Raven Huffman's Blog

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Would you like to laugh?

Real Books Rule.

Cliffhangers make me want to hang myself, off a cliff.


Why is a simple choice soooooooo difficult?


Beware, the writer. He's got a pen, and an imagination he's not afraid to use.


Plot twist: I am crazy. 

We need more fandoms.

Here's a different one.



Anyone else??

Exclusive Inside Peek: Beast of Shadow

Last week, Beast of Shadow was published as a Kindle eBook for only $0.99! Click here to view on Amazon. With no reviews yet, I wanted to push it a little bit with a sneak peek into the pages to pique some interest in the novel before it is released on paperback sometime next month.


Goodreads

Back Cover:
"First was the madness…then the sanity.

Reality is all in the perception of the beholder but what if the beholder is crazy? Aislin Welsh is a sheltered young woman with a secret, a voice inside her mind. It is a dark, black shadow named Bram. She’s got control of it, or so she thinks, but an accident in a research lab gives her reason to question it all. 

Aislin finds herself within another world filled with dangerous beasts and nomadic people who fear two things: the mountain on which they survive, and a blood thirsty chief named Bram. Chief Bram pulls her into his life and into his tribe as Mother of the tribe. 

Insane with the sanity, Aislin is forced to adapt to the new life in front of her full of danger, murder, and war. Soon enough she is faced with a choice: does she trust the man she’s known all her life or does she trust her newfound mind?"

So Why Read It?
So, what is all the hype about? Well, if you like fantasy novels bridged just enough in reality to give an easier read, it is for you. If you like mental illness and perceptions addressed in novels, it is for you. If you like adventure with unsure outcomes and unexpected results, it is for you. If you like complex relationships with people we both fear and adore, Beast of Shadow is for you.

Aislin Welsh is a character that is still sorting herself out, even within book two. She is built upon her own beliefs while forced into a world that is different in every way. Her own illness, a voice within her mind, is taken to a powerful body known as Bram. Their history gives the story a much needed sense of connection, as well as tension. Constructed on a world that is bloody and harsh, Bram is much more than she ever imagined, or feared.

Get lost in the world of creatures that lust for blood every minute, a life that is so uncertain that death is more of a constant companion than a stranger, and the renewed discovery of becoming a person in the midst of it all.

There is much more to their connection that ever suspected.



Sneak Peek:

The death of his voice in the night hung like a howl of a lonely wolf. In all its silence, the sounded loudly overpowering. His fierce eyes, dirt of the Earth as they burned with fire light. Face hardened by the numerous battles he faced and overcame. Lifeless fur of a fearsome animal slain by his own hands rested atop his noble shoulders, the crown of thorns.
The very air was ignited by the fire around. Red and orange stood behind him as his presence grew without containment.
Three pairs of women adorned with freshly cleaned tunics and leggings stepped forward with a white cone of clay in between their palms. Each pair stood facing the other.
 The white cone erect on fingers until there was a moment where all hands dropped away and shattered the cones against the dirt. Aislin sat frozen in terror as bits of brown rice and dried lentils smaller than her pinky nail flung into the air.
She bit her lip as she glanced up to her towering shadow outlined in flaming color. The softness of his eyes settled her stomach, then her attention.
The cones were not cleaned. Instead, black petals piled overtop. They blended in amongst the darkened grass, even as the flames were bolstered higher into the sky. Petals coated the white, now a blanket of black and a scent of elderberries on the wind like a sweet perfume.
Bram stepped forward. "I, chief of all, below the mountain declare my blood as hers."
Blood. She heard it rip through her, over and over.
Blood, blood, blood. Give me your blood.
        "Not going to take my blood, are you?" Aislin asked quickly. The calm in her fingers snatched away as they clutched them near her thudding heart in constant wringing.
His knees dropped to the ground. "No, you are going to take mine."
        "What? No!"
        "You must," he said. In his hand laid a knife.
Aislin's heart trembled as the cool metal was thrust into her hand.
        "Cut me," Bram instructed.
        "Where?"
She bit her lip. There was no place ugly enough to scar.
        "Anywhere you want," he said. "Take the blade and push it into my skin. Drink my blood."
Whoa, what. Drink it?
Everyone watched from the circle, eyes wide with glares as they awaited to see their blood shared. A dark flush of red burned her cheeks.
Slowly she whispered. "Can't do this. I can't hurt you. What if I cut too deep? I could kill you."
The chief cupped his hand over Aislin's and raised the blade to his breast. His brown skin battled the shiny reflections of firelight as it danced on the blade. It twitched in steady pulse.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
When his hand fell away, all remained were her pale fingers atop the hilt.
She'd never drawn blood before. So violent, and harsh. There was no way she could do it. Her arm slacked, and the blade fell away. Gasps rang out through the crowd. And again, Bram raised her hand back to his chest. A new burn overtook his eyes.
        "Do it."
        "But I…"
Aislin glanced to her side where Fletcher stood, bare chested in the night. His eyes called out to her. It was in question asking her “do you have what it takes?”.





