Under Cover

Y ou might have the best story in mind and already know what the main character Is going to accomplish within it, but who is the main character and what will make them appealing to your readers? A book might form through an interesting plot where you need to build a character to put into it or it might form around a character that you have in mind that you need to build the plot around. Either way your character needs more depth than just their actions and outcome, but where do we start?   Your characters must be complex enough to carry the plot through action and dialogue but be able to influence the reader in just a few thousand words that describe them and what they are doing. My first piece of advice is don’t overthink creating one. They don’t have to be a perfect fit for the role and creating uncertainty in a plot certainly adds to the drama. Try to avoid creating a stereotype character for the plot whether they are the main or supporting characters. Also avoid creating a char...

 A book is nothing more than just a bunch of words on a few hundred pages. It can’t be that hard to write one, right? Most people don’t like doing taxes since it takes hours to complete. Imagine if your taxes took you a minimum of six months to file. Writing a book is a long laborious process that isn’t just writing out a story, it involves rewriting and editing and many times you never feel like it’s ever complete. Image by nensuria on Freepik Many people dream of writing a book someday. In the United States about 15% of the population has started writing a book. Of those only about 6% make it halfway through. Those who keep pushing might become published and about .15% of people in the U.S. are self-published. About 0.001367% of the U.S. population are published traditionally. If you make it to the point of holding your book in your hand no matter who publishes it, you are in small company. It might not feel that way when you see just how many books are published weekly and year...

A former co-worker of mine and I were having a discussion on story ideas for books. He was stuck early on in a book and didn’t feel like the idea would be able to make a full-length novel. It was one of those great discussions I enjoy having with other writers whether they write comics, short stories, novels, novellas, or even music. Story ideas are easy to come by for me. Sometimes the idea comes from a location like a vacation that inspires something based on the setting. Sailing in the Caribbean on a cruise sure inspires me to want to write a story about pirates which is already a topic I enjoy. I might visit a historical port or learn something historical that inspires an idea. Granted, traveling is fun and inspiring, but not always an option when you’re trying to gather book ideas. I have inspiration of locations through reading books on travel or even other novels that take place in interesting locations. This museum in St. Thomas gave me many ideas . Story ideas might form wh...