2016 - All Things M4tt

"Fill out this form and then come back to this desk."

"This is ridiculous. I'm very busy."

"Fill out this form and then come back to this desk." she banged the sign on the window that echoed her sentiments.

Santa turned away and sat down on a grubby chair. It had chunks missing and masking tap holding it together, but it was the best one in the room.

Being good at filling out forms, Santa returned to the desk in quick time, "I couldn't fill out the vehicle registration or my driving licence number."

Annoyance burned across the woman's face. She whacked the sign, "Fill out the form and then come back to this desk."

"You don't understand. I have filled it out. My vehicle doesn't have a registration and I was never given a driving license number."

She lifted her glasses and scowled, "So you're the fool riding around on the unlicensed sled?"

"It doesn't need to be licensed. Look, how much is the fine? I really have a lot to do."

"I'm afraid without a driving licence number your vehicle isn't going anywhere." She lowered her glasses and returned to her crossword.

"You can't be serious. Do you know who I am?"

The woman ignored him, "7 Across." she mumbled.

"People are counting on me! I was only parked for a fraction..."

"Hey pal, sit down okay. You heard the lady. No license, they can't help." A voice hurled at him from the seating area.

Santa thought to himself for a moment, A different approach. He removed his red hat, hand-combed his white hair and took a deep breath.

"Linda," her name badge was dusty and he hoped he hadn't made a mistake. "You seem like an understanding woman." He paused, he knew his next sentence was make or break. "I need my sled to bring presents to the children. I have only a few hours to finish off my deliveries. Can you help me out?"

Linda ticked off another word on her crossword and looked up. Her face eased and she patted her grey bob. She smiled at Santa, he returned the gesture. Then like a piece of paper that has been set alight her face twisted and scrunched together.

"I don't care who you are! No license, no vehicle!" her shrieks, defied a woman of her tiny frame. She pulled up another sign that echoed her words.

Santa huffed and shoved back on his hat. He pulled coal from his pocket and slammed it down on her table, "Merry Christmas Linda!" the bell on his hat jingled as he marched off.

"Hey, hey!" Linda shouted.

Santa turned around, maybe Christmas cheer had thawed her.

She lifted the coal, "If you don't take your property I will be forced to throw it in the bin." she displayed another sign that showed the rule.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came out last week. In the days since watching it I've aired my opinion, and many friends have told me to remember it's not a star wars films. It's a stand alone film set in the Star War universe. So I need to remember that, it's different, it doesn't have light sabre battles or Jedi, because it's different.

I can appreciate the differences. I understand that it's set after the fall of the Jedi in a Force starved era.

I can't appreciate the lack of warmth and fun.

I found a lot wrong with this film. Maybe because I had unreal expectations? I just think it suffered from a dull script and a lack of direction.

To keep this blog brief, and not let it turn into a rant, I've boiled my dislike down to three areas. Enjoy

The characters

I can't say this any other way, the characters are boring. Jyn had this air of mystery about her in the trailers. After I watched it, I was not interested in her paper thin story or her. The rest of the Rogue One Team were walk on characters at best. I think they missed a trick with Donnie Yen's Chirrut Îmwe. He had Jedi abilities, was blind and yet showed no signs of this and clearly had an interesting history. A history that may have shed light on the force and the Jedi. The directors decided to give his character minimal screen time and use him for comic relief.

As one of the greatest characters ever created on the screen Darth Vader did what was expected of him and completely stole the show (not difficult).

Many who told me "It's not a Star Wars film, appreciate it as a stand alone," also told me how much they loved Vader with the lightsaber and his control of the force to kill people for fun. Anakin shows my reaction to those comments.

A special mention for Forrest Whitaker's character Saw Gerrera. Trailers again made him seem like an important figure to the story and indeed the Star Wars Universe. His inclusion did nothing to storyline. He was not needed at all which shocked me. Why would you give a well known actor such a horrendous part? After I did some digging, I found out that his character was damaged by script re-writes and cuts. If true, that's a huge shame because Gerrera certainly gave a lot to the Star Wars: the Clone Wars series.

