Your MC

Or perhaps a better title would be: Boys, boys, boys.

Last weekend, I read (in a little less than a day) an advanced readers copy of Holly Black's newest novel, White Cat. It was great. I especially loved the voice of the main character, a guy named Cassel. He is the type of character I would love to pull off, the one that just seems so sure of himself and yet unsure at the same time. He's clever, can't keep his mouth shut, and more dangerous than he knows.

Cassel got me thinking about my own characters. I know I have a certain fondness for male main characters. Nineteen times out of twenty, I'll write a male as the lead. I have my reaons, but what makes me curious is your characters. Do you tend to write more male or female leads? Are they all around the same age? Do they differ? Are they different races? I'm curious to find out.

Also, what makes you choose your main character? Does it just happen like magic, or do you carefully craft what you want this person (or creature) to be like?

Life experiences

Side Note: I was going to wait for my "Monday" post. But after reading a friend's blog, I pondered my choice. Do I really want to put off what I can do and want to do right now? So, my friends, my goal is still to post quite often, but I'm not going to limit myself to certain days of the week, because as we all know, the muse knows no bounds.

This past Friday I had a choice. I could stay at home and enjoy the sound of the rain. I could lie to myself and say that I just wanted to write. But I knew the truth. I wasn't going to write, at least not very long. I would spend the majority of the evening watching television, lounging on the couch. That's what I would do, and I knew it too. The other choice was to join my boyfriend and his friends in Annapolis for the evening.

So, When I got home, I still hadn't made a decision. I lounged around a bit. Tried to clean some things up, but quickly got bored with it. Then it hit me. I could make a change. I could stop being sad and tired and I could do something about these things. I went for a jog. I beat the rain home (good thing because I had my iPhone with me). And right before I took my cold shower, my phone rang. Was I going to Annapolis? Crap! I had to decide. Warm, dry, relaxing night inside. Or maybe exciting, maybe boring, wet, possibly drink-filled night in Annapolis?

Annapolis won me over for two reasons. The first being that a bar sounded like a nice place to be. I had only been to two bars before in my life. TWO. And I'm a handful of years over the drinking age. And the second reason? What if I saw something that inspired me? An idea or a person that just sparked something new into my writing? It could happen. And it does every time I try something new. Because while we all know that being a hermit writer (much like a hermit crab) has it's wonders and mystery, the easiest and most fun way to bring life and realism to your work is to go out and experience it for yourself. And experience I did (in a classy way, of course)!