Have you ever read a book and no matter how hard you tried, couldn’t relate to the characters?
Today, author Ane Mulligan shares how to help your characters more real and to reach the heart of your readers.
Thanks for joining us, Ane!
Name: Ane Mulligan
Genre: Women’s fiction
Latest Release: A Magnolia Blooms in Winter. It’s part of a novella collection: A Southern Season – Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing.
Writing Tip for Authors:
Motivation is the key to great characters and a good plot. To reach the hearts of readers, they have to relate to our characters. To do that, we have to make them real. They have to have deep seated motivation, not superficial. That motivation comes from a past wound. Find that wound and you’ll find their motivation. Once you know that, you will know how your character reacts to things, why she/he seeks the goal they do. You can actually plot a novel by the motivation.
Great advice, Ane! I’ve read books where I couldn’t relate or believe the characters and what ends up happening is that I can’t root for them to achieve their goals. Everyone has wounds from something, and if you can show that motivation in your writing, you’ll get that connection that you’re talking about.
Enjoy the journey and grow a thick skin. Don’t be in such a hurry to publish that you miss the fun along the way of the friends and contacts you make. And it’s vital to grow that rhino skin. Critiques may sting at first. Contest judges’ remarks can hurt. But if you have rhino skin, you can view them subjectively and apply what profits you and grind the rest to dust beneath your heel. Snicker.
Four seasons. Four stories. Each one set in the enchanting world of the South. These are the kinds of stories your grandmother told you from a front porch swing.
A Magnolia Blooms in Winter by Ane Mulligan
With Broadway stardom within her reach, Morgan James returns home in winter to help an old friend. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but when she sees him again, an old flame rekindles. When she’s called back to NYC to take the lead in a new musical, will fame be worth losing the man she loves?
While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, award-winning author Ane Mulligan has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that’s a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, and bestselling novelist. She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. Ane resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a lovable, goofy dog.
Ane’s Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anemulligansouthernfriedfiction
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AneMulligan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anemulligan/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/anemulligan/
Amazon Author page: amazon.com/author/anemulligan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4469633-ane-mulligan
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+AneMulligan
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ane-mulligan
Thank you for joining us today! Make sure you connect with Ane on social media and check out her story, A Magnolia Blooms in Winter.
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