Doesn't tell us anything new

Not much in the way of 'new' is given to the Star Wars universe. Like the Star Wars prequels, we knew where this film was going. In having all new characters at the core of this story, the writers and director could have had fun and added new value to the Star War Universe. I expected a new fresh story that would give me new insight to tie me over until episode 8.

I did feel that it wanted to give us something new (Jyn's necklace for example) but it just played it safe and steam rolled its way to the ending.

All we found out was why the Death Star had such an achilles heel. At times it felt like this was the only purpose of this entire event. Well done Rogue One you put to bed the 40 year old mystery about the Death Star.

Michael Bay Inspired

I nodded off a few times in the film. My advanced years are catching up with me. I can't watch constant explosions and cool special effects like I used to. The battles in previous Star Wars films had a certain gravitas to them. The fighter pilot scene at the end of New Hope is one of my favourite scenes in all of Star Wars. Watching Luke survive and then destroy the Death Star was tense. The countless fighter scenes in Rogue One were completely blah. I'm sure they will be nominated for a Best Special Effects award at the Oscars though, so well done.

He walked into her room. Familiar beeps perforated the silence. The smell of industrial cleanliness assaulted his nostrils, he still wasn’t used to it. New flowers coloured her bedside table. They were a neither colour between red and pink. He despised them, but the bin wasn’t an option. They were from her mother and carried all her trademarks: loud, pungent and cumbersome

He strolled over to the window and tugged open the blinds. A picture ornamented the window ledge. A boy and a girl in clothes that oozed 80s over posed for the photo. You could almost hear the person behind the camera ordering them to 'smile more.' He brushed it over with his palm and popped it back on the window ledge.

Pulling a chair with him, he walked over to the bed. He sat down and dug into a carrier bag he had tie around his wrist.

"Good morning. How are you? Sorry I've been away for a while." He spoke slowly as his concentration was with the bag.

He continued to rummage then striking gold he pulled a book into the sky. "Look, I've found your favourite." For the first time he eyed the woman in the bed.

She was still, the occasional rise and fall of her stomach indicated that life was still with her. Strands of her black hair covered her face. He stood up and brushed them aside. "That's better."

Wires entered and left her body like stitches. Bagged liquids hung above her bed, creating a kaleidoscope the 70s would have been proud of. Her body had lost the ability to run itself years ago. Now machinery did everything, everything except wake her up.

Death can be a choice, if you have enough money.

"Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes..." He read.

Beep.

He didn't look up. "...With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side..."

Beep.

He stopped. Something was different, unfamiliar.

Beep.

He eyeballed the machines, trying to place the migrant new beep

Beep.

“What the f…” His book fell from his hand. The heart beat monitor was moving.

Beep.

There it was again, his mind wasn't playing vicious tricks on him.

"Nurse," He squeaked, unprepared for the screams that he wanted. "Nurse!"

Beep.

"NURSE!"

"Don't tell me how to live my life!"

"You're a ghost."

"Does that mean I don't have a life?"

He stared at her, well at least as well as you can stare at someone transparent.

"What will you do now?"

She searched the floor, not knowing where to start her reply.

"He knows that you exist. He will come for you."

"Then I'll put him under a bus too" Defiance rang through her voice. "After all I am a ghost."

"And he is a ghost hunter..." before his lips could fence around his teeth an arrow pierced his neck.

He fell to the floor, blood pouring from his mouth and neck. She tried to help, but she hadn't mastered touching things. She had only been a ghost for 24 hours, blowing things over was the extent of her abilities.

Panicked, she searched for the shooter, but they were in the centre of a forest, it would be a needle in a hay stack task.

"Run!" He gargled.

She couldn't leave him. "Run..." He repeated, his mouth filled with more blood and dripped down his chin.

She held back the tears and turned to leave. Before she could move anywhere her legs gave way. For the first time since being a ghost she felt physical pain. Blue light shocked her body like an over fizzed bottle of coke.

