Dame Lili
To win, just congratulate Keri in the comments of this very post before midnight PST on Saturday, April 4. (She buried the news at the bottom of another DD post, and this, bwahahahaha! is my revenge. Mine is an evil laugh.)
And now, having Announced, comes my regular Friday thoughts on writing.
Laura Anne Gilman said something thought-provoking this morning.
You-the-writer must have empathy for your characters. You have to like them — or hate them. I’m not saying believe they’re real — that road leads to the Palace of Psychosis, and nobody will visit you there except to mock — but you have to let them into your heart as well as your head. It’s that emotional connection that allows you to care about them, not as the means to deliver a message, or to flip a twist, but as actual individuals going through hell. Once you care about them, you can make other people care about them, too.
If you don’t? if you’re emotionally removed from your characters, or see them merely as markers to be moved along the story, in order to achieve a final goal? The most brilliant prose in the world won’t do you for damn. (Laura Anne Gilman)
I hadn’t thought about this before. But it’s true. I cry every time I reread the hospital scene in Dead Man Rising. And the end of Redemption Alley makes me cry every time I read the last four words. When I finish a book I’m more often than not a mess, because I am emotionally invested in these people. They are pretty damn real to me.
No, I’m not a candidate for the Palace of Psychosis just yet. I know they’re imaginary. But I make myself forget they’re imaginary for long enough to finish the book, and I feel for them. Not so much for the books I write to spec–they’re a different kind of Imaginary Real People. But the organic books, yeah. I feel it when they’re hurt. I know what makes them tick. I understand the fault lines in their heads, the damage done to them, the abandonment or betrayal complexes.
A fellow writer (oh, hell, I might as well say it, hello Jeff) asked me about getting into your character’s head, and I’ve been thinking about how to explain how that process works for me. It was particularly agonizing because I had no words for it. I just did it. (Having no words for something is a special kind of hell for a writer.)
Gilman has hit the nail right on the head. It is empathy–imagining yourself in someone else’s shoes. When you build a person from the inside out to write them, or when they show up in your head with this story they need you to tell, feeling for them, understanding what they feel, is very little different than listening to a friend tell a story and not just saying “That must have felt terrible” but feeling it sincerely.
Sometimes, when a character shuts down and refuses to talk, I get out pen and paper and “interview” them. I put together song lists for them (all my organic characters have soundtracks). When I go for walks, or during workouts, I talk to them in my head–a kind of imaginative sympathy, almost like method acting. This is why I love having a fellow writer as a best friend; she understands when I talk about my characters as if they’re real people. (“But I wouldn’t want to speak for him,” she said once about a character, and after a long moment of ironic silence we both burst out laughing.)
It is like magic. I know “magic” doesn’t objectively “work”. But the techniques make a psychological and emotional change in me in order to get the results I want, in order to maximize my chances of the seed of luck hitting prepared ground instead of stone. Your characters and mine aren’t real, but if we feel as if they are we can feel with them, live with them, and transform with them. Which is the whole point.
When I was young I got into the habit of telling myself “stories” before I went to sleep every night. I had a very rich inner life to compensate for the barrenness of the outer; I would literally imagine myself inside the skin of characters and create whole worlds up from nothing. I think that practice of the imaginative muscles stood me in good stead when I began writing stories–for me the only way to do it was to think about how and why the characters were feeling the way they were, how they would react, why they would choose one path over another.
This strikes on something else I believe very strongly: the key to this skill lies in observation. Are you curious about why people do the things they do? Do you watch them? We spend our lives around human beings, predicting their behavior while they drive, shop, interact with us in the office and in social situations. We know much more than we think we do about why people do what they do.
At bottom, most people are just like you. They are afraid of rejection and are the stars in the ongoing stories of their life. People love to talk about themselves, a principle I’ve used several times while interviewing experts for books. Listen when people tell you about themselves. Observe them going about their daily lives.
