Guest Post: Mister JMI on Characters

Posted August 25, 2014 by Julie S. in Author Appearances / 6 Comments

Guest Post: Characters not Caricatures by: Mister JMI

 

Hey everyone, for those who don’t know who I am, (most likely all of you) I go by Mister JMI and I am the founder of Fictitious Fox Publishing and author of The Glory. The Glory is a fun, funny, exciting, character-driven sci-fi book that I wrote which follows Adam Whitlock and his pursuit to join the US Space Force and become captain of the legendary warship, The Glory. My book is on sale now on amazon, which you can pick up here: TinyUrl.com/gettheglory (Shameless plug is shameless.) And now that we have all the formalities and plugs out of the way, let’s get into the subject at hand.

I really wanted to talk about and share my thoughts and approach to creating characters. We’ve all heard the old adage that, there is nothing new under the sun and to an extent, every story has been told with slight variations. I agree with this saying but what separates one story from the next is the characters. A good character can make the same old story that we’ve hear a thousand different times, a thousand different ways sound brand new and fresh. Falling in love a great characters can makes us get so wrapped up in that character’s peril we completely forget that there is 100 pages left in the book or 45 minutes left in the movie and that they are going to be fine.

Unfortunately, we don’t get many great characters in most stories. We get tired and worn, paint-by-numbers archetypes, stereotypes and worst of all, dialogue devices. “Characters” whose sole existences it to just deliver lines, be exposition machines and move the plot along.

When I sat down to write my book I spent a lot of time making sure that I was creating not only believable, fleshed out, layered characters but my ultimate goal was to create people. Someone you could really believed existed, somebody you could bump into in the street or meet at a party or somebody who you already know. I wanted the reader know one of my characters so well that you would know how they would react in any scenario.

I achieved this by stopping and putting the plot to the side for a moment and thinking about who these people are. What are their values, hopes and dreams? What’s their philosophy on life, if they even cared to stop and think of one? Where are they from and how were they raised? What makes them laugh, makes them cry, and what would utterly piss them off? Who would they fall in love with?

The next time you sit down to write a book, or movie or whatever your forte is, if you stop and think about who the people that you are putting into the stories are, you’ll have a character and a story that will far outlast you.

….But hey, what do I know? I’m just some prick with stupid hair.

 

I’d like to thank Chapter Break for letting me ramble over precious space on their site and you for taking a moment to read it.

(Brace yourselves, plugs are coming)

And if you’d like to hear…..read more of what I have to say you can find me on Facebook, facebook.com/misterjmi, follow me on Twitter (because nobody else is) @misterjmi or simply email me at writejmi@gmail.com

Check out my book at Facebook.com/readtheglory

And pick it up on Amazon at tinyurl.com/gettheglory

Thanks,

JMI

 

 

 

Glorycover01Title:  The Glory

Author: Mister JMI

Blurb: The first in a new series, The Glory is a fun, funny and exciting character-driven sci-fi adventure that follows Adam Whitlock, a young, brilliant, fiercely determined boy who gives up everything to join the United States Space Force in hopes of becoming captain of the fabled and prestigious warship, The Glory.

On his rise to the top, Whitlock gains a great friend and ally in Nathaniel Oaks, as well as a bitter rival in Omar Baptist. Despite his extraordinary talent and dedication, Adam Whitlock’s path is riddled with opposition from naysayers and nonbelievers.

Meanwhile, Admiral Douglas C. Calhoun is tasked with quelling the rising tensions between mankind and the Kelzmisians, a group of alien races, as their long-standing Cold War is about to turn hot.

Stargaze. Trail Blaze. THE GLORY

6f2ed-addtogoodreads

About the Author

JMI PortraitFounder of Fictitious Fox Publishing, author of The Glory and owner of a sweet head of hair, Mister JMI is a longtime lover of the art of storytelling. When he isn’t lost in a storm of ink and paper you can find him buried up to his afro in comic books, wrapped up in an anime or clutching a video game controller.

At the age of 12, Mister JMI knew he wanted to become a writer. Unfortunately, his dream was delayed for over a decade due to suffering from a severe case of chronic procrastination.

Now fully recovered, Mister JMI is ready to unleash a deluge of exciting, funny and fantastic stories for your entertainment. So sit back, relax and enjoy.

facebook.com/misterjmi

 



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Posted August 25, 2014 by Julie S. in Author Appearances / 6 Comments

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6 responses to “Guest Post: Mister JMI on Characters

  1. Yeesss! I totally agree with JMI. Even though the story has been retold a lot of times, the characters can make a very big difference. Sometimes, even if the book’s story is going nowhere, there’s still a chance to redeem it as long as there’s an awesome character development thrown in the mix. But oh well, I must tell you that I am a mood reader. Like even if the characters are very awesome, I still wouldn’t hesitate to give a low rating if the plot is crappy.

    Nice guest post!
    Charlotte @ Thoughts and Pens recently posted…Book Review: Shatter Me

    • Julie

      I’m with you Charlotte, both plot and characters are important. I’m very moody with my reading too.

  2. This is an awesome guest post! I so agree – characters are what makes a story for me. If I don’t like the characters, don’t connect with them, then it doesn’t really matter what the plot is. I don’t care. So I’m glad Mr. JMI takes the time to create people who I might bump into and am interested in knowing. His take on creating his characters definitely make me more interested to read his book. 🙂
    Bookworm Brandee recently posted…**Release Day Blitz ~ Beast Part Two ~ Ella James**

    • Julie

      Very true Brandee – even a good plot can’t make up for bad characters. You definitely need both in a good story.

    • Julie

      Agreed, a bad character can really break a book, which is why believable and relatable characters matter.
      Thanks for stopping by Carmel 🙂