Hey everyone,

Over the last week and a half I've stumbled across audiobooks on Spotify. I've always loved audiobooks, but the process of buying one always seemed strenuous. Last week, I was watching a chat between Stephen King and George RR Martin. The two shared a mutual love for each other's work and Stephen (notice we're on first name terms) mentioned listening to 'Game of Thrones' on his phone. The thought to try my Spotify account came fully formed to my mind. I typed in Audiobooks on Spotify and saw the beautiful sight of hundreds of different books.

Excited, and annoyed that I hadn't noticed them sooner, I searched looking for something to break my audiobook Spotify virginity. After 10 minutes I found the lucky text - 'Animal Farm'

It took me 5 minutes to realise I will be listening to an unhealthy amount of audiobooks from now on and 2 days to finish 'Animal Farm.' From start to finish, I enjoyed every aspect of the book. I've never read anything by Orwell and the thought why the hell not now rings through my mind. 28 years on this planet and I've waited this long for one of life's pleasures.

When I finished it I craved more, so I searched Spotify again. This time my searching lead me to Jules Verne (another unread author of mine) and 'Around the World in 80 days.' I'm currently on chapter 12, and I'm enjoying the story and the pace of it all. I have a desire to know what happens next, but I don't feel as if Verne is rushing to get to the end. Instead, he is walking me to it at his pace and I'm not complaining.

If you have Spotify, give it a go and feed the book devourer inside of you.

Matt x

She gritted her teeth, annoyed. She wasn't supposed to sleep that long. Her muscles throbbed with exhaustion but she couldn't afford to give them anymore ground. She got up and began to hobble. Her knee was swollen, her body ached, but she had to keep pushing forward.

She had fought with her body for about 100 metres when the clouds broke and sheets of rain darted to the ground. It was as if the elements didn't want her to reach her goal. Her will was stronger than tiredness and certainly stronger than rain, she carried on moving.

The thick rain drops hurled and whizzed at her. The weight of her drenched clothes pulled at her tired body. For the first time, small doubt crept into her mind, it was quick and short. She dispelled it, failure was not an option.
On she hobbled.

After the clouds had completely emptied and had nothing left, they parted. Relief pulled a sigh from her throat, but worry soon took hold of her. She had learnt this world was one of constant surprises. The conclusion of the rain meant the start of something else.

On she hobbled, wondering what would come for her next. She didn't have to wait long. A sickening screech cut through the air. It was loud, it was aggressive and it was her next test.

This time last week, I was getting ready to watch Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. I've never read the book or even shown an interest in it, yet, I knew the name Newt Scamander. The Potter fan in me believes that someone used a spell to plant it into my subconscious (I can dream okay).

Decent reviews have floated around the release and I saw a few facebook vlogs giving it the thumbs up. Evidently, that's all it takes for me to whisk myself off to the cinema

I'm won't reveal any spoilers, so those of you that are yet to see it, do not worry. It's fantastic by name and fantastic by nature. It has the Potter world magic and intrigue and something else that I haven't been able to put my finger on.

Eddie Redmayne was fantastic. He is making a claim to be this generations Daniel Day Lewis. In every role he reconstructs himself and is that character. I didn't see him, I saw Newt with all his awkwardness and selfless love for beasts. His mating dance to entice a huge Rhino-esque beast in a New York zoo is cinematic gold.

The series is going to be five films long and I can't wait to see where they go with it. Jk Rowling will have a hand in them all. I can't tell you how happy that made me. Potter fans can be assured that there will be Potter Universe authenticity. Potter fan or not, go and see it. I can't praise it enough.

Be a veterinarian for dragons, they said. It'll be fun, they said... Well they lied! 5 days annual leave, bonkers hours and singed clothes.

They rope you in with the mouth watering starting salary of 40k and tie a knot around your neck with the 'no previous experience needed' carrot. Well at least that's how they got me. I'm 18 years old fresh out of school and couldn't get work anywhere. I was told that I needed 6 months experience for sweeping floors. 6 months, can you believe that? When I saw the advert for this I couldn't wait to sign up.

