Catching the rain by Pandiyan

Photo Credit: Pandiyan

It’s Friday already? Crazy how the week flies by! This Friday Five I am going to explore the most influential characters of my upcoming novel Past Mistakes. With the dynamics of how characters transform into people on pages, it is important to remember that each character is more than a blip of dialog or the bridge to the next scene. Your characters are your story and the story builds out from around them.

Okay, let’s get to it!

OPLURA

Opura is a girl that accidently lands in the future. She is not sure of herself, terrified of her situation but determined to make her way home. She’s sometimes a little too trusting and oblivious to predicaments she gets herself into but she is quick on her feet and quick to think of a plan.

BECKETTE

Beckette is the main love interest of Oplura. Always quiet and brooding about something, Beckette was the first to find Oplura though not the first to immediately help. While he initially abandoned her to the wilderness he proved to have a conscious and has been inseparable from her since.

GREGOR

Gregor is a dragon in the world of the future. Working as scholar and advisor to the Queen of all the Draconians, Gregor works hard to preserve remaining artifacts of the glory days of the human civilization. His open-mindedness put Oplura on the invitation list versus the dinner menu however, his wife would prefer otherwise some days.

MARIANNE

Marianne is the faithful mate of Gregor the dragon. Also a draconian, Marianne’s family was murdered in an age old plot against the Draconians from within their own regime but ultimately was offered as a sacrifice to human religious zealots as a cover for wanting her family gone. Secretly working as the Queen of Draconia’s private political spy, she spends her days pretending to be the castles interior decorator. Given an opportunity, Marianne could prove to be a fatal enemy or a valued ally.

QUEEN OF DRACONIA

Queen of Draconia was brought to power shortly after her mother’s murder and over throw. Now plagued with keeping their race alive, the Queen must protect her thrown from both humankind and her own kind. With allies few and close around, the Queen must use her instincts in deciding how to maneuver the survival of the Draconians, herself and ensure Oplura’s journey alters the past mistakes of her civilization and time.

Well those are the top five!

I would love to hear how you build your characters to interact.

And as always, Thanks for Reading!

...non fidarsi è meglio - my scared cat / gatto by Paolo Margari

Photo Credit:  Paolo Margari

There comes a time in every person’s life where they have to start thinking about ‘who’ they are and ‘what’ really matters to them. Here are a few of the things that matter the most.

Education:

Call me the perpetual student. I think knowledge is the reason for life. I am my own type of scientist and the world is a great big lab for experiments. I don’t have any problem with finding an answer if I don’t know something. I like learning new things. I am constantly looking for new skills, new hobbies, and new things to know.

Exploration:

Whether I am exploring a book store near home, hiking the canyon in Arizona or whatever, I am constantly in a state of exploration. I could get all philosophical and say I am exploring the inner-self, trying to define my consciousness but…I’ll have plenty of time to contemplate why I am able to think about the way I am able to think when I am dead. I don’t have time to play mind games with myself! I want to explore the world.

Travel:

I read a quote that said a person that does not travel is reading and re-reading the first chapter of the book called life. This makes sense. I don’t want to stay in one spot and only know what is around me. There is so much out there. There is a whole WORLD. I know a lot of people say ‘I want to travel’ but I am not looking at it in the ‘I want to visit every beach and feel the difference of sand in every country’. I am looking at the ‘how the rest of the world lives’. I want to see new places, taste new food, talk to people, and of course learn.

Growth:

This is kind of a crap response. We all want to grow as people. But I really do want to travel, to learn about the world and in that way, to grow as a person. I know that I have already grown as a person, having seen things I have seen and having met people I have met. If I grow anymore…well, maybe I will finally get to be taller than 5’4. That would be great

Family:

My family really does mean the world to me. I try to remind myself to spend as much time with them as possible, to really focus on being ‘here’. You know, you can be in a place, with people, doing something and not really be ‘here’. I can be off in my own little world, or worrying about worldly issues somewhere else, but really I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that I am where I am for a reason. I am here for a reason and I need to be more than just here, I need to be ‘here’. Was that confusing? I do that sometimes.

So that is what is important. My number one is family, followed by learning as much as I can from the world and growing as a person. I don’t think these are unachievable or unrealistic priorities. If anything, I am focused and grounded. Though, if you asked some people I have known in my life they may tell you otherwise *wink*.

imagine~ by Cornelia Kopp

Photo Credit: Cornelia Kopp

Status update: Trying to summarize my novel. It is not as easy as it sounds. My original summary was 80 pages…so, that is not exactly book jacket reading.

I am trying to summarize a story about a girl that travels into the future, on accident, finds the world destroyed with dragons roaming the earth and she is their last hope.

I guess that is a pretty good summary. I hate leaving out awesome details, like bad versus evil fights, the amazing romance on the side that has no chance of surviving and the tragic death of beloved characters, sidekicks and mentors. Or unraveling the heartfelt stories behind each character, place, setting or overall reason the world is a big mess.

What do you think? How do you summarize a complex story?

If I was to give advice, and I am not saying listen to ME by any means, but if I were giving advice I would do something like this:

Break it down into tidbits and small details that make up the whole picture. My writing process went smoother this way; Write one sentence about the beginning. Write one sentence about the main characters dilemma. Write one sentence about a side plot that complicates things. Write one sentence that is your ‘cliffhanger’ as in ‘You HAVE to read this to find out what happens!”

Sounds easy, right? I wrote the below summary in about five minutes. No, I am not joking.

Now, if I was taking my own advice my summary would look something like this:

A fleeting heart always finds trouble in the most ordinary of places. When Oplura finds herself in the future, she doesn’t find an oasis but the mess the world will become. Now she must fight the evil lords that torture the last people of the world while denying the love of the one man that has fought to keep her alive. To choose between the love of the man who would risk everything for her or the chance to go back in time and save the world, she will battle more than demons and dragons. Now she must decide what is more important, the fate of the world, or the fate of her heart?

Now, personally, I find that to be a pretty good summary. What do you think?

To go over the ‘template’ type steps:

1)      Write one sentence about the beginning of your story.

2)      Write one sentence about the main character’s dilemma.

3)      Write one sentence about a side plot that complicates things.

4)      Write one sentence that is your ‘Cliffhanger’ as in “You HAVE to read to find out what happens!’

Four steps for writing a book jacket summary. Why didn’t I think of that?! Oh, I just did! And it was pretty easy and stress free (relatively). I hope this helps you like it has helped me!

Thanks for reading!

Another Resource: Post Your Resources below!

http://www.professional-book-editors.com/wordpress/how-to-write-a-book-jacket-cover/

Past Mistakes - Work in Progress by Karisha Prescott

Past Mistakes~Sample Chapters by Karisha Prescott

(Previously titled Oplura: Dawn of a New Era)

Well, the time has come! Here we have the first three chapters of  Past Mistakes available for Download!

This will be available on the Amazon Kindle later this week (for $0.99; Amazon wont let me price it as free, sorry)! It’s okay. You can still read it here!

This is a wonderful moment for me and I am glad I can share it with all of you. I hope to hear as much feedback as you are willing to give.

Just so you are aware, Past Mistakes is a Science-Fiction/Romance Novel series.

HERE YOU GO! Enjoy! ;D

Past Mistakes ~ Sample Chapters by Karisha Prescott

Thanks for reading!

Hope you enjoy!