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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

C-haracters

by Chautona Havig · 8 Comments

They define my writing.  I have often wondered about that.

You see, I can’t start a book without a title.  No, really, I can’t.  Even if I later change that title, without a strong, working title, I can’t start writing.  I freeze.  I have the words, they’re in my brain, I’m aching to send my fingers flying across the keys before I forget them, but… nope.  No title.  Must. Get. Title.

So, with that kind of obsession over a title (even though sometimes that title gets changed before publication), you’d think that I’d be obsessed with calling books by their titles, right?  Nope.  USUALLY, my books are known by one of the characters.  Noble Pursuits is “Grace” to me.  Manuscript for Murder is “Alexa” which gets interesting because so is Crime of Fashion.  Talk about confusing when talking about the books!

I talk about my characters as if they are real.  “Aggie would love that.”  “Man, Alexa would so wear that.”  “Hey, there’s William’s ‘Vette.”  (That was for you, Barb.)

So, I wonder… does that mean my books are character driven?  And, if my books are character driven, does that mean that the plots are pathetic?

Oh, and for fun, I thought I’d find a picture of what I think one of my characters look like.  So, meet Adric.  He’s going to be published soon.  This is what I think he looks like but…

  1. His hair is more silvery even than this
  2. His eyes are grayer
I bought the brother to this one for the cover. JBryson at Istockphoto.com is GREAT.

To see what other bloggers are doing this month, check out the HUGE list of bloggers HERE!

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Comments

  1. SharleneT says

    April 3, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Hello, Fellow Challenger. I have to sharpen all my pencils, first. Now, mind you, I use a computer, but there’s something about a cup full of well-sharpened pencils that just gets me going. I can understand obsession. I’m #424 from Rockin’ Chair Reflections. Come visit when you can.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      April 3, 2012 at 5:00 pm

      I am now channeling my inner “You’ve Got Mail” and murmuring with a glazed look in my eye, “Bouquets of sharpened pencils…”

      I’ll dash over to see you.

      Reply
  2. Fareeda Alhady says

    April 3, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    This is the second blog on ‘Character’ I’ve read today. Chautona, your insights are interesting. I want to write my family story, but I don’t have a title in mind. I’m banking on it emerging later – perhaps hitting me like a lightening bolt?
    PS: Would so love to own the real McCoy (comfy convenient couch) too…

    Reply
  3. Laura Barnes says

    April 3, 2012 at 10:52 am

    I can’t write without a title either. It is so much of what my books are about. Of course, if I ever get published, the publisher may change it just like that. Sigh.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:43 am

      I’ve already changed titles… Argosy Junction was originally “Not as I Was” but hey. It was a valid title. It is nice to see someone else with my quirky “malady” regarding titles. Keep writing!

      Reply
  4. Andi-Roo (@theworld4realz) says

    April 3, 2012 at 10:47 am

    I’m not a published writer, so I don’t know that my opinion counts here, but I’m certainly an avid reader, so I’ll offer up my thoughts as the end-user. Books absolutely MUST be character driven when I’m working my way through a story — I have to forget they’re imaginary so I can imagine conversations with them. Of course, this won’t happen if the plot is weak; anyone who writes strong characters is going to have to learn quickly how to carry its people across the literary morass, or else risk leaving a gorgeously drawn, realistic person stranded in the dessert.

    Reply
  5. JENN says

    April 3, 2012 at 10:26 am

    ok your stories are NOT lame! they rock!
    are either Alexas available? i haven’t heard of those! i keep thinking with her name popping up in EVERY book, you’ve gotta have one about her sometime…
    that is not how i imagined Adric. how about a smiling one? maybe that will help me picture him better. do they have that guy smiling?

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:44 am

      I’m sure they do, Jenn. That’s why I avoid putting pictures on covers. I don’t like defining what someone looks like to the reader. We all have different ideas, and that’s what makes it COOL.

      None of the Alexas are ready. They’re not even in “rough draft” stage. Not really. Both have to be 100% rewritten. They’re that bad. However, they are also some of my favorites. They WILL be good. Someday.

      Reply

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Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
byChautona Havig

Nothing says fairy tale like a sweet western romance by an author like Karen Witemeyer… unless it’s a fairytale retelling set in Texas in the late 19th century, right?  Fairest of Heart takes the familiar “Snow White” and turns it on its head with retired cowboys, a self-absorbed actress, a Texas Ranger, and a sweet girl who knows the true Source of her beauty.  Listen in to see all the genius Easter eggs Witemeyer planted in this book.

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Sometimes All a Girl Needs Is a True Change of Heart

I fell in love with the cover of Karen Witemeyer’s Head Over Heels a few years back (only to learn it’s much older than that, even), and meant to read that book.  I didn’t.  #BecauseIdiot. Well, that’ll be rectified just as soon as I’m done listening to her first book in a trilogy of fairytale retellings. I loaded it up on my Audible app tonight and wheeeeeeee. Here I go! So much for no new books until October. HA! 

Karen talks about her heart for young women today and how they’re taught by every bit of media blasting at them that they need to use their bodies to get what they need or want when the Lord has a better plan. And I can’t guarantee it, but I strongly suspect she does it without preaching. SQUEE!

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters–and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather’s ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope’s acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope’s guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

You can learn more about Karen Witemeyer and her books on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget the book is 30% off on BakerBookHouse.com.  

Follow Karen on BookBub and GoodReads.

And don’t forget her Posse Group on Facebook.

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