I thought I'd have to handle split nails, chipped teeth and a few sprained wings. 6 months into this job and I've had to syringe 8 dragon ears, lance 12 ingrowing hairs, and drain a growth that I still can't explain. Have you ever see the inside of a dragon's ear? Let me paint the picture for you. Imagine the ear of the dirtiest person that you know. Now imagine that person has gone for a 20 mile run, and during that jog he decided to roll through manure. Can you imagine the inside of his ear after all that? Well now imagine this same person wanted to clean his ears but he used, puss ridden ear buds dipped in horse mucus. Do you have a picture in your head? Well that's not even close.

Now, I've said all this stuff about the dragons but they aren't even the worst part of this job. They are innocent bystanders. It's their show off, look at me, owners. They swan into the surgery, with their noses in air, screaming snob. I know they are special, because 'dragons only choose special owners' but that doesn't mean they have to look down on us. I do them a great service, without me something small like acid reflux could turn into a forest fire. I think I'm special, my mum always told me I'm special.

Anyway I better get back to work, I have to pop a fungal boil this afternoon. Stay away from this profession if you can. Do something easier and more fun like... teaching.

Hey followers :P

I've blogged before about the use of music when I'm writing. I'm a instrumental kind of guy, but this week that has changed.

I loved Macklemore's first album, and I only found out about his latest effort a few days ago. It's a great album with more thought provoking lyrics. He talks about topics which a lot of hip hop and rap artist aren't addressing.

My favourite track on the album is 'Kevin'. It talks about Macklemore's deceased brother, whom he lost to drugs. The song is an overt attack on the drug industry in America. The high points of the record are the choruses. Leon Bridges sings them and just sores through every note. His voice is beautiful and upon hearing him I needed more. Thank you Spotify, because I was able to flood my ear waves with all things Bridges. His music is 50s and 60s soul, think a little bit Doo-Wop and a little Sam Cooke soul.

I've been skipping and dancing around ever since I came across his work. It has slowed the productivity of my writing. I keep swaying and imaging I'm at some America High School Dance in 1959 with no problems. His latest album is 'Coming Home' give it a listen it's magnificent music.

Until next time guys x

"Suddenly, the hanged man starts to speak... I go toward him and his face begins to peel. His words, which are mumbled, turn to horrifying shrieks. Then my skin starts to boil and peel and I wake up."
"And it's the same dream every time?" The doctor asked.
"Sometimes, before the screams, his words are clear. I can make out 'leave, hungry, die' At least that what they sound like."
The doctor scribbled away on his clipboard. He took off his glasses and scratched the bald patch on his head.
"Anything else about the phantom?"
"Phantom?"
"Man... I mean man." The doctor smiled in an attempt to mask his mistake.
The man sat up from the chaise longue. "No! You said phantom."
"Common mistake" He lied.
"What do you know?" The man pressed.
The doctor felt uncomfortable with the mans stare, it was piercing and invading. He tapped his chest and a siren sounded.
"What have you done?" The man asked springing to his feet.
The light in the room flashed red and armed guards stormed in through the door.
The man was quick to react. He grabbed the doctor and pulled him towards him. He wrapped his arms around his neck.
"Tell me what is going on!" The man screamed and tightened his grip on the doctor to show his seriousness.
"You're making a mistake." The doctor choked his way through the sentence.
"Shut up!" He tightened his grip. The guards stood with their guns pinpointed at his head.
"Mistake, leave, go." A voice boomed above the alarm. Everyone searched looking for its source.
"Mistake, leave, now." The voice repeated itself and again the source was unknown. Then, in through the door glided a figure. It's body was translucent, in places, and emitted a blue glow. Everyone turned towards it. Around its neck was a noose.
"That's him..." The man whimpered, loosening his grip on the doctor.
The figure tugged on the noose, choking itself over and over. Its mouth opened and its tongue slapped against its teeth "Hungry. Hungry."

