Comments on: Jackie Discovers The Holy Trinity – Character, Conflict and Plot.

By: Jackie Ashenden

Jackie Ashenden — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:34:47 +0000

Joanne – I’m with you there m’dear! I was a fan of Lost – though give me Sawyer any day of the week. Jack was waaaay too uptight. Hehe. But Sawyer was complicated and…yum…

By: joanne pibworth

joanne pibworth — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:09:49 +0000

I am a character over plot kind of girl – all the bells and whistles in the world can’t make a flat, 2d character come to life can they?
Did you watch Lost?
I loved it, even though the plot was crazy and some people felt shortchanged by the end. Not me though. You know why? Because I adored the richness of the characters they built up over the seasons. For me the series wasn’t about weird statues and polar bears in the jungle, it was about the way they made me really understand and care for those characters. Jack & Sawyer remain my two blueprints for romance hero’s – the extremely hot good guy and the even hotter bad boy. Man…he was hot. H.O.T.
I digress, but my point is that they created people who I will remember long after i’ve forgotten the ridiculous plot.

By: Jackie Ashenden

Jackie Ashenden — Tue, 03 May 2011 07:20:44 +0000

Kerrin – yes, going slow is a bit of a change for me. I’m usually impatient as all get out! But seems to be working…hehe…
Chessman? Hints? Um…well, my heroine is a comic book artist. He’s all about logic and she’s all about emotion. Classic opposites attract. He’s trying to win the world title and she’s getting in his way. 🙂

By: Kerrin

Kerrin — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:33:52 +0000

Wow Jackie, sounds like you are doing really well.
I like that you are taking it slow and working things out. Good on you!
Chessman sounds fab – any other hints?? ;P

By: Jackie Ashenden

Jackie Ashenden — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:05:45 +0000

Lacey - that's the general idea. I'm sick of rewriting a book 50 million times because I didn't think about it properly the first time round. Will keep you posted anyway. :-)

Rach - ha! Yes, learning a lot with this stuff. You think re the chess hero? Yeah, I like him. He's very uptight though. Hehe.

Caroline - thanks!

Julia - I'm coming to the character party late. Always been more interested in the conflict part of it. But that's what happens when you write for 20 years for no one but yourself. Maybe I'll get to being able to have my plot dictate character some day but it's funny, the instant I decide how the plot is going to go, I start moving my characters rather than letting them do the moving. So annoying!

By: Julia Broadbooks

Julia Broadbooks — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:00:05 +0000

I have always started with characters and then seen where it goes. It's just the most interesting part of a book.

But I think I agree with Aimee that it really is two sides of the same coin. If you do it right, the characters are the sort of people who couldn't do anything else, but what they do.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:52:26 +0000

Great advice and musings Jackie. Caroline x

By: Rachael Johns

Rachael Johns — Mon, 02 May 2011 09:00:12 +0000

I agree with Aimee! May be revealing too much about myself in saying this but I like the idea of a chess hero MUCH better than a sporting hero 🙂

By: Rachael Johns

Rachael Johns — Mon, 02 May 2011 08:59:09 +0000

Sounds like you’re learning and growing a lot Jackie! And I for one can’t wait to read Chessman 🙂

By: Lacey Devlin

Lacey Devlin — Mon, 02 May 2011 05:07:44 +0000

I hope you're enjoying "doing other stuff" too. Sometimes a break is just what the doctor ordered.

Your new writing process is sounding great. You may find that the rest of the book flows more easily once you've got those first chapters in place. At least, that's what I hope for =)