Check out Beast of Shadow on Amazon! Subscribe to this blog for the paperback release. 






More from Raven Huffman:  

Cursed HeartsAvailable for download or purchase.

COMING SOON: Beast of Shadow

Beast of ShadowA novel of perception and deception. 
"First was the madness…then the sanity.Reality is all in the perception of the beholder but what if the beholder is crazy? Aislin Welsh is a sheltered young woman with a secret, a voice inside her mind. It is a dark, black shadow named Bram. She’s got control of it, or so she thinks, but an accident in a research lab gives her reason to question it all. Aislin finds herself within another world filled with dangerous beasts and nomadic people who fear two things: the mountain on which they survive, and a blood thirsty chief named Bram. Chief Bram pulls her into his life and into his tribe as Mother of the tribe. Insane with the sanity, Aislin is forced to adapt to the new life in front of her full of danger, murder, and war. Soon enough she is faced with a choice: does she trust the man she’s known all her life or does she trust her newfound mind?"



Look for it on August 17, 2018 on Amazon Kindle!

www.facebook.com/authorravenhuffman

How To Fall Asleep Without Reading A Novel

The American prerogative is to have an untreated sleeping disorder. Seriously, we don't get enough sleep. And the old tried and true cure, for people in recent generations, has been reading. Who doesn't love a good book, right? However, books aren't doing it anymore. They don't capture attention for someone dead tired, but still not enough to fall asleep. 
Welp, I've got a solution for you!

ASMR - A Hidden Gem of the InternetFirst off, this is not witchcraft. It is not a hoax. The internet - cough, cough Youtube - has hidden this sleep cure amongst their ranks without much wide coverage on the topic. It is relatively new to the medical community, and truly isn't understood to great lengths. Few studies have been conducted that all show ASMR works, but the source - the reason why it is there in the human body - is not discovered.
ASMR = Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
It is a sensation called tingles that happened in a person's body when introduced to certain stimuli, triggers, that can vary person to person, or even more specifically,  night to night. People who listen or watch ASMR are shown to relax and fall asleep. Triggers are things such as: whispering, up-close strong sensation sounds, personal attention, ear massage. It is recorded on high intensity recording equipment which leaves a crisp sound for users to hear. Also, it is recommended to listen with headphones on full volume to experience the full ASMR effect.
One study found that temporary improvements to conditions like depression and those who suffer from daily pain. Click here to read more on that study. 
Need I say more?
I probably should.

