The Month of April

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          Your friend asks if you would like a piece of gum.
         
          You say, "Yes," and he hands it to you with this odd sort of smirk. You shrug it off because your friend is rather odd in general so nothing's out of the ordinary here. You pop the gum in your mouth and expect a sweet burst of flavor. Instead you are met with stiff, tasteless- cardboard. You glare at your friend.
         
           "You should've- seen- your face!" he grasps between laughter.
         
           You throw the wad of cardboard at him.

           Have you ever picked up a book in great anticipation of the amazing story it foretold to have, only to find cardboard for characters? A little distasteful, right? I know I have.

         So this month is Character Month! Characters are another one of my favorite story elements (it is okay to have more than one, right?). Good characters always make a story more memorable.

          To kick it off, a few quick tips about characters that we may look into more depth later:

           -good characters always have something good to do

           -characters are like people, it's not the outside that counts, it's what's on the inside

           -readers want to care about the characters, or they won't care to read the book

           -character development begins with the first word and ends with the last

         We might have a few, who's your favorite character posts, perhaps a character interview or two, and if I can figure it out, a link up. April, you are officially Character Month of 2013, well, around here at least. In most places I suppose you are better known as poetry month. This just gives you more dimension, like a character.

          This is going to be fun!

                              When I Brainstorm Characters

 

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