A Few Words

Ah, characters are the heart of a novel but plot is the soul.  You can't have one without the other.  Well, I guess you can have characters without any story but it will be very dull and uninteresting, kind of like a bunch of musical notes thrown together.  Unless they're arranged into some kind of order, the result is rather unsatisfying.

My aim has always been to write a novel.  Plot is the most difficult for me, I think.  Therefore, I mean to focus on the people who populate my novel.  Maybe they'll tell me what kind of a book they want to be in.  Their personalities will have no small influence on what kind of a story they're written into.  That's why I've always loved fictional characters.  Some of them seem to live and breathe right along with you.  They become your best friends or the ones you'd love to hate.  Even evil characters almost always have a spark of good in them.

But what I need is diligence.  How can I express myself on paper if I don't write?  I can't.  That's just the point.  If I run up against a wall, then I just have to learn to climb.  What they see is true, though.  Before you can get to the top of a mountain, you need to learn to climb.  The same is true for writers.  Taking the plunge is more than just jumping in.  It's a whole art, learning the techniques, the craft, and perfecting your own skills, while trying not to lose your style along the way.  And, if you trust in God, He'll lead you through.  The Lord will never fail you.