It's a short one this Wednesday. I just wanted to share something from Chuck Palahniuk's 'Fight Club'. I keep coming across powerful quotes and this week is no different. With all the nonsense taking place in America at the minute I can see why this quote grabbed me. Palahnuik gets criticised for churning out works of nihilism. Whether it's true or not I think he hits the nail on it's head with his social commentaries.

Enjoy x

"I left him in a pool of blood and claimed some vagrant had done it."

"You what?"

"Blamed it on an innocent beggar sleeping on the side."

"Who knows?"

"Just you."

She didn't appreciate having this knowledge, "What's next?"

"Same as always. Nothing has changed."

"You killed the leader of the resistance and think nothing has changed."

"Nothing has changed for me. I don't care about this war anyway. My life is the same."

She stared in disbelief. "There he is. There is the famous Johnny 'selfish' Gunns."

He polished off the whiskey in front of him. "Hey, I didn't ask for this!"

"Whatever Johnny." She turned to leave the bar. A dart whizzed through the air, targeted for her neck. Johnny leapt in front of her and caught it with his fingers. The marksman must have been a rookie for thinking that would slip past Johnny's watch.

He hauled her to the floor. He showed her the dart. "Someone knows."

"Who?" Her head jittered with fear

As he shrugged the dart began to flash. Johnny's heart sank. He tossed it in the air and braced them for an explosion.

Nothing.

The dart landed back on the floor a metre away from them. A message had come out of the tip in the form of a tiny flag.

Can Johnny come out to play?

Hey guys,

This week I've been able to write daily. Finding the time hasn't been as difficult as I thought. So many of my favourite authors, speak about the importance of writing on a daily basis. I'm beginning to understand what they mean.

In trying to build a social media presence I've been lucky to come across some great articles and blogs about writing. This week I found 6 writing tips from John Steinbeck. Have a look at the tips I think they are all great pieces of information. The one that has helped me the most this week is number 6.

Currently, I'm writing lots of dialogue. Creating authentic conversation has been an enjoyable challenge. I've been saying my conversations out loud and it has helped. It has lead to a re-write of a chapter but I think it will be for the better.

Hope the tips help you in some small way. Remember to check my blog every Sunday and Wednesday for something new.

Until next time

Matt x

"I am not human. I never was. So why are you expecting me to act like one?"

"Because you must!" He pleaded

"Why?"

"Because they won't understand what you are. They will see you as a threat."

"So what? I must continue to be less?"

"You must continue to survive... You are the last hope. It will be over if they find you"

"I'm ready now!" She wasn't giving up.

His eyes met hers. They calmed her like no words could.

"One day, you will be great for these people."

They shared a moment of hope together. A bash on the door culled the silence.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Inspection squad!"

"At this time? Why?"

"Are you refusing to answer an inspection call?" The voice queried.

With no other choice he opened the door. In rushed 10 men dressed in grey.

"On your knees." The leader shouted. "You filthy swine."

He dropped to his knees.

"To your knees Zalin." He pleaded with her.

She stared at the guards. "Listen to your father, girl." The lead guard smirked.

"He isn't my father. You killed my father. All of you did." Her pain resonated through her words.

"Zalin, you will have your time." He tugged at her clothes to get her to her knees.

"Important day was it? When we killed your father. Remember it well do you? Was just another Tuesday to us." The lead guards smirk had twisted into a full on grin.

Zalin boiled and let out a deafening scream. All the windows in the shack smashed and the light flickered.

"You will all die tonight!" Her shrieks shoved fear into the guards.

"Looks like we've found another mage boys." The lead guards composure hadn't deserted him.

"No, there aren't any like me!" She squinted her eyes and the guards slammed into the ceiling. Their bones crunched and organs splattered.

Zalin left the head guard untouched to watch his men die. Fear found him.

"Who will remember the day you died?" She goaded him. Her eyes were red and lusting for more blood.

Hey guys,

I recently came across the Hemingway app. I know what you're thinking, how late am I?

