Getting Under Your Skin by Rita Stella Galieh

Another bill to pay.

I recently finished reading a great historical romance
where everything was going wrong for the heroine.
One thing after another seemed to weigh her down.

Now was this enough to turn me off? Somehow the author had managed to draw me in so that I was experiencing all the angst of this poor young woman. As in all good plot lines, conflict followed upon conflict

She had weak parents who ignored her, instead favouring the son and heir, a ne'er-do-well and an inveterate gambler. They willingly paid one debts after another by purloining monies their daughter had saved to pay household bills. They left her to worry over everything. With a poor excuse for a father who spent his whole life, to the detriment of his family, collecting bird's eggs and a helpless mother who spent all her time making yards of unsaleable.lace, their daughter surprisingly developed as a responsible and very sympathetic character. Not an annoying goody-goody but a genuinely nice person.

The author wrote in such a way I found myself feeling as frustrated as if I was in the heroine's skin.  Then when things began to go her way in the form of a bequest, my spirits rose. I had to remind myself I was reading a novel, for goodness sake! That is what good writing is all about, my friends, totally identifying with the character.

Writing as a Christian

This is also a challenge as we want our characters to have that inner struggle that Paul spoke about. eg. The things she wants to do she doesn't and the things she does, she knows she shouldn't. Oh yes, Christians have certain moral boundaries and struggle against temptations. So how will your character react when faced with these? 

In the story I am presently writing, I am constantly asking myself how would I feel if this or that happened to me? Besides figuring out your character's goals, questioning your own emotions or attitudes helps give that character flesh and bones. It's also challenging if one of your main characters is a real nasty piece of work, but dredging up memories of certain real life people from your own experiences helps. Especially if you've been treated poorly. No, that is not a type of 'author's revenge', it's simply writing true-to-life to reveal the depths of a mean character,not forgetting to include what happened in that character's past to make them that way.(Yes, even a villain needs to evoke some sympathy.)

Without naming the title, have you recently read a story where you felt the main character did not have realistic feelings? And did it leave you disappointed?

Indie Publisher, Rita Galieh, has written a trilogy of historical novels & also contributed to several US anthologies. She is now completing a third historical romance series. Besides her blog, she can be found on Facebook and www.ritastellapress.com   Rita studied art at the National Art School then joined the family ceramics studio. After their marriage, she and her husband attended Emmaus Bible College, and were also involved with Christian Television on Sydney’s Channel Nine. Currently she co-presents Vantage Point, an Australia-wide Christian FM radio program. She enjoys giving her fun-filled presentations of ‘Etiquette of the Victorian Era’ in costume.
                                              

JUST DO IT

As Christians we learn to be giving people.With some it comes naturally but others of us, over a period of time, learn how blessed it is to give of ourselves.

That's what we need to do as writers.

GIVE of OURSELVES.

That requires honesty. Especially if we are writing not only to entertain, but also to encourage, to inspire and to guide our readers into identifying with our characters.

Why is that so necessary? Hah, I'm sure we've all felt at times, while reading some novel, we just don't want to keep reading. Because the characters are not real...but plastic. The plot may be clever, but if we couldn't care less about the main character, it's hard going. Ah, but if the author has brought out some very real character traits, it makes us curious to find out how they are going to overcome and eventually reach their goal.  If we can identify with them we truly care because we see their struggles, emotionally, physically and spiritually. We wonder how it could possibly have a happy ending if one thing after another makes their journey so rugged.

Now this is where we need to draw on our own life's experience. We need to write in frustration, anger, disappointment, impetuosity and vulnerability. ADD  generosity,  strength, kindness, likeability and always hope. We are a mix aren't we? We all have our ups and downers. So must they. To be real, that is. AND never forget the ever present Temptation. Our characters aren't going to be perfect, well, not if they're human. So you see where we have to dig deep into our own failings and triumphs, even if it evokes a lot of soul searching. I have reawakened things in my own life while writing in my character. Hmm, I have recognised ME and my sometimes wrong reactions.

As Christian writers its our privilege to be able to ask the Lord to guide us in everything we do. Most of all to show that we are real people with real problems with a faith in a real Lord who is able to keep us from falling. Why not use our writing skills to weave this faith into our characters lives?

Write out your best attributes. Wow, aren't you a nice person? Now honestly tally up your not-so-nice failings. Uh-oh,  could one of your characters be like that? Better still, best and worst make for a fascinating character for you to create.   And as they say ... just do it!

Rita's last two novels follow the lives of twins separated at birth who have lived different lives. Like many young women today, they each have to overcome hurdles to find their true love


The Tie that Binds:
A young woman with an unknown past, an unclear present and an uncertain future.
Yet everything can change in a heartbeat.

A Parcel of Promises:
He is an aristocrat. She is in service. Will they dare cross that invisible line? Conventions are strong and as their love grows they struggle to find equal footing.


See   www.ritastellapress.com  to read excerpts from her latest published novels. Ebooks will be available in February.