Love Never Fails

Dear you,

2011 has gotten me to think a lot about love. Yes, I know that it's only halfway through the year but stay with me here. This is important.

Love is something that's important to us all. Love leads to peace, to happiness, to all sorts of things that could potentially help. Love makes the world go round. But love is a folly thing. There are times when people get hurt, when they feel like they are at wits end, when they can no longer stand it any more. But love is what will always make us human. I personally think love is what causes all the other emotions, love makes us smart. It's what makes us real.

Your probably wondering why I'm blogging about something every person already relates to. You have someone you love, whether it be a relative, a partner, a child, friend or just an object. Love makes us all do silly things. And the same happens with your characters.

Characters are like people, they have emotions and one of the biggest ones is love. Love can drive a whole plot, love is what makes characters interesting. But not just love in general. No, I mean how they react to love.

For example, in my novel Doppled in Gray the main character Daze doesn't have any parents. Barely anyone did in the virtual world that she lived in all her life. But they do have people that they call their siblings. They are grouped together at a young age and forced to take care of each other. In the virtual world there isn't hunger or any physical pain necessarily but there is still a lot of emotional turmoil there. Everyone needs someone that they can depend on. With Daze it was Pher. He was the one who took care of her, comforted her when she was scared, made her smile when all she wanted to do was fight. And she did the same for him.

In my opinion novels are all about the characters. How the characters can make something come into being. Make sure that a character has someone or something they love. Whether it be a spaceship, a dog, a person, it doesn't matter. The plot widens because of it. How is the main character going to be able to protect [insert loved thing here] when there is a crazed monster attacking? How is the main character supposed to fall in love when all she/he/it ever knew was how to love a stuffed animal?

Love can make or beak a person. Keep it close. And remember. Whatever happens, love will always be an option.

Love,

Sarah Westen <3