I heard about it a while back, but never bothered to give it a go. Whilst editing my book, I stumbled across other writers who use and recommend it.

I was intrigued because it spots that wretched passive voice, and focuses on keeping your sentences direct. (I just used passive voice to explain an app that spots passive voice - inception).

At the start, I loved how simple it was to use. It did find a few bits of passive voice and it helped me restructure some sentences that I wasn't happy with.

After 30 minutes, I did notice the limitations of the app. It craves short sharp sentences and will highlight yellow the second your sentence uses a conjunction (like this one).

Some scenes need longer sentences and some scenes need shorter sentences. The app doesn't allow for that and will flag up every time you include and etc...

Once you notice this you can work with the app and ignore what you want.

I think it's a good app and I will be using it for scenes or character descriptions I'm not happy with. Just need to be aware of it's limitations.

Enjoy,

Matt

"I want to go home."

"And I want to go to the moon. It ain't happening sweetheart. Time to accept that."

She turned away, she didn't want him to see she agreed.

"All we can do is sit here and hope they don't come back."

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes. You can go out there if you want. Go find those things and ask them to take you home. Be my guest." He moved aside and showed her the path back out there.

She stared at it for a long time. He was right, every word, but she hated hiding.

"Just sit and wait, they will give up searching for us soon, then we can look at escaping."

She nodded.

He walked toward her and tried sitting down. He winced and grimaced as he lowered himself.

"You are hurt." Her worry was clear.

"I'm alive. Which is more than we can say for the others."

She attempted to look at his wounds but he recoiled. "I'm fine."

Rejected, she pulled away and turned back towards to path. For the first time silence joined them.

"So where is home? You want to go back there so much."

"Earth. Have you heard of it?"

"Ahh a small planet girl. Yeah I know Earth. What's a girl from that part of the galaxy doing all the way out here fighting Larks?"

"It's a long story."

"It's going to be a long night, entertain me."

To showcase my writing, and to have a writing break from novel writing, I'm going to start using writing prompts that I come across and have fun with them. Giving myself a 15 minute time limit I'm going to stop when the clock does. Hope you enjoy this little project.

They taught me to fear the dark. They forgot to mention what happens in the light.

It's the memories, the screams, the smells... the begging. They all rush back to you. Then when you silence it all, it's the regret, it's the questions.

This morning though, the questions were different. What was that creature last night? Why did it defend us? Where did it go?

I couldn't dwell on that, I knew I had those that were left. We had to make contact with the base and keep moving. We couldn't survive another night.

But what was that creature? It was one of them, but it was different. It fought for us.

No! Don't be stupid. BAD IDEA. It fought for itself. It wasn't protecting us. It was killing them.

"Sir!"

"Yes commander?" I said.

"I think you will want to see this."

I couldn't see any more dead bodies... but I couldn't let them know that, they needed me.

"Yes commander, show me."

"Follow me. This way."

Where was he going to take me? I couldn't even stand up straight, my stomach felt like a drunk gymnast on the high bar. The men didn't deserve a coward. I bet they could smell that I ran, that I begged.

"Here you are sir, just through the clearing, we stumbled across it 10 minutes ago."

I'd never smelt anything like. "My god! The smell, are they?"

"Yes sir, dead Snatchers. 19 confirmed. 19!" He nodded his head trying to prove it to himself I think.

"What?" I couldn't believe it.

"It's the largest Snatcher death we have ever seen. That creature from last night must have done it."

"We have taken down, maybe, 10 in the entire time we've been on this planet. It comes along and takes out 19!" I started nodding my head too, it was contagious.

"There is more Sir, there are tracks leading away from here. We think they are the Defender's tracks."

"Defender?"

"Sorry sir, that is what the men are calling it."

19 deaths... They taught us to fear the dark because the Snatchers own the night, but 19... this 'Defender' owns it now.

"Commander round up the men, we must follow the tracks and find out if this 'Defender' will help end this war."

And hopefully turn death into a fighting chance to live.

