Friday, November 9, 2012

Thankful Post, the first - My Kids

Yes, it's cliche. That doesn't make it any less true.

I am very thankful for my kids who really ground me. As a single parent I am the sole shuttler, the sole feeder and the sole advisor/disciplinarian. With all these hats, and more, my kids understand that people have many different roles in life and totally 'get' that sometimes, particularly when I am caught up in a scene, I am a writer and support me in my role. Okay, maybe not so much when my older teen complains that he needs to eat now!, (working on that self sufficiency thing) but generally, particularly as they've hit their teen years, they leave me to do my thing when I tell them I'm sitting down to do some writing.

And that ties into my writing advice. Make your characters multi-dimensional. No one has just one role in life, they are a son or daughter, a person within a community, they are what people see them to be and they are what they see themselves to be. Show them in these roles, have them act in slightly different ways around different people. Are they less likely to curse around their parents? Are they going to be more patient with kids? Plus try to avoid cliches, find the unique, unexpected aspect of their personality, the person no one expects them to be, and show us that too.

This is part of a series of post for a blog hop started by Brenda Drake. Please be sure to visit the other participants!


9 comments:

  1. hey there, visiting from the blog hop and not cliche at all to be first and foremost thankful for your kids! thanks for sharing :)

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  2. I love that you started with your kids. Though they can be quite demanding, those little buggers really make the day better. It's amazing how much love a mother feels for their kids. I'm so glad they support your writing (when not hungry). :)

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  3. Hi there, fellow T'giving blog hopper! I have nothing but HUGE admiration for single parents. My mom was one for my teen years and I know it wasn't easy...

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  4. Thanks for stopping by! I'm behind on my hopping, but I should by tomorrow.

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  5. I could only imagine raising my children as a single mother. You're kids will always appreciate your love:)

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  6. Awesome post Ellie! It's true what you say about kids.They are the greatest equalizers and realists we have in our life. Nothing can be more grounding than wiping noses and making lunches in the morning!

    I love how you mentioned characters being multi-dimensional. I recently write about that in my own blog. It's a difficult things to do, but your story is so much the better for it!

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  7. You are a strong woman. I found the best way to avoid cliche in character was going out and meeting new people. A woman my husband words with is half-Mexican, quarter-Punjabi, and quarter-Afghani. She cooks amazing Mexican-Punjabi fusion food, burns incense, and calls me "mija." I just had to have her as one of my characters. :)

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  8. Love your point about multi-dimensional characters! Not always easy, but it makes the story so much better.

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  9. Woo-hoo, more comments. Dang I need to catch up here...

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