Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with an interesting collection of locals although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children, rebuilding his life one painful step at a time. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin. When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries and into her life. But Carrie has a painful past, too, and when the reason she once ran away shows up in town, the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg threatens to implode from the […]
Read the RestArchive | January, 2012
Feeding on the Word, James 1:2- 4
I love James. Do you know this James was the Lord’s brother, not the apostle. Anyway, he says it like it is and some times, we need to hear truth, straight up. Okay, show of hands. Who’s perfect? (Shh, Suz, put your hand down… ) None of us. We are by nature flawed and sinful. The first time your dear, darling one year old looks you in the eye and utters their favorite word, “No,” in definae, we understand the sinful human nature. Our fictional characters are also flawed. Otherwise we can’t write them with sincerity and truth. We can’t engage readers, either. As much as we try to minimize our flaws, or even avoid trials, they are necessary to face. Here’s waht James write: Consider it all joy, my […]
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Quick Skills Class: Characterization and Core Identity
Are you creating a new character and trying to figure out how to make him/her different from every other character you’ve created? Try this – Instead of picking out a name from thin air and then attaching a bunch of characteristics to your paper doll, start from the inside-out. Start with finding their core identity. Identity is not about what career you have – skydiver, wilderness EMT, policeman, lawyer, photographer, chef, teacher – but rather the person on the inside that has driven you to this destiny. A core identity starts with an adjective and ends with a proper noun. “My character is a [insert proper noun here].” Here’s how: Let’s take a firefighter, for example. We might automatically assume he’s a protector, or courageous. But let’s take a look […]
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