by Katharine Light
Welcome! A blog about writing? Well, there’s a lot of material out there about the art of writing. Subject matter. Plots. Character choices. What makes us put our phones aside and invest the time it takes to read a novel?
Is it the characters that make the difference between sticking with it or giving up? Elizabeth Bennet’s witty intelligence? Bridget Jones’s appealing foibles? Robin Ellacott’s courage? Jane Eyre’s stoicism?
I enjoy reading contemporary fiction of the romantic persuasion. Helen Fielding, Barbara Trapido, Catherine Fox; Jilly Cooper and Katie Fforde; Jennifer Crusie and Simona Ahrnstedt…
Recently, I read Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson. I couldn’t put it down. And there are a few parallels with Like Me. A heroine and a hero growing up in the 1980s, accompanied by ‘80s music. A story with episodes in the past and the present. I can only hope my central characters are as engaging as I found Alison and Daniel…characters you want to spend time with…to get to know better…who feel like friends…
What I have discovered is that I start writing with an idea of a character—what they look like, some back story, traits and behaviours—and as I write they become fleshed out, believable, people I want to be with. The two protagonists of Like Me, Jess and Sam, are very real to me. I hope they are to you too…
Comments