We've all read That Book, or seen That Movie. The One that inspires you to create something of your own, that puts the wildfire in your heart and has you up at 1am in the morning, typing like a madhatter because you're too inspired to even think of sleeping.
My inspiration for my characters stemmed from both the Sweet Valley series by Francine Pascal and The Forbidden Game trilogy by L.J.Smith. Their appearances carried across to my own, but given that there are thousands of heroines and heroes out there with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, you wouldn't be able to place the source of their creation unless you knew what genres I've been subjected to as a child.
But as all writers do, I've revised and rewritten my stories so many times that my characters have eventually moulded into something different, something new, something that you couldn't trace back to the original place where they'd been inspired. Inexplicably, blonde doesn't suit my character any longer, the name Julian seems too soft, he doesn't have to be six feet tall to be a looker anymore, suddenly he's no longer a rebellious prince from another dimension stuck in our world but he's now classed as a devil whose curiosity just got the better of him, and as his personality develops, the relations he forms around him changes drastically. My characters (and so my story) have grown from being my baby - practically copied from the stories that inspired them - to a teenager that rebelled against yet revelled in cliché, to an adult that is confident, straight forward, layered with experience and originality.
There are still the obvious footprints that point in a certain direction. It's young adult, it's forbidden love, it's family drama between sisters, it's coated with paranormal themes. But would you think my character stemmed from so-and-so? Mmmmaybe, but there are too many differences to make anyone fanrage.
There are a certain number of stories that have been told throughout time. The same stories have been told a thousand times over, in different words and different worlds and through different voices and through different eyes. The love triangle, the machines standing up against the human race, the forbidden romance between vampire and human; it's all been done before.
I always tell my readers that I have a twist or two waiting for them in a story that's been told a hundred times over. Coca Cola tastes like Coca Cola no matter what shape bottle it comes in, but when you add a bit of rum to it, you get a major kick out of it. I can't believe I just used alcohol as an analogy, but it's the closest thing I can think of to describe how a clichéd and abused story line can be refreshed and refined.
I started writing IHEAY (I hate everything about you) both to try my hand at first person narrative, and to take the misused storyline of OC=love triangle and do it differently than others. My OC isn't some kick-ass hot and wicked devil huntress, or some poor self-pitying damsel in distress who couldn't tie her shoelaces to save her life. She's not perfect, but she has her strengths and weaknesses just as any other person would have. She doesn't fall head over heels for Mr.D right away either, and he doesn't think she's the most awesomest girl in the world!!! either. They don't get along right off the bat, in fact she ends up having a stronger and deeper friendship with Mr.V before she eventually develops romantic notions toward Mr.D.
And they don't live happily ever after. Spoiler for everyone who reads it there, but no one who reads it is following my blog so I think I'm safe. The title of the story should already tell you that it's not going to have a happy ending anyway.
Because I'm an evil author.
Muhahahaha! >:D
But as all writers do, I've revised and rewritten my stories so many times that my characters have eventually moulded into something different, something new, something that you couldn't trace back to the original place where they'd been inspired. Inexplicably, blonde doesn't suit my character any longer, the name Julian seems too soft, he doesn't have to be six feet tall to be a looker anymore, suddenly he's no longer a rebellious prince from another dimension stuck in our world but he's now classed as a devil whose curiosity just got the better of him, and as his personality develops, the relations he forms around him changes drastically. My characters (and so my story) have grown from being my baby - practically copied from the stories that inspired them - to a teenager that rebelled against yet revelled in cliché, to an adult that is confident, straight forward, layered with experience and originality.
There are still the obvious footprints that point in a certain direction. It's young adult, it's forbidden love, it's family drama between sisters, it's coated with paranormal themes. But would you think my character stemmed from so-and-so? Mmmmaybe, but there are too many differences to make anyone fanrage.
There are a certain number of stories that have been told throughout time. The same stories have been told a thousand times over, in different words and different worlds and through different voices and through different eyes. The love triangle, the machines standing up against the human race, the forbidden romance between vampire and human; it's all been done before.
I always tell my readers that I have a twist or two waiting for them in a story that's been told a hundred times over. Coca Cola tastes like Coca Cola no matter what shape bottle it comes in, but when you add a bit of rum to it, you get a major kick out of it. I can't believe I just used alcohol as an analogy, but it's the closest thing I can think of to describe how a clichéd and abused story line can be refreshed and refined.
I started writing IHEAY (I hate everything about you) both to try my hand at first person narrative, and to take the misused storyline of OC=love triangle and do it differently than others. My OC isn't some kick-ass hot and wicked devil huntress, or some poor self-pitying damsel in distress who couldn't tie her shoelaces to save her life. She's not perfect, but she has her strengths and weaknesses just as any other person would have. She doesn't fall head over heels for Mr.D right away either, and he doesn't think she's the most awesomest girl in the world!!! either. They don't get along right off the bat, in fact she ends up having a stronger and deeper friendship with Mr.V before she eventually develops romantic notions toward Mr.D.
And they don't live happily ever after. Spoiler for everyone who reads it there, but no one who reads it is following my blog so I think I'm safe. The title of the story should already tell you that it's not going to have a happy ending anyway.
Because I'm an evil author.
Muhahahaha! >:D
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