Renee Miller's Blog, page 23

The Legend of Jackson Murphy: Meet the Characters: James

Only a few days away from the official launch of THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY,  which will happen on July ...
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The Legend of Jackson Murphy: Meet the Characters: Ray

We’ve been meeting the cast of  THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY,  which will officially launch on July 20th. So far I’ve ...
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The Legend of Jackson Murphy: Meet the Characters: Whitney

We’ve been meeting the cast of  THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY,  which will officially launch on July 20th. So far I’ve ...
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The Legend of Jackson Murphy Official Launch: Meet the Characters: Jenny

In my last post, I introduced you to Jack, the “star” of the show.  THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY will ...
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The Legend of Jackson Murphy Official Launch: Meet the Characters

In my last post, I introduced you to Jack, the “star” of the show.  THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY will ...
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Jack’s Official Launch & Other Bits

Because my life has been one big gob of bullshit lately, I’ve put off officially launching THE LEGEND OF JACKSON ...
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Happy Canada Day! Now Let’s Set Some Shit Straight…

Despite the shitty weather, I love my country. As a Canadian author, I usually create fictional settings full of Canadian ...
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Questions Writers are Tired of Answering: Where Do Your Characters Come From?

But if you stopped asking, we’d get all depressed and weird,
so don’t mind our whining.



So, where do my characters come from? My ass? That’s the
honest-to-god answer for that question 99% of the time for me. I make them up. They’re
fictional, right? But that’s not fair. Readers are truly curious and when they
read a character they love, it’s a natural thing to wonder how that brilliant
writer came up with such awesomeness.



So, for anyone wondering where my characters come from, I have a few “inspirational” sources that
help put those characters in my ass so I can pull them out as needed (You like
that visual, eh?):



 



Dreams



Yep. Sometimes I just dream about something and voila! A
character is born. While writing Dirty Truths, I had a secondary character that
I’ve mentioned before named Thomas. He wasn’t even a blip in the book. Just a
tool to add some tension in a couple of scenes. He was faceless, without much
personality. I didn’t want him to be anything fantastic, because he was a prop.
But my brain disagreed and I dreamt about Thomas for several nights. He got a
face, a backstory and I kind of fell in love with the guy. So I rewrote what I
had written (it was about ½ finished at this point) to make Thomas a major
player. I also gave him his own story. I haven’t written it yet, but someday I
will.



People



I’ll never reveal “who” inspired a particular character, because
there’s no one in particular that I base a character entirely on. But I do draw
traits from people I know or have heard/read about. For example, Jackson Murphy
is a compilation of myself, my father, and various ex-boyfriends, friends, etc.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as seeing a stranger while I’m forced to be outside
and imagining their story.



The Story



Sometimes the story itself creates the character. Usually I
write characters first, and proceed with the story. Almost all of my novels
evolve from a character, but once or twice I’ve had the story idea first, and
the characters fell into place from there. For me, this is the hardest way to
create characters because I usually have a good chunk of novel written before
the characters are fully formed in my mind. That means I have to go back
through what I’ve written and rewrite every damn scene so the characters feel
more real and aren’t doing stupid things.



Kurt



Yep. He’s a good character guy. Usually it starts with, “What
if this guy…?” or “You should write about someone who….” But don’t tell him. He’ll
want a cut of my fame later on and I don’t plan to share.



Current Events



I avoid watching the news too often, because it’s usually
depressing as shit, but sometimes, I accidentally catch something.  Sometimes a current event is just too big to ignore.
And a few of the players in these current events spark an idea for a character
of my own. It might be no more than their appearance, but usually it’s
something they’ve said or done that lights my creative fire. Once or twice, I
just like their names and go from there. Yes, it really is as basic as that.



History, Legends and Myths



My upcoming paranormal series, FOR THE LOVE OF GODS is full
of characters from Greek Mythology. I’ve made them my own, but they are based
on actual legends, because their names are too well-known for me to completely
pants them. Other characters evolve from real historical figures or events we’ve
all read about. I have to tell you, I don’t know how any kid can be bored by
history. It’s just crammed full of good shit.



My Ass



And of course, as I said before, most of my characters come
from my ass. Most of my stories begin with a character that needs a plot. A lot
of times I’ll have a name, and I build the character around that or around a
life history I’ve outlined as part of the story idea. Sometimes, I’ll add a
character, slapping a temporary name on him, and flesh him out as I go. More
often than you’d believe, my characters just happen. There’s no inspiration, no
source; they just arrive, fully-formed in my head. I can only guess how long they
were hiding in my ass, waiting for the right moment to emerge. You know, that
might explain my generally irritable nature.