Personal Experience With ASMRLife is full, and hectic, and stressful, and never stops. I was finding myself very overwhelmed by the constant stresses of modern life and wanted to feel more peaceful, mentally. The only thing that came to mind when thinking of 'relaxation' was meditation. More and more I watched meditation videos online that helped me feel calm, a sense I'd long forgotten at that point. Not long after, I had a favorite who I would watch ALL the time because her voice was just like an angels. It worked for me. It calmed me. I was low-key in love with how she talked, how smooth her voice flowed, the things she said. Needless to say, it was beautiful. 
Enter in, my online stalking of this woman to find more meditation videos. So, on another account, I found a meditation video that was also an ear massage video. It was like, "well that's weird, but I'll try it." I didn't know it was ASMR. I didn't know how deep that rabbit hole went. It just got me addicted to the feeling of being so relaxed that my eyes shut instinctively. Below, I'll link her and her blog channel so that you can get a taste of what I mean.
Fast forward to now, I follow a few accounts with obvious favorites. It isn't an every-night-i-can't-go-to-sleep-without-it thing, but I do listen to it when I write novels, or read, or do anything that might become frustrating or stressful. It mellows the mood (not to sound like a hippie!). 
It can do wonders for people, if only more people understood it. Truly, I was very grossed out by the "mouth sounds" videos that so many people seemed to enjoy, but as my tolerance has built up to certain subtle ASMR triggers, I've expanded. Mouth sounds still aren't an all-time favorite but they do the job sometimes.
MisconceptionsThere has been some controversy about ASMR being sexual. Granted there are plenty of artists who do create personal erotic ASMR for private payers, the majority of those who listen to ASMR are just tired people. Even certain accounts (I know there is a nylon ASMR account that uses nylon against the microphone) that are devoted to items that are seen as sexual in nature, however, there is never any kind of lewd, sexual, graphic images in videos of ASMR not geared toward that certain genre. 
It is true that some people experience their tingles within the genital area; this is just the body's response to the stimuli. As the study above clearly explains, there is no explanation as to why the body even has this response. Many people experience tingles in their scalp. Some, in their neck. Some down the length of their spine. Some in the flutters of their stomach. And some get the response elsewhere. It doesn't make ASMR sexual. 


My FavesIf you are an ASMR artist, please don't hate me if I didn't add you to the list. This list doesn't list everything, NOR does it demean your channel. These are simply accounts that post out content that I personally enjoy and return to. 

fastASMR : love this account because she focuses on sounds, and not roleplays. The sounds are always great for what I'm looking for. My personal favorite video of hers:   https://youtu.be/X7qfB57TN34

asmr zeitgeist : HE is an awesome video maker. His videos are filled with great transitions, effects, graphic designs (that IS what he's skilled in) plus, he's got a great voice to listen to. ASMR seems to be a woman's game for the most part, but zeitgeist is the best. My personal favorite video of his:  https://youtu.be/x0nvMBpLiIM

Goodnight Moon : She is such a unique channel to follow. I love her voice, of course, and just the things she is into: her decor, her subject matter, her filming. A lot of fantasy role plays, beautiful decorations, makeup is always a ten. My personal favorite video of hers: https://youtu.be/f7qL7zvJ0r4

FrivolousFox ASMR : Frivvy is a new love of mine. She does great work, and I love her videos licking/eating the microphone. She is just great at making those sounds really relaxing. Plus, her voice is soft as a whisper. Love it!My personal favorite video of hers: https://youtu.be/J1muh1efpK4

Gibi ASMR : This girl does a lot of modern roleplays, and great sound videos too! Best of both worlds. She is a full-time artist so she puts SO much into her channel. My personal favorite of hers: https://youtu.be/3NfuWqGtpkc


This is my girl, Melissa, who is the person who helped me discover ASMR. Sadly, the Psychetruth ASMR Youtube account has been terminated due to conflicts with Youtube.  I wish her ASMR videos were still there, because they were awesome. However, a few of her own videos are still on the main Psychetruth channel.



So as you see, sleep isn't gone by the wayside with all the old books. It is alive, in another form.

New Favorite Titles

It has been a literal year since I've written here, and it is a shame. My writing, however, has been in constant swing since. I'm delighted to announce that another novel of mine shall be released very soon. But, in the mean time, I've read some AWESOME novels that I'd like to give a short blurb about so that if anyone is interested in some different novels.




