Skip to main content

Agent Insider


Good Morning beautiful guys and dolls!!! How are you today?
I'm doing simply wonderful today!!! I hope your Friday is shaping up into the beginnings of a FANTASTICAL weekend!

I have some AGENT INSIDER news you might enjoy as you work on your character development workshop. It's from Mary Sue Seymour and Marisa Cleveland!!

What makes a good character?

Mary Sue says:

Perfect character - if it's a hero, it's guy you would like to date [if you weren't married!], and if it's a heroine, it's a gal that could be your best friend.

Marisa says:

Perfect characters are not perfect - they are characters with flaws and it's best when their greatest strength is their greatest weakness and the book actively engages the character in that realization and takes them on a twisted journey as they come to this conclusion and deal with it.

Comments

  1. AnitaDecember 7, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    Thanks for taking the time to "talk about" this important topic. Happy Friday to you all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 7, 2012 at 11:31 AM

    I just bought a book by James Scott Bell ($1.99 on kindle's holiday sale!) on character. I need to read up on this very topic. Thanks Talynn!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alys B. CohenDecember 7, 2012 at 1:29 PM

    I wonder how much grief Mary Sue gets. :)

    There are different types of perfect characters. In one of my novels, Robert is perfect. He's got no redeeming qualities. He's perfect for his role, though no one would want to date him (aside from 50 Shades die-hards).

    ReplyDelete
  4. TamaraDecember 7, 2012 at 11:47 PM

    Oh! I'm so proud. The greatest weakness is greatest strength trick is exactly what I went with in one of my books! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Operation Agent Ink

UPDATE: PLEASE FILL OUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE AFTER YOU SIGN UP. Have you ever wondered what agents were dying to find in their inbox/slush pile? There have been many times I entered a contest and not even received a comment, not even from one of the agents. Or maybe the agent was kind enough to leave a comment that simply said, "Sorry, this just isn't what I'm looking for, but I love the premise and your voice." I always walk away feeling unsatisfied. If I had known exactly what the agent wanted beyond, "YA" or "Fantasy" I might not have even entered a contest I knew I wouldn't win! Even more, I wasted a very busy agents time! Well, your time of guessing is up! OPERATION AGENT INK to the rescue! That's right! This workshop will help aspiring authors get on the list of an agent's WISH LIST! When the workshop is over, your manuscript will be ready to view by a group of AMAZING agents who are dying to see what you've wri...
111 comments
Read more

Workshop 10

Today, let's get readers hooked from the very first sentence. If you do, you are off to a great start and hopefully a great first chapter. We are going to focus on the first and second sentence and how you can draw readers in while introducing two major items about your book: 1. Your MC 2. The main conflict. How? Is it really possible to do this in only TWO sentences? YES! Example: My name is Snow, like the white powder that falls during winter, though I don't know what my mom was thinking because it was ninety degrees the day I was born. I turned twelve the year I married a man I hated and thirteen when my first baby was born. This sentence tells us a lot. It shows us a little about Snow's personality, it hints toward a shortened childhood and could possibly point to a different time era. I also can definitely see the conflict. Can you? You only have a few minutes to make a good, first impression. Make sure you wow your reader enough they'll actually t...
115 comments
Read more

Workshop 16 Question and Answer Day

It's  Day Two of Operation Ink and Agents are sneaking around and checking the naughty and nice list! Jack Frost messed things up yesterday and froze up my computer. But, Santa helped out and we are back in business today! Gotta question for an agent?  Don't be shy! Did you ask a question yesterday? Check out the answers today!! Hey guys! I'm sorry:(. I don't know what happened to our agents today. Maybe they will make their way around tonight.  I will announce winners tomorrow.  UPDATE AGAIN! Agent Terrie Wolf enailed and said shes running late in the publishing world but is very close to being here! right here on Ink in the Book!! UPDATE: Hey everyone! I'm hoping more agents stop in after while, maybe this evening. I guess they all were swamped with business today. If you've posted a question, check back tonight, okay? There are still prizes! re Thanks guys and dolls:) Update #1 is at the bottom, in red. Update #2 is in green Door Prize#1 Ramdo...
65 comments
Read more