Guest Post:

“Because you gave me a few prompts to choose from, I’ve decided to pick three instead of just one. I’ll answer them in list form. Thanks for these very thoughtful topics, Book Bellas.”
 
How to Make Your Characters Believable:
 
1.      Give them some flaws. All real humans have flaws, and all real characters should have flaws. Perfect characters are boring. They’re also unrealistic.
 
2.      Give them believable struggles. If your male character has good looks and inexhaustible wealth, give him some personal or social struggles that complicate the ease in his life. If your female character is beautiful and charming, maybe give her some emotional drawbacks or situational awkwardness to offset her charm. These struggles will not only make your characters more believable, they’ll make your plot more organic. That is, the problems and tensions in your novel will come from within the characters, rather than feeling like a muzzle on the story.
 
3.      Discard (or question) your first ideas. When I set out to make a character, my mind immediately goes for certain archetypes. My mind is lazy. Discard your first impulsive ideas, or at least question them. A believable character won’t be a stereotype. He or she will be one of a kind, just like a real person.
 
4.      Don’t be afraid to “use” people you know. We’re surrounded by “believable characters.” The old adage “write what you know” is like telling someone to breathe air. We always write what we know. So, if you know someone who has a quirky style of speech, is emotionally nuanced in a way that you find interesting, made you fall in love or made you feel like punching a wall – us it. Graft those traits or moments into your characters. It’ll give them authentic flavor.
 
5.      Finally, a piece of advice from Hemingway: “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” In other words, don’t think of your characters as fictions. The best characters will be real to you. You will suffer with them as if with a loved one; when they make poor choices, you’ll be disappointed in them. If they die, you’ll mourn. A believable character is a real person.
 
 
Authors I Admire:
 
1.      J. D. Salinger
2.      Willa Cather
3.      Robert Frost
4.      Leah Raeder
5.      Gene Wolfe
 
Five Things You Wouldn’t Know About M. Pierce:
 
1.      I am obsessed with dental hygiene. I mean I brush my teeth upwards of four times a day and have an elaborate end-of-day teeth cleaning/flossing/brushing system. Yeah…
2.      I’m a neat freak. If my office is messy, I can’t write.
3.      I dislike cats. They make me feel uneasy. I prefer dogs.
4.      When I was younger, I used to write programs in QBasic. Hello World.
5.      I prefer biking to driving. Save the planet.

Playlist:

About the Author:

M. Pierce is the bestselling author of Night Owl, book one in the erotic Night Owl Trilogy. The author lives in Colorado and owns a rabbit named Laurence.
Website/Blog: http://mpiercefiction.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/M-Pierce/174553066083258
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7258437.M_Pierce
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mpiercefiction
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mpiercefiction/
Tumblr: http://mpiercefiction.tumblr.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-Pierce/e/B00F0SL9WU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Giveaway:

Enter for a chance to win some incredible prizes, including a LELO Elise 2, signed Night Owl paperbacks , bookmarks and much more!

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Last Light (Book #2)
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18744040-last-light
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Light-Night-Owl-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00JCZ6U6W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402615237&sr=8-2&keywords=last+light+m+pierce
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/last-light-m-pierce/1117685289?ean=9781250058362

After Dark (Book #3)
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20944389-after-dark
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/After-Dark-Night-Owl-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00JTIOXN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402615237&sr=8-1&keywords=last+light+m+pierce