The White Princess by Philippa GregoryWow, this novel was intense. And being very ignorant to the series, I picked this novel without reading the ones before it. However, I was delighted when the novels themselves do not require prior reading unless you'd like to learn more on character motivations and history. Each novel of the series can be read independently and not leave a reader in the dark.Anywho, what I liked about the novel is that there were many twists and mysteries that were to be discovered. I'd say it is like Game of Thrones only based on actual history, in reality. There aren't any dragons but there are certainly pretender to thrones, affairs, violence, and forced love. It is very exciting! Click here to learn more about the novel. 
Recommend to anyone wanting a historical fiction that isn't a "feel good" novel but more, a realistic one. 
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Again, I was out of the loop on this novel until it was recommended to me by a fellow reader who loved the series and knew my inclination to multi-genre novels. Diana Gabaldon writes an awesome story with every thing any reader wants, all wrapped in a big bow. I can rant and rave about this novel forever (because that's how long it felt like it lasted). All I have to saw as a down side is the fact that it is an overly large book so if you are not a talented, fast-paced or focused reader, it could be hard to finish it entirety. Outlander is about a woman who unknowingly walks through standing stones in Scotland and is transported back 200 years where war ravages the country as local Scots and British forces fight for their own claim on the land. She is lost within a world that she does not understand and is (basically) kidnapped by the Scots and impeded in her journey to her own time. Click here to learn more, and I highly recommend you read this at least once. 
Recommend for adult readers because there are many adult situation and gruesome scenes that wouldn't be appropriate for any reader under 18 years old. 


Lost Girl by R.L. StineNormally I cannot resist R.L. Stine because he totally shaped my childhood with his Goosebumps and Fear Street novels. He was a favorite for the longest time! However he has now graduated to higher reading levels for older teens and even adults to enjoy. At Barnes and Noble, I bought a book with two of his novels inside it, one of them being Lost Girl. It was a good novel (reviews rave about it) but it wasn't a new favorite for me. It kind of lacked that extreme feeling I get from scary novels. I'd say that it still feels like a middle grade novel more than a new adult book.True to his writing story, there are some violent scenes in the novel like covering a man in honey and oats for starved horses to feed on. Yikes! There are plenty of mysteries to the new girl in town yet it doesn't seem to bother a group of teenagers being hunted by a dark figure feeling responsible for a murder during a snowmobile trip. Who is responsible for this? Find it here.
Recommend for anyone who likes a typical R.L. Stine type novel with lots of horror and terror and mystery and strangeness in a new package!


Delirium by Lauren OliverReady to hear me go CRAZY over this novel? Alright, here it goes. I LOVE THIS NOVEL AND COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN! Wowza. The originality of the novel as a dystopia  and coming of age story was in-genius. I cannot rave enough about the plot and the idea of it all. Please, whatever you do, just read it. It is a series of three novels, I believe, but I have only read the first and doubt if I'll continue on.The novel is centered about a girl who is preparing to be matched with a husband and have her surgery to make her a woman. In a world where love is against the law, all young adults are submitted to a surgery that removes the part of their brain that loves. It is considered a disease. You are ill if you love. But, not everything in a society so perfect is what it seems. There are others who lurk outside town that live in the wilderness that are sick with love, and they've managed to seek into towns. This girl discovers that love is much more than a disease. For your new obsession, click here to buy it.
Recommend for anyone who loves YA fiction and a bit of sci-fi and coming of age mixed together in an original plot spanned over the course of three novels where you will truly come to appreciate the feeling of love.


What else is on my list to read? Well, I've got a lengthy list of novels on my shelf that are going to be read this year. You can always find my reviews on novels on my Goodreads profile, OR simply check my Facebook page, "author Raven Huffman" for my current reading list. 






INDIE AUTHORS: Looking for coverage or a book review? Please send me an email! I'd love to expose some new authors looking for reviews or exposure. 

How I Write Sad, Depressing, & Intense Scenes

There is no magic wand when writing to make the words suddenly make sense, or give the right kind of feels. Sometimes all the words can be there but the way they are written makes them fall incredibly flat in application. But why? Well, the answer is pretty simple. The writer must be feeling something similar to truly portray the characters feelings, the scene's sadness and general grief over death or loss of a mission. We hold the power! It all flows through our hands. To see it all in front of us, making sense of what we've wrote but the readers hate it. In truth, it's because it isn't natural.