Hey all,

In between writing and life, I've been looking at the differences between being an indie author and going through traditional publishers.

Since I started writing, and wanting to be a novelist I've not thought too much about it. As my book draws closer to completion (touch wood) I've started to cast an eye on what's next.

The internet has been a wonderful source of knowledge for both publishing platforms and I've seen some great pros and some worrying cons for both.

I'm still undecided about which avenue to go down. I love social media and speaking to other authors and lovers of fictions. This might mean the indie field is my place. I have read that in modern traditional publishing social media is still a massive avenue for promotion anyway... So, I guess that's a positive for me, but doesn't help me choose a platform.

(http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/16047/writing/the_difference_between_rich_authors_and_poor_authors.html) - insightful article of the importance of self promotion whether you are self or traditionally published.

I want people to read my story, enjoy it and escape into the world I have created. The thought of a random stranger reading something I've written and discussing my characters with some passion makes me excited and scared.

This week, I came across a great article on self-publishing. It really ignited the thought for me

http://buff.ly/2c2h8Cf

Have a click and hopefully it's useful for you too.

Not really any tips in this blog, just a mild expulsion of my thoughts on the topic.

Would love to hear any comments on the subject. Do leave them below if you're interested.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for all things matt and anything book and writing related.

Until next time my

Matt x

Hey guys,

If you're like me, it can be a struggle to develop your characters and keep authenticity. I'm constantly plagued with wondering would he/she say or act in that way. I've re-written scenes and stared at blank pages because I just haven't felt right about a characters actions.

This feeling of uncertainty, doesn't completely vanish but, for me, the more time I spend with a character the more I understand them, and ultimately become more confident about their actions.

This post is going to briefly outline tips I have for writing and building characters.

1. Base your character on someone.

When I first create a character I base them on someone else - real or not. I visualise a character and make the decision that, at this stage, my character will be like this. This gives my creation focus and direction in their initial stages of life before they develop a voice of their own.

My understanding of the character that I base my character on does vary. I don't feel I have to completely understand a character to use them. It's purely my perception of this character that I am using.

I may decide to use a character's appearance or something about their personality. For instance the antagonist of my current work has been based upon Scar from Lion King. So, when I first began to write this character I would pose the question of 'what would Scar say?'

After being with this character for some time his behaviour has moved away from Scar and become his own. Having a clear point of origin meant that I wasn't sat staring at the page thinking what to write.

2. Don't be afraid to change your character.

As my stories progress and I spend more time writing my characters they change. I've re-written entire scenes because I've felt the characters actions were not authentic to them. It can be tiresome and slightly stressful, but it's always completely worth it. Everyone always talks about writing a piece that is character driven, and changing your writing to accommodate the development of your characters is a scary, but essential part of the writing process.

NOTE TO READERS: If Arthur (above) can go through drastic changes so can your precious little guys

3. Put your characters into daily situations.

When I'm on the train or at the cinema, anywhere to be honest, I try to think about how a character would react in my current situation. For instance, if you're on the train and someone is making a lot of noise, ask yourself how would your character react. Would they stand up and challenge the pesky teen? Would they cower in the corner because of the noise? These little thoughts help me internalise my characters and helps to build their identity in my mind. It also helps to zone out those annoying moments in public.

NOTE TO READERS - don't try this with spouses, as wondering how your character would respond to your partners slightly over cooked dinner may have a negative impact on your relationship.

4. Spend time writing with the character.

As a child, I remember hearing
authors refer to their characters as living beings. It would shock and surprise me, but since I've been on my own writing journey (that sounds odd) I've understood exactly what they meant. I can't express how just writing and re-writing scenes with particular characters will help you to understand them and develop them. I revisit scenes months later and find dialogue that I don't feel sounds like my character. I think, refer to number 2 and make those changes.

The characters

Doesn't tell us anything new

Michael Bay Inspired

1. Base your character on someone.

2. Don't be afraid to change your character.

3. Put your characters into daily situations.

4. Spend time writing with the character.

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