Characters

As all writers of fiction know, whether they're amateurs or professionals, it's vital that each character be given an individual voice. I like to mold my characters in such a way and give them such vibrant personalities that they practically leap off the page to greet the reader. Some examples from my own work: 

Marie Cynthia Guinevere Rosanna - The Peasant Princess - Sheesh, what a long name. Well, being a princess seems to demand it. Marie has what is referred to in the writing world as "rebellious princess syndrome" - she doesn't behave or do anything the way a princess is supposed to. She duels (as in swords) with her elder brother, practices archery almost daily, is fond of falconry, can't sew a stitch to save her life, dances like she has two left feet, and fails to see the point in excessive finery, the ability to balance any and all object(s) on her head, and constantly thinking of suitors. She's a bit impulsive and defiant, but she is also kind and trustworthy...and a bit hot-headed. Don't make her angry - she won't think too much about giving anybody a black eye.

Coralie "Cora" Parker - Shape-shifter Series - Cora is...well, she's Cora. She walks into things and injures herself on a daily basis (once she walked right into a mailbox. The mailbox was fine; she had to go to the Emergency Room). She's also sarcastic, willing to punch any guy who makes googly eyes at her, tomboyish, not quite sure what's so great  about designer label clothing, and is evidently a human magnet for shape-shifters. She has no difficulty speaking her mind and is perfectly willing to smack someone with a baseball bat...as long as it is a deserving punishment.

Saamiya Siddiqui - True or False? - Saamiya is still recuperating from the loss of her father in a car accident when she was eight years old. She's twenty-two now, and tries to mask all the hurt she feels by being sarcastic, harsh, and, often, hateful. It's a gradual process, but she starts to drop the mask and become a little more warm-hearted, a little less sarcastic, and in general a more fun person. She doesn't do it alone though - the three members of Jal the band are notably responsible for her reformation (and it is a reformation rather than a transformation).

Ten Things I Hate About Me - Randa Abdel-Fatta

I've been reading this book since yesterday, and it makes me want to go to school, stop in the hallway, and bang my head repeatedly against a row of lockers. What's the issue? The book is about a girl, sophomore in high school, who is a Lebanese-Muslim who is hiding her cultural identity from her classmates in Sydney. Yes, as in Australia. So every other page the girl complains about her father's unrelenting rules - "He refuses to let me go to the formal! My life is over!" Big whoop. I'm not going to the junior prom - I didn't even bother asking my mom about it. Mixing of genders, probably some close dancing, people trying to sneak in drugs and alcohol. Not for me. Again, in the book, "Don't you trust me? Why don't you trust me? You don't appreciate me!" Right. My mom trusts me, no doubt about that. She doesn't trust the people around me. And, quite honestly, when hormones, evil thoughts, and booze (even the possibility of it) are brought into the equation, neither do I. And then there's bellydancing and Muslims drinking alcohol and dating. Yes, that's sooo Islamic. Please, please, note the sarcasm there.  But what bothers me the most in this book is the fact that this girl just sits there listening to her "friends" trash-talking her heritage and does absolutely nothing about that. She says her father shouldn't care about what other people think - why can't she take her own advice? I'm a Pakistani Muslim, and believe me when I say I'm proud of it. What have I got to be ashamed of? I go to school like everyone else, I abhor violence, and I have my own personal hobbies and interests. Oh no, but what about the Taliban? Yes, the Taliban has everything to do with me just because I'm of Pakistani origin. Not. 9/11? So many lives lost, and in the so-called name of religion. Let me say this: accusing all Muslims of being terrorists is like blaming the entire town for something a criminal  - a single person - who lives there did. Blame an entire group of people with a religious affiliation in common for what a couple of crazies who got their hands on weapons did. Make any sense? Not in the least. Believe me, we Muslims are just as abhorred by it as anyone else, probably even more since it says right in the Qur'an that there is nothing more precious than human life and killing one person is sin enough to equal killing the whole of mankind (and conversely saving one life is equal to saving the whole of mankind - so let's save more people). So how did that message get mixed up? Either some people didn't read that line - maybe not even the whole Qur'an - or somehow managed to completely misread it.

Sea of Benevolence

The plot, in the beginning of Sea of Benevolence, revolves around the protagonist, Coralie "Cora" Parker, trying to figure out how to get Kyle Grimalkin to admit that he might have feelings for her. Sounds like every other YA novel, right? Close, but not quite. Kyle's a shape-shifter, and if that didn't make things complicated enough, he's had major commitment issues ever since his family abandoned him when he was eight years old. So he doesn't exactly believe in love. That's a problem. 

One thing I can say, I have to work hard to keep Cora from becoming like those girls at school who are constantly drooling over Edward Cullen - I'm not a big fan of obsession of fictional characters. Or of any person, come to think of it. At least now I kind of understand the obsession (due to my fixation with Jal the band), but at least I know the guys in the band actually exist, unlike a certain golden-eyed vampire... Plus, if I'm obsessed with anything, it's the music, not the guys' eyes or their hair or whatever it is that makes girls obsessed with EC. 

Spring Break!

Finally, it's here! Although I feel like I need a whole month, not just a week. Still, that's what summer is for. 

Okay, let's see what's on the agenda...

Sea of Benevolence revisions, okay.

New short story, working on it.

Somehow contact Jal the band, hmm...

Oh, and college essays. Nice. 

Got a lot of work to do now, so I'll come back to this later. 

Ciao!