Consult the grief wheel to understand natural responses to huge loss.
But what do I do?Personally, to get myself in a depressed mood isn't too difficult. I'm like an empath, easily affected by others emotions in the smallest ways. For me, there is a SURE FIRE WAY. Works every single time.
MUSIC.
Yeah, that's right. I write the best devastating scenes when I'm destroying my mood with the sadness songs I can find. The best songs to use are ones that you have an emotional attachment to, that makes the feeling even more severe inside yourself. Watching the music videos helps tenfold for me. 
Take Me To Church - Hosier : Music video gets me in tears. Every. Single. Time.
Sound of the Bugle - Bryan Adams : Emotional attachment through childhood movie. Killer.
The Last Goodbye - Billy Boyd : My love of LOTR will never die. 
Charlie Boy - The Lumineers : Just listen to the lyrics. It's sad!
Burning House - Cam : The song speaks for itself. Death, and dying, and toxic relationships.
Hurt - Johnny Cash : Because that voice just gets me. Instant intense emotion.
Zombie - The Cranberries : Music video content and lyrics. Real world application hurts worst.
Top of the World - Dixie Chicks : What, I'm not crying. You're crying!
Together Again - Evanescence : Listen to it. It just sounds depressing. 
What It's Like - Everlast - Content is 100%
Runaway Love - Ludacris : Listening to this song makes my heart ache for the girls he talks about.

Now I'm sure you get the point. This is just my like go-to list to get some tears coming, and intense feelings growing. If you want more suspenseful kind of feelings, listen to horror movie music. Without words, just the music. That is geared to make people feel things without seeing anything. It should help! Get out there and write that sadness! Make those readers cry. That's the only way they'll love you!

Yes, To Kill A Mockingbird Has Racist Language...But Isn't That The Point?

To Kill A Mockingbird. A classroom classic. I'm sure there isn't a public student alive who hasn't had to read this novel since it's publication in 1960. It won a Pulitzer Prize, the Brotherhood award at the National Conference of Christian and Jews, Paperback of the Year award from Bestsellers magazine, along with the author Harper Lee being inducted into halls of fame. Truly, a magnificent piece of literature. Banned?



Recently an article popped up on my Facebook feed showing me that one select mother threw a big stinking fit about the classic novel holding "racist language".  First, I let it bug me. A long time. Then I started to do my own research on why this happened and where. I was not disappointed when I found that this mother within Virginia also had The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain banned from the school. The article from the L.A. Times states that the mother believed the use of the "N-word" made the slur sound acceptable to the young students leading to instill more racism than it should. 

I will not lie. When I read this book in middle school, the use of the N-word made me very uncomfortable because I knew it was wrong. I already knew that word was inappropriate. Even back when the book was set, the N-word was an insult. But that's what made the novel real. It wasn't an imagined idea of what would have happened. There is no shortage of racial slurs thrown in the American South, especially during that time period. Why leave out the words that make the novel's message sink so much farther down in a child's mind? 

The message To Kill A Mockingbird holds is a significant one. I'd even dare to say that it is a necessary one to teach to young children coming on the cusp of adulthood. Censoring such novels, because of the language, removes the worthwhile point of education. To teach, to learn, to grow, to become better.

"If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." -George Santayana

When I was in class, and we read the ending of the novel together, it wasn't as if there were students happy about the ending. They didn't rejoice. The bullies didn't start cheering because the bad guys won and the innocent man was shot. To Kill A Mockingbird sank in a lessen about life. That when good people do not stand up for what they know is right, even if others don't, it makes them a bad guy. Every single one of my classmates was saddened by the ending. The novel had brought us through so much eye-opening truths about things that we were sad to see the all was not right in the end. Justice wasn't served. Wrongs were not made right. People weren't better in the end, either.


