tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post6787744353998408216..comments2023-10-11T09:22:33.136-04:00Comments on Paperback Writer: NaNoWriMo Prep II: Stand Out CharactersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-66783757317241398412011-10-26T06:55:21.759-04:002011-10-26T06:55:21.759-04:00Raine wrote: I think part of my current problem is...Raine wrote: <i>I think part of my current problem is that I AM writing about a bunch of big, strong vampires, but with a singular storyline. I fret about inevitable comparisons, fair or not.</i><br /><br />When I published the first StarDoc, everyone compared my books to James White's because we both wrote about medical professionals in the far future. Since I don't read much SF I'd never actually heard of the guy until Anne MacCaffrey mentioned him in an e-mail (and by then I was writing book three of the series.) I wasn't worried about unconscious lifting because I'd never read his books, but because I was a scared-of-everything rookie I was still worried. So I went out, bought one of his novels and read it, and saw for myself that we had two completely different far-future universes, character casts, plotlines, voices, writing styles, etc.<br /><br />If it helps, use my analogy and think of genre as a marching band, and the big, strong vampire as the uniform your characters are wearing. Your job in the story is to offer the reader some way of recognizing your characters among all the other vampires in big/strong uniforms. What is unique about your immortals? There are so many ways other than physical appearance to give them their own identities, and their own brand. And it's not a matter of making them different so much as it's making them unmistakably yours.the authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03220786472896283714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-87947749756373335142011-10-26T00:57:35.899-04:002011-10-26T00:57:35.899-04:00I think part of my current problem is that I AM wr...I think part of my current problem is that I AM writing about a bunch of big, strong vampires, but with a singular storyline. I fret about inevitable comparisons, fair or not.<br />And I don't want to focus on making them so 'different' that I lose sight of who they are. :-/rainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04258822737734173873noreply@blogger.com