 



And that, dear readers, is where I come up with my
characters. Writers out there, for the millionth time, share with us: Where do
your characters come from?



 

Questions Writers are Tired of Answering: Where Do Your Characters Come From?

But if you stopped asking, we’d get all depressed and weird, so don’t mind our whining. So, where do my ...
Continue reading

Writers are Weird and We Like Butterflies

So, THE
LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY is officially “out there” and ready to buy. I’m
excited and nervous, again, but this time because I know his antics aren’t for
everyone. I’m very curious to see how many readers get the message of Jack’s
story, and how many can’t get past his dirty deeds. Stay tuned.



I know I promised a sample of a WIP, and that will come, but
later in the week. (Not because I don’t have one, but because I haven’t gotten
it ready yet. Sorry.)



In the craziness of the past few months, I’ve shoved down
feelings of loss and grief over the passing of my Dad because I’ve just had too
much shit to deal with. I knew I’d have to deal with it at some point, but
(perhaps mercifully) I just couldn’t pause to indulge in things like crying or
missing him. Kurt moved to B.C. to work, we started renovating the house so we
can list it for sale, moved out of the house and into an apartment so said work
could be done and thus packed everything we owned up before we could do that,
got rid of about 2/3 of our crap, and cleaned and fixed whatever needed
cleaning and fixing at the house. On top of that I launched two books and worked,
cleaned, mothered, etc. It’s been a long few months of too much shit to do and
not nearly enough time for one person to do it.



BUT…I’ve done it. The house is listed, with a few odds and
ends I still have to do, but they’re minor. (Thank God) Within a couple of weeks,
my days will be somewhat less full, and I can work and write a little more. So
now that I finally have time to breathe, I find myself missing my dad more and
more each day. It’s not a terrible feeling; just sad. Lonely.



So, anyway, my mom started talking about how she’s always
wanted a tattoo, and I was all, “You know, so have I.” We discussed and agreed
we’d go together to get one. Making the decision of where said tattoo will go
and what it will be wasn’t easy. I mean, this shit’s there FOREVER so you want
something that is either kickass or really special. The whole “forever” concept
is going to make my decision seem batshit, but not to anyone who truly knows
me.



I thought Dad would find the whole process pretty cool, and
I wanted something that reminded me of him. However, I didn’t want something
that was all cliché. You know, the ones with the name and date of birth and
death, or a giant soppy heart with “Dad” through it. Gag. No, that’s not me and
that’s not my dad. Besides, we writers avoid cliché at all costs, right? So
what did I do?



This:



 

 

How you like them apples? I think they’re pretty damn
awesome, but I’ll explain why there is an f-bomb permanently painted on my
skin. My dad used “Fuck it” to express many things. Someone pissing you off?
Fuck it. Not worth your time. Wish you had more time, money, etc.? Fuck it. Do
what you need to do to get it. Not sure if what you’re doing is right or wrong?
Fuck it. If you’re happy, it’s always right. The list is really endless.
Worried someone might be offended at the f-bomb tattooed brazenly on your back?
Fuck it. Bunch of pussies.



The most memorable fuck it moment between my dad and me was
my wedding day. The march was playing, my bridesmaids were making their way to
the front of the church, and Dad stood with me in the little alcove inside the
doorway. He touched my arm and said that I didn’t have to go through with it. I
was all, “Dad, it’s kind of late for second thoughts. I’m doing this. What
about all those people sitting in there?” He was all, “They don’t matter. If
you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. Fuck it. Fuck them. We can take
off right now. You don’t owe any of them anything.”



Part of me wishes I was the woman I am today. She’d have
agreed with him, but I wasn’t quite there yet. So I smiled and told him to stop
being an ass. And we walked down that aisle.



Every time I hear, say or see this phrase, I hear my dad and
THAT makes this tattoo more special than any other I could have done. The two
butterflies soften the blow for the pussies. They also represent (for me)
freedom, creativity, and love. The big blue one is symbolic of my oldest
daughter and the little pink one (can’t see the pink in the picture, I know) is
symbolic of my younger daughter.



Basically, I got the special meaning without being cliché.
Okay, so maybe butterflies are cliché, but…fuck it. I like butterflies.