One week and counting...Goals, Nature, and Decisions
There's only one week left before school starts. As much as I love having my kids at home for the summer, I'm ready to get back to a consistent writing schedule. Funny, that sentiment hasn't changed over the nineteen years that I've had kids in school.
I have two goals to share with you today.
Enjoy this week with my son and our exchange student. We'll do fun things, make sure they're ready for school, and generally take it easy before the daily hustle and bustle gets started.
Get my mind in the right place to finish my work in progress as soon as school starts.
You may be wondering how I'm going to accomplish the second goal. I'm going to spend more time by myself in nature. A walk through the woods experiencing the peace and quiet always calms my spirit. I turn off the sound on my phone so there are no interruptions, and I let my mind slowly untangle itself.
This has become one of the best ways to make decisions about my stories. It's how I figure out who certain characters are, what they want, what stands in their way, and how they are going to fight for that thing they need to be whole.
Who am I trying to solidify in my mind this week?
Officer Sean Thompson, male lead in book three in the Wishful Hearts Collection. Or, Superman Sean as Rebecca and her friends like to call him. The character I've written so far is doing the things I need him to, but I want to go deeper. Figure out who he really is so he becomes a real person. It will make PROTECTING HER HEART: REBECCA that much better.
One thing I did to pin him down was ask people on Facebook who their favorite TV or movie police officers were and why. It quickly moved to investigators in general, but we came up with a list of traits I can work with.
Traits people like about their favorite investigators.
kind
funny
charming
protective
cute
honest
by the book
care about the job
dedicated
act before thinking so always in trouble
take care of their loved ones
smart
tough but still kind-hearted
high morals—integrity
stays cool in tense situations
persistent
attention to details
takes a stand without backing down
observant
always does the right thing
And I'm adding to the list--adrenaline junkie. I've got his identity down. Now I need to figure out what his essence is. This is the key to good romance. It's the thing that takes a character from who they think they are to the best version, the complete/whole version, of who they can be. Wish me luck!