NaNoWriMo Author Advice: Day Thirteen

It’s day thirteen of National Novel Writing Month. Today, Michele Gorman, the author of Single in the City and Christmas Carol, talks about recurring characters…

Hi Laura, thanks for asking me on the blog today, and best of luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo!

Writing recurring characters is a bit like visiting an old friend. Of course you love her, but you also know all about her flaws. And so do your fans.

Plus: You already know the character. This makes it easy to put her into a new situation and know how she’ll behave.

Minus: You already know the character. It can be difficult to sustain your enthusiasm for the book over 80,000-100,000 words.

Plus: Your fans already know the character. This makes them more likely to give the book a try (assuming they liked her!)

Minus: Your fans already know the character… so as much as you might wish for her to behave differently in the new book, she’s a creature of habit and you’ll need to stay true to her personality. I despaired of Hannah’s behaviour by book three (in the Single in the City series). I wanted to knock some sense into her, but she was a ditz, and it would have been odd if she’d suddenly started making sensible decisions in her love life!

I probably will write a recurring character again. For example, I love the main character in my latest novella, Christmas Carol (think Dickens with better shoes) – she’s sharp and funny and smart yet vulnerable. And I feel like she’s not yet finished with her story.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.