A Lesson to be Learned

I posted those commercials on Monday for a reason.

To be honest, I found that the ones I posted were some of the few that were actually appropriate. You may disagree with me, but I prefer a story line over watching a people walk out in provocative clothing.

I find that this often happens with books, too.

We focus so much on drawing people in with something "romantic", gory, or otherwise shocking scene, that we forget that these are supposed to be people we can relate to.

Sometimes, it's the sweet, meaningless things in books that people can relate to most. The strange habits of a character, the way their eyes glisten, the way they appreciate things. . . Simple, yet a lot of writers use those same small habits to make a major difference later on in their books.

I personally think that we, as writers,  need to have the simple stuff so that then, later on, we can add the big things.

What makes this character irritated? What makes him/her smile? How do they respond to other characters?

So, what I'm asking you is this: Are you taking the time to make your characters unique?

~Elizabeth