Rod Belcher (c) David Hungate of Dominion ImagesToday we welcome Rod (R.S.) Belcher, author of The Six-Gun Tarot which I recently enjoyed and recommend to you. (Here’s my review.) Rod wants to talk about why you love your favorite fictional characters. One commenter will win a copy of  The Six-Gun Tarot

One of the elements of my book that has been getting a lot of good feedback from readers and critics has been the strong and well-developed characters with whom I populated the tiny town of Golgotha, Nevada in 1869. I thought it might be fun to discuss what makes a character great. What makes a character believable or sympathetic, or even hated?

fantasy and science fiction book reviewsAs I started each new chapter during the writing of Six-Gun, I would do a synopsis and try to flesh out the backstories of the characters that chapter introduced as much as I could before I ever wrote the chapter. If you look back on your favorite books they all have strong, well defined and “realistic” characters — people you felt you got to know and became invested in their story. How did the author get you there?

There are only so many stories, so many plots out there. It’s the job of the writer to create a new variation on an old theme, and most often, in my opinion, that happens through the characters. Who are your favorite characters from books? What makes a character live and breathe for you as a reader?

Thanks for letting me drop by and say hello. I enjoy talking to folks and I can be reached through my author website, by email at [email protected] and through my Facebook pages: Author R.S. Belcher and The Six-Gun Tarot.

Author

  • Bill Capossere

    BILL CAPOSSERE, who's been with us since June 2007, lives in Rochester NY, where he is an English adjunct by day and a writer by night. His essays and stories have appeared in Colorado Review, Rosebud, Alaska Quarterly, and other literary journals, along with a few anthologies, and been recognized in the "Notable Essays" section of Best American Essays. His children's work has appeared in several magazines, while his plays have been given stage readings at GEVA Theatre and Bristol Valley Playhouse. When he's not writing, reading, reviewing, or teaching, he can usually be found with his wife and son on the frisbee golf course or the ultimate frisbee field.

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