I warn you though, sometimes it becomes impossible to stop the “observation”. Everything becomes grist for the mill, food for the work. It will become a deep mental habit. Just one of the hazards of the writing life.
So, feel for your characters. Yes, yes, recognize that they are just characters. But they are yours, and feeling for them will create the “spark” Gilman talks about–the opening in the armor for the reader to peek inside and see the vulnerability. That gap is like the vulnerability between lovers. It creates intimacy and opens up the possibility of being hurt, but human beings don’t stop loving. That’s what makes us human.
And that is what will make your characters human. At the end of the day, all fiction is human stories. We are telling each other over and over again what things mean to us. That vulnerability is the chance we have of helping someone else understand. It is a small seed, and from that seed…
…miracles.
Keep writing.
[1] Winners will be chosen with the help of Random.org. So what are you waiting for? Congratulate and win!
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#6? That’s awesome!
I really need to get to the bookstore and pick it up. I had an alarm on my phone the day it came out, but it’s the end of the semester and my classes are kicking my butt right now. So I will go tonight and get it.
As for the empathy for your characters, I had to share a funny thought with my mom a few months back. If a normal Joe on the street says he hears voices in his head, he’s thrown in a room, asked questions about how he’s feeling, and given pills to make the voices go away. However, a writer is asked in an interview where their idea came from and they answer saying that they hear the characters in their head and they need to get the character’s story out and people nod in understand and awe. I thought it was amusing.
6 is an awesome number!
Congrats, Dame Keri! I need to catch up this week’s reading.
Edit: I need to go home. I forgot to put my name in.
—
6 is an awesome number!
Congrats, Dame Keri! I need to catch up this week’s reading.
Congrats to Dame Keri, #6 is so awesome!!!
Congrats Keri! I’m looking forward to the next installment! I loved the cover of Deadly Desire.
I still do what you did as a child, writing (living) stories in your head. Congratulations Keri!!!! I loved your book. Keep it up!!!!!!!
WOW, congrats Keri! That’s outstanding.
Also, great post. I agree that empathy is the key. I love a book where the author clearly has a great deal of empathy towards all of the characters, without letting that empathy make them be too gentle or too biased towards them.
Empathy towards my own characters is what drives me to write, too. I have to admit I have a lot of empathy towards all of them, even the ones I don’t exactly “like!”
Also… “Keep writing.” – Thanks. I needed that today.
Keri, I love your character Riley, please don’t end the series for a nice long while!?!
Congrats! That’s awesome to debut at #6.
Congrats to you, Keri!
I just bought my copy today (had to wait for the paycheck to hit the bank
)
I can’t wait to escape back to Riley’s world! And boy, do I ever need to escape for a while, lol.
Congratulations Keri! Keep ‘em coming
Great reminder about caring for our characters.
Congrats, Dame Keri! That’s awesome!
I not only empathize with/cry for my own characters, but other people’s as well. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room at Psychosis Palace.
Congratulations Keri and Riley on your #6 debut! WOOT! WOOT!
Huge, huge congratulations to you, Keri.
Congrats Keri! That is awesome news!
HUGE congrats, Dame Keri! I LOVE Riley and had to drop everything and read this installment as soon as it hit the shelves. Is the next one ready yet?
I think the hallmark of a great book is that you forget the characters are not real. You feel for them, you cry for them. Sometimes I even get angry at them when they do stupid stuff. Just as if they are a friend. Keep it up. We all love it.
Congrats Dame Keri. I was just about to read your new book. I have faith it’s going to be amazing.
Grats Dame Keri.
And nice post Dame Lili. I think sometimes the empathy skirts the Palace of the Psychotic, but it’s knowing where to draw the line that keeps you in charge as the author even as you empathize down to your toenails with what’s happening.
Jana
Congratulations Keri! I knew you would do it. The Riley series is my favorite and the next cover looks great too. Good luck on Bound to Shadows I just know it’ll reach the best seller list too!
