Characters.

I think this is one of the hardest things to master as a writer. I want to write a Beowolf, Jack Ryan or Pyanfar Chanur. Instead I get half dimensional talking-heads, mouthing platitudes and engaging in dull conversation. I write characters that make a Mr. Milktoast look like Superman.

I’ve just started reading the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie Plum. I can’t wait to get to the next book. Stephanie Plum and her supporting cast of characters are real, and I want to find out what trouble they get into next. Shoot, I want to move to New Jersey to meet her.

I want to write great characters like that; real people who my reader can’t get enough of. Characters that can carry my novel from start to finish and aren’t ever, ever boring. I’ve got a long way to go. Sometimes, I actually write a scene where my character’s personality shines through. The character, for just an instant, is real. I can’t wait until I can do that with the same skill as Tom Clancy, C.J. Cherryh or Janet Evanovich.

The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly thirty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com!  Up next: Jean Schara!