By Beverly Nault
This is part III of a post I started last month talking shop and having fun with published authors about their process. I know you’ll find their answers as interesting as I did. And when you’re finished, check out their books and blogs, especially if these excellent authors are new to you. Here are Dona Watson, Ashley Ludwig, Dineen Miller, Nancy Farrier and Joanne Bischof. Welcome ladies!
Inspired by an author friend, I developed a worksheet called “Creating 3D Characters” which is available on my site. This worksheet asks in-depth questions from the high level (eye color, height, birthday, place, etc.) to favorite foods, habits, etc. By the time I’m halfway through, I know exactly who each character is, what phraseology they lean toward, and how they will respond in any number of situations!
Dineen Miller‘s debut fiction, The Soul Saver, had me turning the pages until late into the night. She also writes nonfiction for families in unequally yoked situations. Here’s Dineen!
HI Bev! 1. When I started planning The Soul Saver, I knew Lexie and Hugh Baltimore has lost their toddler daughter to a brain tumor. I also knew Hugh was a physics professor at Stanford University. A few months later we found out our youngest daughter’s worsening headaches were due to a malignant brain tumor. Then after her successful surgeries to remove the tumor, we found out her radiation treatments would be designed by a physics professor from Stanford! God is always in the details and we ARE His details!
2. Motivation. I’m fascinated by what drives us to do the things we do. Is it a lie we believe of ourselves or the world? What a character wants most—is it rooted in a rejection from the past? Or a past failure and a need to prove he or she can succeed? Amazingly, I’ve found that when I was able to identify the lies I held onto in my own life and give them to God to replace with His truth, that creating these premises became much easier to create for my characters. LOL! How funny is that? Yes, motivation is crucial in so many ways. Good and bad.
We are not done yet. See you again next week for more stories…