Keith’s Comments (group member since Jan 03, 2010)

Keith’s comments from the Q&A with TL James group.

Yeah, you don't want to get stuck in a character's emotions and thoughts. Too many times I've read paragraph after paragraph of description on all the choices the character has before them and how Choice A will affect them this way but Choice B will affect them that way. The story just STOPS. Let the character simply act out and do what they want to do. The emotion will come through.

Just chatting about characters, what makes them work and not work whether we're writin' 'em or readin' 'em.

Somebody's not going down without a fight, eh?

Love that definition of writer's block. And I think you're right; so often have I been "stuck" and it's all due to a character. Just gotta let 'em loose and let 'em think.

As far as dying, I've had the opposite problem. Suddenly one of my main characters will be dead, and I'll be saddened. "Gee, guess he couldn't figure THAT one out, huh?"

It's all about character, ain't it? Let your characters do what they want, and like TL says, the story will tell itself. All we, as writers, have to do is sit back and type it.

I, for one, really like it when a character makes a mistake. That sticks out to me both as a reader and a writer. Because we all make so many mistakes on a daily basis, I'll let characters go about their business and do the wrong thing (knowing that they're headin' for trouble), just to see how they'll get out of it.