eight archetypes each, giving a personality profile for each. And the best part is, once you've figured out who your two main characters are (like Phoebe is a Spunky Kid and Griffin is a Bad Boy) then you can flip to the back to get a rundown of how they react together. Instant conflict and resolution!

2. Zodiac. I use this method less often (usually when the archetypes don't quite nail it for me) but it can give you lots of good stuff, from likes and dislikcopes to favorite colors and foods to where your character holds stress. (I'm a Virgo, so my stress shows up in my stomach. If I ever write a Virgo character, I'll probably use that.) There are tons of great websites where you can get zodiac profiles, but I love The Book of the Zodiac. It goes into great detail about each sign, differences between males and females, work and home life, what their relationships are like. (Plus, it's really colorful!)

3. Collage. I do this for every book. Because I'm a visual learner, I find it invaluable to have a pictorial compilation of my characters. Lots of writers do collages, but here's my method. You'll need some printer paper, scissors, a glue stick, and some magazines.

• Step One: Flip through as many magazines as possible. I like TeenVogue, CosmoGirl, InStyle, and Lucky the best. I tear out anything that reminds me of any of the characters in this book. I do collages for all of the main characters and most of the secondary ones, so as I tear stuff out I divide into piles by character. The more I have to choose from the better. At a minimum I need something that will make a good background, a headshot or two of and actor or model who looks like the character, and some clothing and accessories they would own.

  
  

• Step Two: Build the collage. Start by gluing down a background image that fills up most of the page (this way you won't end up with whitespace left over at the end). Then select a few of the headshot and clothing images, trim them to just the desired element, and arrange them over the background. I always lay these out before I glue so I make sure they all fit. Then snip out the small pictures and accessories and stick them wherever they fit.

  
  

• Step Three: Finalize the collage with words. This usually requires flipping back through the magazines looking for two things. 1) Words that resonate with your characters. 2) Ransom-note-type letters that you can cut out and use to form your character's name. Sometimes I even outline the letters of the name in a silver Sharpie to make it stand out more.

Ta da! You have created a collage (or two or ten) that will give a visual reference for your characters development.


Okay, those are all my secrets. Do you have any special tips or methods you use to give your character depth and substance?

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, May 2008
teralynnchilds.com

How To ... Get Closer To Your Crush

Admit it. There's a boy you've pining over for weeks (or months or years). You've loved him from afar. Watched him laugh with his friends, pick the olives off his pizza, and--to your utter horror and heartbreak--indulge in some serious PDA with his queen of the Barbie clones girlfriend.

But the world just shifted. The inseparable couple is now officially, unequivocally, irreversibly over. The chance you've been waiting for has finally arrived. Now you just have to figure out how to capitalize on the opportunity.

Here are five ways you might get closer to your crush:

1. Join A Team. Is your crush a hardcore jock? Then what better way to show up on his radar than to show up for practice? Run track or swim on a summer team, where boys and girls practice together. Join the basketball team or take up tennis--even if the boys and girls teams practice separately, they often share buses for out-of-town games, sit together at assemblies, and scrimmage against each other for extra practice.

2. Make Some Music. Maybe your crush is the musical type. If he marches with the school band, only a few clarinet lessons keep you from marching at his side. If he's more the garage band type, find out when his next gig is and plant yourself in the crowd--be sure to compliment his performance afterwards.

3. Join A Club. Is your crush more the straight As and extra-curriculars type? The next time his Science Club has a meeting, be there--lab coat not required. (Plus, it will look good on your college applications!)

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this announcement:

• The winner of Dona's How To basket contest is ... ElaineRene07!

And now, back to the blog.

4. Be A Loyal Customer. Does your crush have a day job? Maybe he delivers pizza on the weekends or works the rental counter at the local video store. Well, a girl has to eat and be entertained, right? Just make sure you don't get in the way of him actually doing his job--he'd probably like to keep it.

5. Ask For Help. If there's one thing all guys like--all people, actually--it's praise for something they're good at. So, if your crush has a particular talent that you don't, why not ask him for help. See if he's available for English tutoring. Or can teach you how to draw those cool graffiti letters he's always sketching--be sure to have a reason, like you want to make really cool posters for your class treasurer campaign.

What do all of the above have in common? They are all ways to show that you and your crush have mutual interests. That's a signal that, once he's finally taken notice, you'll actually have things to talk about beyond how much you've been crushing on him.

There's one last important thing to keep in mind while on your crush quest: You are not a stalker. Approaching any of the above activities with the intention of just getting a chance to gaze longingly at your crush from a closer distance is going to get your nowhere. You have to take the opportunity and make something of it. Keep this valuable axiom in mind:

We almost never regret the things we do, but we often regret the things we didn't do.

In other words, if you take that first step to go after your crush, the worst that can happen is he says, "No." But if you don't, you will never know what might have been.

Time to put this lesson into action. Which one of these ways can you use to get closer to your crush?

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, May 2008
Pre-order from Amazon now (and save 32%!)
teralynnchilds.com

How to keep that hooked hottie

What a great week we've had here with the launch of Tina's new book, HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE! If you haven't run out to get your own copy, keep reading as I'm doing a giveaway today.

We've had a lot of great advice on hooking your own hottie, so I thought I'd help wrap up with some tips on keeping that hooked hottie.

1. Keep in Touch: What's better than walking down the hallway at school hand in hand or with your arms around each other? Keeping in touch with your hottie churns up feel-good hormones and keeps the affection alive and kickin'.



2. Keep Talking: Don't monopolize every conversation. Sharing what's on your mind is the best way to keep the relationship going. Let him tell you what he's thinking.



3. Keep it Real: Neither you nor your hottie are perfect in every way, although we'd like to think so. (LOL!) Don't look at his flaws or quirks or things that might annoy. Realize it's those things that make him real...human.



4. Keep Who You Are: While you've got that hottie hooked, don't forget your friends. They're just as important as he is. Make sure you still have lunch and shopping outings with your friends and don't completely abandon them just to spend time with him. It'll make your time with him all that much better.



5. Keep Being a Good Date: Don't get in the dinner and movie rut. Keep dates fresh. Plan secret things for you and your hottie. Try an extreme sport. Take in a museum. Go to a hockey game. Think of fun and creative things you can do together that keeps the relationship fresh and alive.



So, for today's giveaway of Tina Ferraro's HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE, post your advice on how to keep your hooked hottie. Winner will be announced on Wednesday!



Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

What I'm reading: Well, what else? HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE

How to make perfect mashed potatoes

I don't know about you, but here in the frigid northeast, there's nothing I want to do more than stay indoors, curled under blankets with something warm to drink, some comfort food and a great book to read...

Like Dona's awesome debut, HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI!!!



(Can you tell how proud we are of Dona here at Books, Boys, Buzz?)

And what's the perfect comfort food? Well, mashed potatoes, of course! Sure, you might say, "but I don't need instructions on mashed potatoes." It seems simple, right? However, there is a way to make them perfect. Here's my secret:

1. You want a really sticky, starchy potato. Best are Idaho baking potatoes or the large Yukon Gold potatoes. If you use Idaho, use three medium sized ones, or four large Yukons. This’ll make about four ½ cup servings.

2. Peel them and rinse them off. Cut them into equal size pieces. If they're equal sized pieces, they'll cook more evenly. Usually, I third the potato and then half the thirds. Fill a large pot on the stove with warm water from the tap and drop the cut potatoes in. Make sure the water completely covers the potatoes. To the water, add a good amount of salt. Two teaspoons, at least. The salt will flavor the water and the potatoes as they cook and that much salt won't be absorbed all into the vegetables.

3. Turn to high and cook for 20-25 minutes. You can test the potatoes' done-ness by sticking them with a sharp knife. You want them tender, not tough, but not too mushy.

4. Before draining, take a measuring cup and fill it carefully with about 1/3 of a cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Turn stove down to low. Pour potatoes carefully into a colander and drain for a moment and then return the potatoes immediately to the hot pot. You will hear the potatoes "sizzle" as this is the remaining liquid evaporating.

5. After about half a minute, take your potato masher and start mashing the potatoes in the pot, on the stove, over the heat. Pour in a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid to help you as you mash, eyeballing so that you mash the potatoes into a smooth paste. Depending on how starchy your potatoes are will depend on how much of the liquid it will hold. Just don't turn it into soup...maybe only using 1/4-1/2 the cup.

6. Here is where I add 2-3 tablespoons of Brummel and Brown (yogurt butter) and 1/2 cup of reduced fat sour cream. Keep mashing and stirring everything together, keeping the stove at a very low setting.

7. At this point, salt the whole thing to your taste and add pepper. I also add fresh cut/diced chives -- maybe a tablespoon -- for taste and appearance. Taste the potatoes and if they're not seasoned to your preference, salt and pepper some more. The key is to season they while they're still on the stove and not when you put them on your plate.

8. Then, I use a mold to present them. You can use anything, really...a sugar shell, a coffee cup, or just plop them on the plate. I guarantee you, if you follow this, they will NOT be bland in the least.



Voila! You're done! Now, enjoy your meal and Dona's book!

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

What I'm reading: (finishing, actually) NEW MOON by Stephanie Meyer

It’s Dona’s Release Week!

In honor of the release of Dona Sarkar’s first book,


the Buzz Girls are having a “How To” Week. We will take turns sharing with our readers what we hope is interesting "How To" information (and I understand there's going to be a book giveaway later in the week, too).

I'm up first!

Since many states no longer require parallel parking as part of the driving exam, I’ve become aware that many young people today simply don’t know how to parallel park. I, on the other hand, not only had to learn it for the exam, but to survive, as more often than not in the community where I grew up, it was parallel park--or nothing. So, here you have it:

How To Parallel Park

• Find an empty space. Remember you need at least an extra three feet more than your vehicle.

• Make sure you are clear before stopping, and be sure to signal. If a car is behind you, you can wave them past you.

• Line up your vehicle with the parked vehicle directly in front of the spot. Don't get too close on the side, or you might scrape the other car. But you also don't want to be too far away--two or three feet will suffice. Position your vehicle parallel to the parked car, aligning your bumpers or staying two or three feet behind.

• Put your vehicle in reverse. Check the driver-side mirror to make sure the street behind you is clear of traffic before you begin to back up. Look over your other shoulder at the space to assess the gap. Turn the steering wheel hard right.

• Release the brakes and slowly begin backing into the turn. Check in front of and around your car often. Make sure you remain far enough away from the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of you as you slide in. If your rear tire hits the curb, you've gone too far; just shift gears and pull forward a few feet if this happens.

• Turn the steering wheel to the left once the rear of your vehicle is predominantly in the space, still going backward. This is where you snake your way completely into the space and straighten out your car at the same time. Continue in reverse as far back as you can without tapping the bumper of the vehicle behind you.

• Shift into drive and turn the steering wheel to the right again, and move forward gently toward the curb while centering your vehicle in the space.


And you’re in! See--it wasn’t so bad!

So tell me now truthfully, how do you feel about parallel parking? Is it a piece of cake, something you avoid or somewhere in between?

Happy New Year!

What I’m Reading: Wonderful Tonight, Pattie Boyd

Tina

Tina Ferraro
How to Hook a Hottie, January 8, 2008
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, out now
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, Spring, 2009
www.tinaferraro.com