This is a blog hop so do visit others at: Angela McCallister's having a BLOGFEAST today September 23, 2010! Her theme, is something we've all loved and hated at some point in our lives. Something we indulge in on a daily basis. Something we cannot live without.
Not only is it a blogfest of food, but it's also a feast of blogs. Please join us in sharing a post regarding anything *food.* It can be a scene where food is central or just happens to be in the scene. It could be a poem about food. Heck, it could even be about a character named after food.
Not only is it a blogfest of food, but it's also a feast of blogs. Please join us in sharing a post regarding anything *food.* It can be a scene where food is central or just happens to be in the scene. It could be a poem about food. Heck, it could even be about a character named after food.
Here's my offering:
You can click on above image and then click to enlarge it for reading. ;O)
I hope people find this format acceptable, please let me know what you think.
COMPELLING CHARACTERS: When I submitted part of this piece to a critiquing website I received feedback that said of my character Suzanne: 'I really wouldn't want to meet her and after the first few sentences really couldn't care what happened to her'. Oh dear!
My feeling is that we should be able to identify with the characters as plausible people whether or not you actually like them, unless you like the fact that they are really bad etc. (which I do with one of mine). They should have some faults and not be uber-perfect. Describing them so that we can imagine knowing them is important because if they appear two dimensional it will be like a person who never talks about themselves or shares with others, so that you never feel comfortable with them.
I wonder what others think?
How rude some people can be! I've always wanted to find my own coffee shop, where I can indulge myself like Suzanne. Your wonderful description has inspired me to do just that.
ReplyDeleteA wonderfully capture moment in time.
Even Zombies Have Taste
Lovely vignette...thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI've been guilty of eavesdropping at coffee shops. I think it's a writer's quirk;-)
ReplyDeleteJ Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter novel at a coffee shop like the one you describe. I need more solitude ... like Suzanne, I like to relax and let my thoughts flow down the meandering currents of my imagination. You have a lovely blog, Roland
ReplyDeleteThank you Roland. Yes me too,though I did write some stuff outside on the terrace of a cafe once.
ReplyDeleteYes some writers are good at reporting what others say Cinette.
Thank you Damyanti
Ellie, do you mean Suzanne is rude for eavesdropping?
Interesting, and funny. I like the setting.
ReplyDelete.......dhole
Hi,
ReplyDeleteVery visual scene, and the ending LOL moment despite Suzanne's discomfort.
I'm terrible for eavesdropping in coffee shops, bars, pubs etc., and have effected the art of carrying on a conversation whilst logging secondary third-party interaction if juicy or amusing. ;)
best
F
Glad you had a laugh too, Donna :O)
ReplyDeleteOoh yes Francine, I always used to do my computer work and eavesdrop on conversations within the office staff, it was very useful.
This is the first blogfeast scene in a cafe I've read. Putting it on a clipboard was a clever touch.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, coffee, pastries, chocolate! Could use some right now. I can't stand it when people don't have the courtesy to use their indoor voices, especially in a place like that. A lot of people go there to read or write--hard to do in the midst of loudmouths, right?
ReplyDeleteI loved the way you presented this with the clipboard. Fav line: The thrill of losing herself among the crowded words... Ah, isn't this what happens???
Thank you for posting, and I'll get the word out for your blogfest when I post my writing compelling characters thingy for the Blogging Experiment tomorrow. Should be a lot of blog traffic then.
Glad the clipboard works, was worried it was putting people off reading it. :O)
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela and Theresa.
Very nice entry. I'm an idiot and I'm a day late for this fest/feast. I'm ashamed, but I have posted anyway in case some one comes by.
ReplyDeleteI'm really stumbling over this notion of wanting to meet the MC. If a reader essentially tells me they only want to read about characters they'd like to meet, I'm going to ignore that reader.
ReplyDeleteHonestly. It's not the same thing. There can be a whole lot of reasons that I might not want to meet someone, and few of them have bearing on whether I want to read about them.
That's a red herring that some got from a writing class, and that's about it.
Thank you Wendy and C.N.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree that some characters can be compelling without being necessarily likeable. :O)
Great points about wanting to meet the MC, and not being two-dimensional! ;)
ReplyDeleteYikes! That's one tough critique partner...Remember opinions are like belly buttons...everyone has one!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could read your piece sounded lovely...I couldn't get it to enlarge very much...(old tired eyes...I think you are entry number 182).
Happy writing!
Bless you Sharon and Rachel. :O)
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling about old tired eyes. LOL!
You did some lovely things with word painting here. I especially loved the meerkat reference. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteOh...and sorry I'm late...but...better late than never is what they say, right?
Thank you Lovy :O)))))
ReplyDeleteIt's really lovely to hear late or not.
Madeleine x
Wanting to meet the MC - love it. Great post. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you too Nicole.It is lovely to know. :O)
ReplyDelete