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Lots of people – usually inexperienced writers, or those who know very little about the publishing industry – have lofty misconceptions about being an author. I can admit to having them, when I was a young, inexperienced, and naive writer. But now I’m older and wiser. Well, older. This week, I thought I’d look at some of the misconceptions that commonly do the rounds. Being an author is lucrative. I heard a joke yesterday: What’s the difference between an author and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four. The top-end authors – JK Rowling, Stephen King, Lee Child, etc. – would be rich. But most authors…
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What do names mean as far as characters go? For me? Just about everything. Names personify people. It’s like the Jerry Seinfeld routine where he says if you name your kid ‘Jeeves’, you’re pretty much consigning him to a life as a butler. Based on your own relationships, experiences, and encounters, the moment a name is mentioned you’ll conjure up a preconception of the person attached to it. You might even think of certain characteristics that people with the same name share. I have lots of rituals when it comes to naming my characters. To begin with, I’ll scribble a lowercase and UPPERCASE alphabet in a notebook. When I come…