For day 3 of the A Chance at Love book tour, I did a guest post for Blog-A-Licious Authors, in which I discussed the importance in making characters relatable to readers in a story:
When I decided to write my first book, the first thought that came to mind was how will I make my characters relatable to readers? With readers, that is the first thing they will think about when reading a story. Being an avid reader, that’s what I imagine when reading a good book. That is why with each of my books, I try to write characters as everyday people that readers can understand and can even imagine as themselves when reading.
An example to this theory is the book, Love Unbroken. When I first wrote the story, I wanted it to be about a young couple that fell in love when they least expect it. To channel that theory, I had to go back to when I met my husband thirteen years ago (which readers who read the book know that he is the inspiration to the character Shawn). I used the experiences I shared with him, from the first time we met (which was through a mutual friend), to the various times I watched him perform at open mic nights, to express the thoughts and emotions Shawn had for Riana. Through those experiences I shared with him, I was able to tell a love story that was relatable to readers because it expressed real life in it most beautiful form.
Another story that featured relatable characters is In Love With My Best Friend. Camille and Trevor shared a wonderful friendship that spanned from middle school, and soared to a full-fledged romance. I’m pretty sure many couples could relate to this situation, especially for those who were friends before lovers. Being able to read their journey through their denial to finally expressing those feelings can bring many emotions to some, as well as think about the situations they experienced when realizing that their true love was in their lives all along.
With all stories, being able to channel a character and think about real-life experiences is a great way to make a character believable. With my past stories, I had to really think back on past experiences to write about a particular character or scene. For example, in A Chance at Love, there were many scenes in the book when I thought about the relationship I had with my mom, which brought back wonderful memories about her. Even in Love Unbroken, with the conversations Riana had with her mom, I thought about what the many talks my mom and I had and the moments we shared throughout the years. Just the thoughts I had created scenes that I hope made readers think about the conversations they had with their parents.
Creating relatable characters is one of the elements in making a great story. Not only does it provide a chance for readers to take a journey into someone else’s world for a couple of hours, but it sometimes can think about how they would be in a certain situation. That is something I hope I can continue providing throughout all of my stories.
To check out the entire interview, please visit Blog-A-Licious Authors at http://blogaliciousauthors.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-make-your-characters-relatable.html
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