Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Internals, They're The Guts


            Yeah, kind of icky but, guts are pretty important. We’ve got a three legged cat, it gets along fine. Marne has a one-eyed dog, it’s fine. Without guts though, those two would be in trouble. Same with your story.

            Internals, (guts) are the things going on in your character’s head; thoughts, reactions, feelings. Without them your character can’t come alive. Without a live character, your story is DOA. In my opinion, internals tell the real story.

            We, as sentient beings, are always thinking and so should your characters. Even when they’re doing stuff, they should be thinking. We are. As you read this you are thinking. Some of you are thinking, “Huh, never thought about that.”

 Some, “Yeah but…”

Some, “Where’s he going with this?”

Some, “Maybe I’ll get a pizza for dinner.”

 And some, “This guy is an idiot.”

 The point is, what you were thinking would tell us something about you, if we heard your thoughts. As writers, we can use that.

            If your character is interacting with someone he finds attractive, or repulsive he is going to be thinking about that. Slip it in. Internals don’t have to be about what’s happening. often it’s more interesting if it’s not. Most interesting of all, is when a character is acting contrary to their internals. It is then they are lying to themselves.

If he is scared of the dark, daytime internals will be different from night. Your character will probably try to hide his phobia. How much fun is that sort of thing?

 If your character is a narcissist, his internals will be different from the selfless, self-deprecating hero of your story. We can use internals to make our characters unique. 

Probably the most important job of internals is keeping the reader in the loop. Only POV characters have internals. POV characters are main characters. Readers need to know why main characters do things. Internals explain that.

Readers also should be able to predict what a main character will do as a scene unfolds. Internals help readers know the character and anticipate his/her reaction. This gives your readers satisfaction when they are correct and a surprise when they are not. And when the reader is not correct, when your hero does something out of character, you will need internals to explain why.

Well, I’m at the end of the page. 

Hope you enjoyed our little chat. 

Mike

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Cover Art for "Love Chosen: Book One of the Fae Dragon Chronicles"


Back of the Book Blurb:
For millennia, dragon and fae have peacefully co-existed, but the fae themselves have lived segregated and very different lives.

Now a malevolence threatens to separate them all permanently. Can a Queen's guard and a rebellious outlaw join forces to defeat this common enemy?

Tyler's touch sparks fierce desire, drawing Issie to him, but she despises his way of life and all that palace society represents. If he learns she wields majic to help the less fortunate escape the kingdom, he'll charge her with treason. Her punishment - death.

Issie is a sassy rebel who is constantly looking for ways to circumvent the conventions of their society. Tyler's head warns that she's a non-majical lower, beneath him. His heart sees by her inner strength and outer beauty. Only a binding love will lend them strength to save her life - their world.

Can either of them bend enough to trust that love?

So, this is IT!
The Cover Art for LOVE CHOSEN...
Yep, I'm ecstatic over it!
Jeannie Ruesch is the gifted artist who designed it. Smooches to her for being A-Mazing! And Double Smooches and Hugs to Crescent Moon Press for asking me what images I felt were important to the story. I have not extolled CMP's value as a publisher nearly enough... they are fabulous people to work with. Seriously. Fantastic.
The book will be available as an e-book first, at the end of March.
It will be available in print format shortly after.
So, I know I love it; but what do YOU think of the cover?