Novel Kicks Writing Room: 10 Week Character Challenge – Meet You Character
Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.
Following on from the plot challenge we did, today is the beginning of a 10 week character challenge. If you’d like to take a look at the plot challenge, click here.
Over the next ten weeks, we’ll take a character from a simple idea and gradually develop them into someone with a personality, history, relationships, flaws, fears and a meaningful character arc.
You don’t need to be writing a novel to take part. Your character can be created specifically for these exercises, or you can use a character from a story you’re already working on.
WEEK 1 — Meet Your Character
The task this week is to create a character who wants something very badly.
First, answer these questions:
- What’s their name?
- How old are they?
- What do they do?
- What do they look like?
- What do they love?
- What annoys them?
- What do they want more than anything?
- What are they afraid of?
- What’s their biggest flaw?
- What secret are they keeping?
by 
Book Extract: All Or None by Clive Fleury
Please join me as we welcome Clive Fleury to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, All Or None.
Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.
As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.
Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.
Clive has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
beginning of extract
Tommy Clarke and his wife Anne are saving up to buy a house, so they need all the money they can get. However, despite this, Tommy is still not pleased to be working on Saturday. He is to drive a small group of demonstrators down to a rally in Sydney and so will miss the all-important grudge match between the Swans and the Eagles.
There were eleven of them squashed into the red Ford Transit van. All were in high spirits—except, that was, for the driver, Tommy Clarke. He wasn’t happy.
Tommy had thought long and hard about offering his services locally as a driver and wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Anne, his wife. She had heard that people were looking for transport into the city for a protest march and saw it as the perfect opportunity for them to earn some money—even though it was scheduled for Saturday, which would mean Tommy missing the big match: the Swans versus the Eagles.
by Book Review: Snowflakes over Micklewick Bay by Eliza J Scott
I’m very happy to be welcoming Eliza J Scott to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Snowflakes over Micklewick Bay.
A wintry treat brimming with snowflakes, secrets and second chances!
When her beloved Aunt Colleen passes away, settling her affairs means doing the one thing Hannah Merryweather has spent years avoiding: returning to Micklewick Bay, the seaside town she fled years ago and has never quite found the courage to face again.
Coming home means facing the past too. Polly, her stepmother, and Darryl, her stepbrother, still loom large over the life she once knew, and the home she lost is never far from her thoughts.
Then, on her very first day back, she nearly collides with the one man she never expected to see again: Lachie, the kilted, green-eyed Scotsman who stole her heart last spring. His unexpected arrival in Micklewick Bay is the last complication Hannah needs – especially as feelings she thought she’d locked away start to resurface.
As Hannah slowly uncovers just how far her aunt’s plans for her future stretch – including one life-changing surprise waiting at the end of the pier – can she find the courage to claim the life, and the love, Auntie Colleen always believed she deserved?
A beautifully uplifting story of hope and second chances, set in the snow-globe charm of Micklewick Bay.
Perfect for readers who love:
- Cosy seaside fiction
- Slow-burn romance
- Stories about fresh starts
- Female friendship and found family
- Wintry settings
*****
When still a teenager, Hannah left Micklewick Bay thinking she’d never return. However, when a family tragedy pulls her back, she is soon having to decide whether to face her past or leave forever.
I do love a book by Eliza J Scott and will always try to join a blog tour for her novels. Needless to say, I was very happy to be invited to review the latest instalment in the Micklewick Bay series, Snowflakes Over Micklewick Bay.
by Cover Reveal: Dreaming Of A Scottish Summer by Julie Shackman
Novel Kicks are helping to reveal the cover for Dreaming Of A Scottish Summer, the upcoming novel by Julie Shackman and book 12 in the Scottish Escapes series.
Brooke never intended to return to her native Scotland. That is until she’s offered a job with legendary literary agent, Levi Hudson, who just happens to represent her favourite author, Petra Swan.
Petra’s books helped her find hope again after her heart was broken, and Brooke will do anything to meet her. Even if it means working with the formidable Levi.
Not only is he grumpy, he’s also infuriatingly handsome. Yet as his frosty exterior slowly begins to melt, Brooke realises that moving back to the highlands might be the best decision she’s ever made…
I do love a good cover reveal and this is no exception. So, now we know a bit about Dreaming Of A Scottish Summer, it’s time to see the cover. Are you ready?
Drumroll…3…2…1…
by Book Extract: Feel-Good Stories by Sarah Swatridge
I’m so excited as we welcome Sarah Swatridge to Novel Kicks and the Birthday Blitz tour for her book, Feel-Good Stories.
An eclectic mix of heart-warming stories, full of memorable, quirky characters.
Read about the heroic postie, the eccentric duke, a spoilt parrot, a true friend and a determined would-be husband.
Perfect bite-sized reading with your favourite drink.
There is a chance to win a paperback copy of Sarah’s book, An Honourable Wager but first, she has shared an extract from Feel-Good Stories. We hope you enjoy.
beginning of extract
Beside the Seaside – set in 1920. Great if you love costume dramas on TV, this is ‘Downton’ rather than ‘Bridgerton’. Good if you love to curl up with an historical novel but just don’t have the time. Here’s a short historical story to whisk you back to a simpler time.
Britain 1920
“My goodness Enid, you are chipper this morning,” his Lordship said. He was reading his newspaper in the library while Enid was clearing the grate.
“Shall I come back later Sir?” she asked.
“No, that’s not necessary, you carry on.” He seemed somewhat flustered. “But please refrain from singing.”
“Sorry Sir, I had no idea I was doing it.” Enid did a little curtsey and returned to her chores.
After only a few minutes, he folded his newspaper, sat back and crossed his legs.
“Come here Enid,” he said.
by Book Club