Congratulations on your debut at #6 Dame Keri! ;D
CONGRATS! im just getting the hang of twitter, and found this contest.
Congrats Dame Keri!
Deadly Desire is the next book in my TBR pile and I’m looking forward to it!
Congratulations, Keri! I just finished reading “Deadly Desire” and I couldn’t put it down. I was a little wiped at work the next morning, but it was worth it! I’m not at all surprised you’ve made the top ten on the NYT list. Well done
Zita
congrats, hope it sells well!
Keri, you totally rock, dame! It’s on my TBN list.
Dame Lili, you and Laura Anne Gilman came up with some nice words there to explain things. As a writer, we need to pass our own empathy on to our readers as well. Love, hate, love to hate. That’s what keeps the reader turning pages. Thanks for laying it out so succinctly.
#6, that’s awesome. Congrats!
Congrats Keri, woo-hoo!
congrats to kerri…i had pre-ordered from amazon and read it the day it was delivered.
tanya
Congrats, Keri!
OMG, congrats! That’s fabulous!
Congrats Keri. I am a big fan of the Riley Jensen series and just ordered my copy of Deadly Desire.
Congrats Keri!!! I love your Riley Jensen series.
Congrats, Keri! I was excited to see your book out at the store. The local B&N had a display of all your books. My friend and I looked at it with glee!
Yay! Congrats Dame Keri!
Happy dancing penguin congratulations to you, Dame Keri! =)
Again, congrats on being number 6!!!
Can’t wait to read it! It sounds amazing!
Dame Lili, I know what you mean about it being good to have writer friends because they UNDERSTAND. Once, I was talking about a new character in a book we had read and were discussing and I said, “I liked him from the moment I met him.” They burst out laughing but were nice about it, whereas my non-writer friend just looked at me like I was crazy, which yes, I am a little bit, but still…
Congratulations Keri! That’s a real coup. I’m one of those that bought Deadly Desire on the first day out. I started reading it, but then went back to re-read The Darkest Kiss so that I could make my enjoyment last even longer.
Lili, I have to say you sound just like a psychologist – always wondering what makes people tick. I guess it’s a trait that makes for good writers as well as psychologists. Maybe that makes me a good reader, too? Be careful, you might start to get people afraid of you when you tell them what you do for a living! I just laugh and say, yeah, I *am* reading your mind!
Congratulations Keri
Looking forward to reading it.
It was actually Dame Keri’s books that got me into the genre, so I owe her many times over.
Congratulations on Riley #6!!!!
Woot! Keri, what a rush! Congratulations!
Keri, way to go!!!!!
I love when books I read hit the bestsellers list, especially when I buy them the day they come out. I feel like I contributed to something special.
I tore through Deadly Desire, made my whole family leave me alone, Hubby had to make dinner, phone went off the hook. It was AMAZING and you so deserve to be on that list.
It’s a sign of a great book when I can’t stop speculating on the next one. Riley, Kye and Quinn haunt my dreams, but they are good dreams.
Congrats again.
Congrats, Keri!
And LAG frequently drops tidbits of amusing wisdom upon us, doesn’t she?
Congratulations on the awesome debut!
Oh, and awesome blog, as usual!
First, congratulations to Keri on debuting at #6 on the NYBT list. That is amazing! And I think sometimes I have too much empathy for my characters as I feel right alongside them, almost living the stories as I write them. But that doesn’t stop me from having bad things happen to them, so…what does that say about me?
Margay
Congrats! That’s fabulous news
“When I was young I got into the habit of telling myself “stories” before I went to sleep every night. I had a very rich inner life to compensate for the barrenness of the outer; I would literally imagine myself inside the skin of characters and create whole worlds up from nothing.”
I so did that too. Still do sometimes when I need a mental refresher.
Thanks for the post.
Congrats Keri! That is awesome.