It shows a young child, about to enter a dog eat dog world, that people can go with the flow of horrible things because it is easier that way. Children need to see the consequences of such actions. To Kill A Mockingbird shows just that. Life without reason or morals. Just purely ruled by what the stronger think, so the meek suffer tenfold.  


It should stay in school, despite the language. 
As of recent reports, many protests have taken place since the banning of the book. The opposition of the ban states that censorship of novels is more damaging to the students than the language that they hear. No word has been said on whether the ban will be removed or not. One can only hope that they students education is thought of first. 

Sneak Peek: Fireman's Oath

Hitting more close to home than any other story, I started writing this novel as a break from my other kind of "girly" novels and took a completely new approach with Fireman's Oath. Unlike my others, this novel is centered around a boy. A young adult who is going through the motions he always has, bound in loyalty to his close-knit family and his like on the truck. This side project started as a way to cure my writers block and boredom with my other series yet it blossomed into a full-fledged novel seemingly overnight. Now I am here to expose a little bit of what is going on beneath the pages and hopefully excite some awaiting readers!

"Back then I felt so unsure about seeing them, but now, they are most beautiful set of eyes I have ever seen."

What is it about? Brandt, young man happily suited in his life of firefighting and family, is suddenly confronted by a girl of his past. A girl who has long been lost to him though she's always been on his mind. He's never forgiven himself for what happened to her. It was his fault. But now stems his chance to make it up to her and prove to himself that he hasn't caused her so much sorrow. The task won't be easy. Lyra is being hunted. She comes to him in search of assistance. Brandt can't seem to understand why, but he believes her story whenever everyone writes her off as a liar. The doctors. The cops. Even his own father believes that Lyra is troubled. Brandt knows it isn't true. He knows Lyra wouldn't lie, or be so scared for nothing. The question is: How can Brandt prove it before it's too late for her?
What does the title mean?Fireman's Oath stems from the oath that Brandt's father and two older brothers recited as their oath to the job of being a firefighter. Their entire life is for smoke and flame. Brandt, in his own way, interprets in a more figurative way, thus providing him with the courage to save Lyra even against the wishes of his family. 
Where do you get the inspiration to write this novel?I'll be honest. It is based off of somebody I know personally. Not exactly, of course, but the lifestyle and the family dynamics are all based on someone who I know. One day I found myself questioning whether or not he'd do something right even if it stood against his family. So I just started writing to see what would happen. This novel is my end result. I am pretty pleased with how he does. Bravo!
Long Awaited Peek:Seeing those rare violet eyes takes me back to when I first spotted them in elementary school, all those years ago. Lyra had moved to my hometown while we were only starting in first grade. Her parents had been from this town but had moved away to the city for their jobs. Her smiling face entered the classroom with such hope of creating a place where she could belong. Right away she was quickly singled out as a new student with a rare condition which led her to have a purple hue in her iris. Back then I felt so unsure about seeing them, but now, they are most beautiful set of eyes I have ever seen.
My jaw nearly unhinges upon beholding such beauty in a person who I never expected to blossom into a gorgeous woman. Then the stab of guilt begins pounding on my heart.
“Lyra Kane?” I repeat.
Instantly her eyes focus on me, revealing their fear.
“Brandt?” Her tiny voice squeaks from her throat. It sounds raspy, like she’s been running for miles. Her intoxicating eyes flash back to the knife then back to my face. John then starts to convince her to put down the weapon. But once he takes a step forward, she quickly places it upon her pregnant stomach.
“Please… you have to help me!”
Only a little bit of fear travels up the back of my throat but I soon push it back down. Something is wrong.
Slowly I say, “What are you doing with a knife, Lyra? You want to cut yourself open on our sidewalk?”
“I’d rather be cut in half than let them get my baby!” She shouts.



What will Brandt do?

"...I do not fear this as I goethe, this fireman has said his last oath.”

FIND OTHER STORIES OF THE RAVEN ON AMAZON.COM
 Cursed Hearts
The Untold Story of Shirley Holmes 

The Makings Of A Strong Character

What makes a good character?
Physical appearance, dialog maybe?

