Characters and their “Thing”
Let’s be real, everyone has his or her “Thing”, especially teens. Something they enjoy doing to take away the boredom.
So when I read a YA book, I like to discover what the teen is really into. Whether it is music, comic books, art, or sports. Something that defines a part of who they are.
In Graffiti Girl, Angel’s thing is obviously her art. It is her passion and self-expression.
In Tina’s Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, Nic plays volleyball. It is her “Thing.” And well, her Prom Dress is her passion. :)
Not every hobby to every teenager has to involve passion, but there’s often something they enjoy that says something about who they are…
More examples:
Caridad Ferrer’s Adios To My Old Life…Ali’s thing is her music…
Tara Altebrando’s The Pursuit of Happiness…Betsy’s thing is cutting out black paper silhouettes…
Allison van Diepen’s Street Pharm…Ty thrives on basketball…
If you are a writer, does one of your characters have a hobby or “thing” that is part of who the character is? If you are a reader, does your favorite character have an activity that he or she loves to do?
Monday, August 13, 2007
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4 fresh comments:
Great blog, Kelly!
In my January release, HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE, main character Kate's "thing" is making money--lots of it, and NOW!
In THE ABC'S OF KISSING BOYS (Spring '09), main character Parker is all about soccer.
As for me, back in the day? My main focus was my social life!
Kelly:
Good question! Yep, my character's "thing" is drama. Her nickname is Drama Queen (DQ). It's not a central point in the plot, but it's there, because it's who she is.
When I was a teen my thing was ballet, which tends to suck every non-school minute of every day...
Cool post. Now that I think about it . . . In ROCK MY WORLD, my character's thing was an obsession with music and writing (she aspired to write for Rolling Stone). In The Poker Diaries, her "thing" is poker, of course. And in my new proposal, my character's thing is astronomy.
E
Love all those "things", Tina! Thanks!
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Hi Susan, great to both of those! :) :)
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More great things, Erica! I especially like the astronomy--it's unique!
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