Congratulations, Keri! Debuting at #6 on the NYT list. Big time writer. Only one more Riley story after this one, huh? Wow. It’ll be sad when the series is over. What will you do with yourself? Good luck.
Being on the list is great? But #6??? What’s great times 100? Congratulations!
Congrats Keri! That’s awesomeness!
#6 – that is indeed wonderful news for her.
Congrats Keri!
That is awesome news and keep up the great work!
Congrats, Keri!! My husband and I love your books and they are well-deserving of the placement!
(I completely missed the news because it was buried. Ack!)
Congrats, Dame Keri. I’m wildly imprssed with a NYT showing at all, forget about at #6. Excellently well done.
And: can one love one’s characters too much? Whenever someone tells me it’s time to cut, I have such a hard time because it reduces the various characters’ lines/screen time.
Super Awesome Amazing Congrats Keri! No use trying to bury good news when you have friends to brag for you!!
Congratulations to you, Keri!!
Congratulations Keri – you deserve it!
Congratulations, Dame Keri! I love the new book, read through it in one day.
Great post, Dame Lili. It is one of the things I’m still working on and worry about the most. Sometimes I can connect with my characters completely and sometimes I’m just the observer. This post will be food for thought. Thanks!
Congratulations, Dame Keri! What an outstanding achievement!
Interesting topic Dame Lili. And congrats to Dame Keri officially – she did just sneak the news in there didn’t she. Glad you are on the ball, Lilli.
Ms. Arthur, Wow congrats on achieving the # 6 spot!! Ok so I absolutely loved the book (scene sexy in front of the restaurant’s window, special vampire chocolate, the conversation between Riley and Quinn), but now I have to wait until September to see how the how soul mate thing is resolved!! AH!! I do not know if I can survive. Prior to Deadly Desire, Kissing Sin was my favorite, but this totally surpassed it. Quinn was yummy sexiness as always and Kye was well Kye. Why oh why does he have to be delectable as well? The story was intriguing and I was so thrilled to read that Liander was recovering!! He is one of my faves. Thank you so much for creating an amazing world with a kick ass female protagonist who is impowered by her own sexuality. Keep’em coming! Oops I mean, keep up the writing! Joy
Congratulations Dame Keri!! My copy of Deadly Desire is in the mail. Whooot! Can’t wait. Must finish all projects so I can give it the time it deserves.
congrats, dame keri! i just can’t seem to get enough of riley and quinn.
That’s brilliant Kerry!
Oh,I really need to read this book now! Can’t wait for more Riley!
Well done!
~Ailsa
Great post.
Congrats Keri, the book was one of my favourites and the spot is definately well deserved.
Oh wow! Huzzah! I’m only on book four of the series…I think I need to read faster! Congrats again, Keri! That’s fantastic!
Way to go, Dame Keri!
Regarding empathy for characters: If I can’t feel anything for them, then I have no interest in reading the book. It doesn’t matter if I hate them or love them, but there has to be that emotional connection. The stories I remember best are the ones where I was emotionally invested in the characters.
Congrats Dame Keri!! I pre-ordered the Deadly Desire and devoured it on the day it arrived!! Sighh… Makes my knees go weak!!
Congratulations!! Sixth is a great place, that is in the top 10 and to me that is making it!! Good luck.
Judy (magnolias_1@msn.com)
Congratulations Keri, being in the top 10 is wondeful and so not surprising. Your Riley Jenson series is awesome and I look forward to each new book with anticipation.
#6 is pretty damn awesome Keri!! Way to go!! I just finished Deadly Desire this week and I loved it!! Read it in 2 days, in between going to my classes. OMG it was awesome and what an ending!! Keri you’re killing me, now I have to wait until November to see what happens next!!! That is the bad thing with such killer endings that are awesome, you have to wait forrrrevvvver (Sandlot moment! ) for the next book! But it is good for you because you have readers hooked for life if they aren’t already!