Then think of what makes a great character?
Morals, actions?
.......
But what forms the best character? 
Head strong, inner drive, motivation, relationships, ethics, love.



Importance of Developing StagesHow do we expect to encapsulate a person in our minds without forming a detailed character profile that can outline so many aspects about a character's development long before your story even begins?
Shortly answered, many strong characters are people who have more in their story than what the writer reveals. It makes for more realistic interactions, relationships, stress, strain, heartbreak, understanding. Everything about a character can be charted in their development, then form even stronger over the course of a story plot. It doesn't even take a serious amount of effort. By simply taking time to jot down notes about characters, little details, even some background information that is completely unnecessary to the writer's story, a more fluid well-rounded character can impact the course of a tale, causing a reader to relate more closely.

What are character profiles and what should they include?A character profile is a characters life, basically. Authors use a different sheet (or Word document) to write about characters in a story, relationships, background  information. Everything there is to know about this specific person should be written inside a character profile.

Though in a story, it is best to avoid information that isn't helping form the plot structure, having tid-bits of information about a character placed somewhere (like a character profile) will help a writer get a better sense at who they are writing.

The more you know about a person, the better you can describe them, right?

That goes with characters in a novel as well. Can you imagine how well organized J.K. Rowling would have had to have been to keep all the tiny details about her characters from her novels straight and flowing? It would nearly be impossible! The keep your story straight and your characters genuine, they should always be formed first before the story itself. 



But That Isn't All.It can be child's play to make a good-natured, selfless hero in a story. Truly. What makes a character stand out, and make the novel best-selling, is how the reader relates to them. If there isn't a connection formed within the beginning of the novel, a reader will seriously grow to detest the character, no matter how strong they are.
Keep in mind, it is damn hard to relate to a perfect protagonist.
So in order to make the audience relate to your character, you must have a character that seems real. Real-life person you can meet on the street. Meaning what?
Character Flaw.
You characters MUST have character flaws (as all people do) and they must stay true to the flaw.
As a writer, you must be able to take on the "role" of the character and write exactly as you feel as that character. You cannot have all your characters be morally good, or see through a rational mind. People aren't like that. Some are. But not everyone. As an author you must be able to become like an actor in a way, to become a character to write. It can be a struggle, especially if they are so opposite from you but it is a crucial role in writing anything. Stay true to their weaknesses. Stay true to their qualities. 
Example, Bella Swan in Twilight was so awkward and clumsy. It was mentioned all the time. As a human, she'd knock things over and fall down and hurt herself. Even when it was inconvenient, she'd be awkward and weridly move. Stephanie Meyer stayed true to Bella's flaw even when it would have been better for Bella to be agile and quick. Granted, I don't believe when she turned into a vampire, that all her qualities just melted away into one big Cullen clan, same person in eight bodies kind of thing. Suddenly she was able-bodied and strong and had purposeful movements. So this works as a GOOD and BAD example of keeping true to a character even if it isn't beneficial and how weird it is when you change.
Short List of Character Flaws for CharactersChildishBig mouthDisloyalDeranged (mentally)LazyLewdAbusiveOverambitiousSadistUnluckyVainShallowNaiive
There are many more comprehensive lists of character flaws if you are looking for something else, but anything can become a flaw if you write it to be that way. Even being soft-hearted can be a fatal or character flaw because of their nature.

So as you see, making characters isn't always as easy as coming up with a name and forming it as you go. It can be much more beneficial to your novel, and your other characters, to have previous background information drawn up in regards to the character. Any kind of information about the person you write will assist in making the character seem put together and much more than a person to say words to. 

[image error] Reviews for Cursed Hearts, available now for purchase!



Also be sure to check out my recently released YA novel, Cursed Hearts. Now available for purchase on Createspace.com, Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. Buy your copy today and start enjoying the paranormal romance between Anouk and Biyen whose love is long awaited but greatly hated by the world they live in. 

Find author Raven Huffman on Facebook by liking her author page, at the top left hand corner of this blog or by clicking here.