Bringing your characters alive

How can you bring the characters on the page, your very own creation to life?  Here’s some ideas -

1. Write a back story – what are their likes/dislikes, what was their childhood like, did they have a pet, have they ever been the victim of a crime etc… Knowing these things will help you to understand how they will react to situations and people. 

2. Cut out pictures from magazines and use them as a basis for your characters.  Being able to see your characters can help you to write about them.

3. Give characters a theme tune.  This can be any song or music that brings out their character.

4. Base characters on people you know, but don’t base just on the one person.  Make them an amalgamation of different people. 

Success at last!

Just got an email saying that Pulp Press want to publish my first novel, a pulp fiction revenge book provisionally called How Kirsty Gets Her Kicks. I'm over the moon. It will be published in August 2011.

It's about a one legged barmaid who ends up killing a lech in the seedy bar where she works and has to go on the run with a sack of gangster's cash and a hot gun. 


What really makes me happy about this is I absolutely loved writing this book.  I had so much fun. Maybe because I thought it's about time that there were books where women wern't just window dressing or victims or the detective solving a crime who's weighed down by childcare arrangements

I know there's a long road ahead with editing and what not, but I'm so excited. 

Readers Digest £5,000 for 100 words

I have just entered two stories in the Reader’s Digest flash fiction comp.  The big prize is £5,000.  Imagine what you could do with that? 

Stories must not be more than 100 words and that excludes the title, so no need to add that into your word count.

Go to - http://www.readersdigest.co.uk/magazine/179-Reader%27s-Digest-Main/1382-Web-Exclusives-100-word-story.html?res=success

If you fancy a go.