Way to go on hitting #6, that’s gonna be your lucky number for awhile now, right?
Loved the book cannot wait for Bound to Shadows!!
I’ve been a fan since the first book and loved this one too. I can’t wait to see what the next one brings. Congrats on making a top 10 showing!
Congratulations!! I love all the Riley books can’t wait for the next installment.
Hi Keri, You’ve always been on my best seller list. It was a wonderful book. Congratulations again.
Congratulations!! I just started reading the books, and I love them!
I can’t WAIT to get DD! Unfortuntely things had taken up my last paycheck.. (darned that electric company! Don’t they know I NEED to get more books! Of course I MUST pay them or I would be reading by candle light!)
Congrats on the successful release! I will have it in my hands soon if I need to cash in can for it!
Congratulations Keri! Job well done!
I can’t wait to read #6, Keri. What an awesome series and what an awesome author. Keep up the wonderful work!
Congratulations Keri! The book was great and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future with Riley and Kye.
Congrats! I can’t wait to read Bound to Shadows.
Congratulations on #6 Keri! That’s awesome!
Yeah, a great big congrats!!!! Can’t wait to pick up the NYT to actually see it in black and white!
And hope you keep getting on the list from now on! 
Lois
Whoot #6! Congrats Keri, I loved the book and can’t wait for the next one so HURRY UP! ;D
Congrats Keri,
I love all of your books and cannot wait for the next one. Reily, Quinn and the others are so interesting that they pull me into their world and I dont want the adventure to stop.
I haven’t read of your series as yet but judging from the remark I will have to plan on getting hold of one and reading it.
Sounds good !
this is the problem with being on the other side of the world–I go to sleep when everyone else is awake, and I wake up to find a million and one messages waiting. lol
first up, awesome post Dame Lili!
second, thanks for all the congrats everyone! I’m still on a happy little high
I just finished reading Deadly Desire (I of course have read all Riley Jenson, and your previous boods) I am so waiting for book 8 OMG Heart or soul.
You deserve the alcolades Dame Keri, awesome!!
Congrats Keri, you deserve it:)
Congrats!
I preordered mine a while ago, when it shipped I kept checking the tracking to see when it whould get delivered. Number 8 is already on my wishlist to buy when it comes out.
Hi,
I love Riley and congrats. Ms. Arthur. I am looking forward to more adventures with her and all her friends. I just got it and can’t wait to delve into it. THanks
Dawn R.
Congrats Keri.
Congratulations!!!!! You deserve it!!! I can’t wait to read it I just picked up a copy the other night. Thanks!!!!
Congratulations Keri, that’s wonderful news.
Theresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com
Love Riley! Have read all your books (so far) and just picked up the new one. Congrats on the Times list, couldn’t happen to a better person. (This means lots more from you, right?)
Nancy
Congratulations Keri! Sooooo exciting. Can’t wait to buy you a congratulatory drink at RT in a couple of weeks.
#6 that rocks. Big congrats and hope you have many more.
Pamk
#6 is awesome! I have yet to make my weekly trip to the bookstore. Keri’s book will definitely be in my pile. Congrats Keri!
Dame Keri, congrats on making the NYT bestsellers list!
Dame Lili, enjoyed your post. I’m a people watcher/observer also. I love to watch and listen to people, try and figure out what makes them tick. Side hobby along with reading.
Congratulations Keri! #6 is well deserved, It’s an excellent book!
Congratulations on the new book Dame Keri. It was wonderful. I can’t wait for the next one to read it too. Congrats as well on making the NY times best seller list!
Rica
WOW AND CONGRATS KERRI!!
I SURE WANT TO READ THIS, I LOVE THAT TITLE!
Figures my comp would decide it didnt’ want to work so I couldn’t enter in time (using sister laptop now).
Congrats Keri! I saw the book when I got groceries but budget wouldn’t stretch to it last week
Maybe this week.