The A to Z Challenge is over but the world of book publishing moves forward and today I have the honor of introducing
Libby Heily and her latest release
Welcome to Sortilege Falls.
But first!
I'd like to announce the winner
of the drawing for the A to Z Challenge!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Sophia Duncan!
Now take it away, Libby!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks Yolanda for having me over today!
Writing Character Journals
Thankfully,
or to my own detriment, I've been involved in many areas of the creative life.
I fell in love with words as a small child so I've always written. I've also
studied acting, film making, and I now perform in several improv troupes.
All
those endeavors have influenced my writing but none more so than acting. Oddly
enough, I wasn't a very good actress despite my commitment but hey, we can't
win them all. But all that studying did give me valuable tools. One of the many
techniques I learned was to write a character journal for any role I played. I
read the play and took detailed notes. What did my character say about herself
in the play, what did others say about her, what were her actions and how do
those actions reveal her true self? Armed with that information, I would open a
brand new spiral bound notebook–my favorite type of notebook–and I would write
entries as my character.
All my classmates had their own way of doing this and
I definitely experimented for a while. The process I grew into was to start
with an entry using known information. Maybe I would write about a scene in the
play and how I felt about it–“I” here is the character, not Libby. Then I would
tend to branch off and write a bit about my childhood and my ambitions and my
hopes and fears. I would ask myself questions like “what do you most want?” and
try to answer these questions fully. This was so incredibly helpful because
writing a character journal provides you with a backstory inspired by the text.
Your life as the character becomes so much richer and fuller because you've
given yourself a life outside the world of the play.
As
a writer, I've used this technique several times. Characters can be tricky to
nail down. Human beings are complex and
rarely have one motivation in any given scenario. I don't write character
journals for every character but I do write them for either the main
characters, or the ones that are giving me the most trouble. For Tough
Girl, I wrote a character journal for the MC and through that, I created
the character of her best friend, Leon. This was a huge gift to the novel. Leon
allows for so many layers to develop emotionally for Reggie, and he never would
have come about except for the journal. Writing as Reggie also let me nail down
her voice and tap into her strength and sadness.
If
you're thinking of adopting this method but you're scared of the added word
count, don't be. My journals run about 5-15 pages. It's not really about the
length or the events that you cover. The exercise is really about trying to see
the world through that character's eyes. Realizing how their world view differs
from your own can be extremely helpful. Next time you're having a hard time
getting a character to come off just right, try a character journal. It will
take maybe 2-3 hours max but might save you weeks of pounding your head against
the keyboard.
What
writing tools have you pulled from other areas of life?
Libby's
latest novel: Welcome to Sortilege Falls
The blurb:
Sixteen-year-old
Grape Merriweather has just moved to Sortilege Falls and already she knows
something isn't right. A small pack of teenage models, too beautiful for words,
holds the town in their sway. The models have no plans on making Grape's life easy.
But no matter how cruel they are to Grape and the other “Normals”, no one can
stay angry with them for long.
Grape's life changes for the better, or so she thinks, when Mandy,
the only “nice” model, befriends her. But that’s when the trouble truly begins.
Mandy's friendship places Grape smack in the middle of a medical mystery that
has the entire town on edge. One by one, the models fall ill from an incurable
disease. Grape quickly realizes that the models' parents are hiding a secret,
even as they watch their children die. To save her only friend, Grape will have
to find the truth–and that means putting her life in danger.
Welcome
to Sortilege Falls will be out in May/June of 2016. You can enter a contest to
win one of five copies by clicking here.
(goodreads
contest link-in case hyperlink doesn't work: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/181005-welcome-to-sortilege-falls)
I was born during a
blizzard. I’m told it was pretty cool but I have no memory of that time. I grew
up in two tiny towns in Virginia and spent most of my twenties moving around
the US. I’ve lived in Virginia, Florida, Missouri, and Washington. I’ve settled
down, for now, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I’m a writer and
improviser. I studied acting in college but spent more time rewriting lines
than memorizing them. My first play, Fourth Wall, was produced my junior year.
Since then, I’ve written several full length plays, one acts, and screenplays. I
started writing fiction in my late twenties. Now, I focus mainly on novels but
still dabble in theater.
Fun facts about me: There are none. I’m sorry to disappoint you
so soon. But, I do love to read, write, and run. My hubby is my favorite person
on earth. Dogs are my second favorite. All dogs. Know that. I love orange
juice, especially when it’s mixed with club soda. Carbonation is better than
alcohol. Jaws is my favorite movie. Everything I’ve said so far is true.
Connecting
with Libby:
Fire
and Ice YA Publishing link:
