Enter a world of enchantment and passion. I am a Historical fantasy/Paranormal romance author, editor, musician, and artist living in Arizona. My latest series is based on my time as a rock and roll bassist. All five books in my Shadow-walkers series are available now on Amazon: Awakening, Awakening the Wolf, Awakening the Vampire, Awakening the Fae, and Awakening the Dragon. This blog is all about writing and other aspects of my life.
About Me
- Kelley Heckart
- Writing means different things to me. I'm a storyteller, a book editor, and a songwriter. For me, it's like breathing.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Writing difficult scenes
This is different for each writer. For me it’s difficult to write scenes that involve an animal death. I hate to see animals die. I won’t even watch a movie if I know an animal will die. But sometimes these types of scenes are important to the plot. That still doesn’t make them any easier to write. I would never kill an animal or even a person for no reason. The plot has to be moved forward in some way by the death.
I’ve had to write a couple of these scenes. In one book, a dog’s death brought the hero and heroine closer. In another soon-to-be released book, the animal death was symbolic and also true to the time period in regards to sacrifices made to the gods. This scene was really difficult to write and I almost deleted it, but then decided I had to stay true to the time period and to the story. It was a necessary scene. My editor agreed. This type of scene may upset some readers, but that’s a chance I had to take.
Writing that difficult scene isn’t always easy to do, but a writer needs to put aside his or her own feelings and stay true to the story. After all, it’s our job as writers to move the story forward, not to write what we want or to coddle the reader. Sometimes those difficult to write, heartbreaking scenes are the ones that resonate most with readers.
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for July!
http://bumpshack.com/2010/08/10/2010-survivor-nicaragua-young-vs-old-cast-photos-bios/jud-birza-survivor-nicaragua-cast-photos/
http://photofantasticmodel.blogspot.com/2011/05/judson-birza-photo-pic.html
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Friday, June 15, 2012
Living with a Muse
I’ve heard other writers talk about their Muses as if they actually exist. I never gave it much thought before, but now I’m beginning to believe in my Muse.
The ancient Greeks believed in Muses and even had names for them. The ancient Celts had Brigit, a goddess of inspiration. The Norse god Odin was considered a god of poetry and wisdom. This belief in Muses is evident in every culture so there must be some truth in it, some basis for these beliefs to grow.
The way my writing comes and goes makes me think there might be a force behind my creativity. Some days I can’t think of one word to write, while on other days, I can’t stop the flow of ideas. I think I have a Muse, one that is capricious. Somehow I need to learn to understand him—yes, I am sure that my Muse is male. I gave it some thought and this is what came to me—my Muse is a male faery named Thorndrake. He is happy when I play music and his favorite music is Icelandic or Symphonic metal like Apocalyptica, Nightwish, Sirenia and Evanescence. He prefers female singers but also likes David Cook, one of the American Idol winners.
I am living with a Muse. Now I can talk about him as if he really exists. Hopefully, I won’t say anything that offends him or he will give me writer’s block. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and turn on some Nightwish.
Do any writers out there have a Muse? If so, what is he or she like?
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
Friday, June 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for June!
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2167848192/nm1658935
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Memories of Xena
I usually don’t post about anything other than writing related stuff and my collection of hunky longhaired men, but this seemed appropriate since she was an inspiration to me in many ways. We shared the same medical condition, colitis, but while I complained and felt sorry for myself, she never showed any signs of illness, always happy, enjoying the sun on her face and eager for belly rubs. She also inspired my writing. A white wolf in one of my books is based on her.
Xena had a special bond with my husband. She shared my husband’s love of peanut butter and music. She was an accomplished singer. When Mike would strum his guitar, she would sit in front of him and sing along to the melody. She also had an awesome wolf howl.
She loved her stuffed animals and would gather them around her.
At Christmas, she would proudly show off her latest stuffed animal.
At an outside New Year’s Eve party at my parents’ house, she sampled any plates or drinks that the guests unknowingly placed on the ground by their chairs. She was so stealthy, no one noticed her but me.
When she played with her brother, she would make him do all the work. While he ran around and got tired, she would remain in one spot and lunge at him as he ran by.
I will always remember her playing with White Boy the Chihuahua, chasing him around the coffee table at a high speed at my parents’ house.
She loved belly rubs the most, well maybe after peanut butter.
When she hurt her leg and was walking on three legs for a while, she chased a rabbit on only three legs. Her nickname until her leg healed was Hippity Hop.
Sock wars. Xena and her brother would play in Mike’s pile of freshly washed white socks on the bed.
My husband would leave the bathroom door cracked open a little in the morning and she would burst in on him, eager for the treats he would give her later.
While sitting in his recliner eating something with peanut butter, Mike would see an eye staring at him from the corner of the footrest. It was Xena, hoping for a lick of peanut butter.
Xena was strong to the very end and we will never forget her. RIP, beautiful girl.
1998-2012
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for May!
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkPl9pQxQQx0AQbqJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dthe%2Bsecret%2Bcircle%252C%2BMichael%2BGraziadei%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D13&w=258&h=387&imgurl=images.wikia.com%2Fsecretcircle%2Fimages%2F2%2F2b%2FCallum2.png&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsecretcircle.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FCallum&size=176.1+KB&name=Callum+-+The+Secret+Circle+Wiki&p=the+secret+circle%2C+Michael+Graziadei&oid=9a0f284fc02f577ef065db0b9bd90afb&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Callum%2B-%2BThe%2BSecret%2BCircle%2BWiki&b=0&ni=48&no=13&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=119l6877a&sigb=143nhlng1&sigi=11l8u3qce&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
http://secretcircle.wikia.com/wiki/Callum
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Writer’s Curse
The really weird part for me is that I can easily spot these things and other editing fixes in other writer’s work, but I’m blind to them in my own writing. This is what I call the writer’s curse. It’s possible that over time we writers can train our eyes to better spot errors, but I think that it is always best to have someone else take a look at our writing. This is why it’s important to have a critique partner and if you self-publish, an editor.
One thing is for sure. As long as writers are plagued by this curse—editors will never be without work.
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for April!
http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/cast/Gannicus/DustinClare/Pages/DustinClare.aspx
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkPespgxQJD0AAk2JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dspartacus%2Bblood%2Band%2Bsand%252C%2Bdustin%2Bclare%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D5&w=640&h=427&imgurl=www.hotpage.ro%2Fimagini%2F2011%2Fianuarie%2Fspartacus%2Fspartacus-gods-of-the-arena-2011-08.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftv-bloggen.bloggo.nu%2FDustin-Clare-till-Spartacus-sasong-2%2F&size=45.5+KB&name=Dustin+Clare+till+Spartacus%3A+Blood+and+Sand+s%C3%A4song+2+-+Tv+-+bloggen&p=spartacus+blood+and+sand%2C+dustin+clare&oid=44e80ac050cc7e12bf96039368d28d72&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Dustin%2BClare%2Btill%2BSpartacus%253A%2BBlood%2Band%2BSand%2Bs%25C3%25A4song%2B2%2B-%2BTv%2B-%2Bbloggen&b=0&ni=48&no=5&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=121ui5npr&sigb=144jde677&sigi=12men2u9h&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for March!
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkIZNpwxQAHgAxgyJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dspartacus%2Bblood%2Band%2Bsand%252C%2Bmanu%2Bbennett%2Bwith%2Blong%2Bhair%26n%3D30%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D25&w=413&h=600&imgurl=karapuca.com.br%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimage-import%2F_LqjTcwHZ1O0%2FTNPZIbKZuiI%2Fcrixus-spartacus-gods-of-the-arena-i2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fkarapuca.com.br%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimage-import%2F_LqjTcwHZ1O0%2FTNPZIbKZuiI%2Fcrixus-spartacus-gods-of-the-arena&size=92.3+KB&name=Crixus+Spartacus+Gods+Of+The+Arena&p=spartacus+blood+and+sand%2C+manu+bennett+with+long+hair&oid=0b45a2fcce67f3c3ab3c712cc3e45159&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Crixus%2BSpartacus%2BGods%2BOf%2BThe%2BArena&b=0&ni=48&no=25&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=13ibeafrs&sigb=14qnt93vd&sigi=13ippcceo&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Book lengths—short or long?
With the rise of ebooks, I’ve noticed that readers prefer shorter novels or short stories to the long novels I grew up reading. I don’t think this is only because of ebooks, but also because of the competition for time with other forms of media like numerous television programs, video games and social media sites. I’m an avid reader and find it difficult to make time to read.
This has me thinking about my future book projects. I’m working on a new book and I’m trying to decide if I should keep it at about 60,000 words or keep going to 100,000 words. If I keep the story as a short novel, then it probably won’t be released in print due to the shorter length. I have to decide if I’m satisfied with having the story only in ebook formats. I also need to decide if the story is complete at 60,000 words without sacrificing the story quality just so I can keep it short. Staying true to my story is always my main goal.
With that being said, I would still like to know if readers like longer novels or is this the era of the short novel?
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for February!
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkK7XpwxQEngAzc6JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dhell%2Bon%2Bwheels%252C%2Banson%2Bmount%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=352&h=487&imgurl=collider.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FHell-on-Wheels-02-Anson-Mount.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Fanson-mount-hell-on-wheels-interview%2F125337%2F&size=46.1+KB&name=Anson+Mount+HELL+ON+WHEELS+Interview&p=hell+on+wheels%2C+anson+mount&oid=c8f0c7db2a75e9a5043ab3f8126adfb5&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Anson%2BMount%2BHELL%2BON%2BWHEELS%2BInterview&b=0&ni=21&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=120lkmimg&sigb=13p735m15&sigi=1219a1s3u&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
http://blogs.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/2011/11/anson-mount-interview.php
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Winners of the Friday the 13th Blog Hop
Here are the winners:
The winner of the Kindle e-reader is Michelle Bledsoe.
The winner of the PDF copy of my historical fantasy romance, Cat's Curse, is Savannah.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday the 13th Blog Hop! Writing romance—Creating sexual tension
I am giving away a PDF copy of Cat’s Curse, a historical fantasy romance. It’s the first book in my Dark Goddess trilogy.
Available in Print and Ebook
http://kelleyheckart.com/cats_curse.html
Cat's Curse, Book One: Dark Goddess Trilogy, Celtic historical romance/fantasy
Enter Dark Age Scotland—a mysterious, dangerous & exciting place…
Blurb: Cardea is cursed to live an eternity as a blood drinker. Aedan mac Gabrain, prince of Dal Riata, trusts no one after suffering a curse that keeps him from touching any females. Can two tortured souls find love while battling a dark goddess determined to destroy them?
Good luck!
Here is your next blog hop stop
Click on the link below or on the graphic:
www.harveyle.blogspot.com (Lauren Harvey)
Please note: In case the link to the entry form doesn't work on the next blog, here it is:
Prize Entry Form: www.authorsrclaridge.com/bloghopprizeentry.htm
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Long Hair Hottie for January!
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
Monday, December 26, 2011
New Year's Blog Hop
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Out of touch with modern times
Historians and scholars can speculate what happened and piece together some of the information through archaeology, but the truth is we don’t know what happened. That is a great opportunity for a writer to use his/her imagination.
For me it’s easier to research an earlier time period than it is to try and write a novel set in modern times with all the changing technology. All the technology confuses me for some reason. I can’t relate to texting all the time. I have the cheapest, text unfriendly cell phone and rarely send a text. In a romance novel the hero and heroine need to connect. To me that means that they need to actually talk to each other and spend time together. Modern technology pulls people apart, at least in my mind. What better way to connect to a lover than to sit by a fire and gaze into each other’s eyes?
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html
http://kelleyheckart.com/TheEnchantedMeadow.html
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Long Hair Hottie for December!
http://www.tntdrama.com/series/leverage/display/?contentId=43179
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkCAcqQxQajUADMyJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dchristian%2Bkane%2Bleverage%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D27&w=400&h=550&imgurl=www.whedonsworld.co.uk%2Fpix%2Finterviews%2F2010%2Fdecember%2Fchristian01.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whedonsworld.co.uk%2Finterviews%2Fangel%2Fguest%2Fseason1%2F2010%2Fchristian%2Fusaweekend.html&size=10.2+KB&name=Christian+Kane+rocks+on+%26%2339%3BLeverage%26%2339%3B+and+on+new+country+album.&p=christian+kane+leverage&oid=062bcfce394fe4d9ef6fb4396c20d16d&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Christian%2BKane%2Brocks%2Bon%2B%2526%252339%253BLeverage%2526%252339%253B%2Band%2Bon%2Bnew%2Bcountry%2Balbum.&b=0&ni=42&no=27&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12rbbs66p&sigb=13k9tccc3&sigi=1231mmggc&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Romance—Writing those dreaded sex scenes
So, what is the best way to write a sex scene? I try to bring the characters’ personalities into the bedroom scenes and sometimes humor. Real life sex isn’t always perfect so I want to add that bit of realism, but not too much realism that it will turn a romance reader off. The key to a good romance is to have some fantasy for the reader to enjoy because that’s why people read romances—to escape reality.
By revealing a character’s personality in a sex scene, a writer can show how a character would act or react. For example, a Pict king in my Dark Goddess trilogy is shown enjoying being bitten by my blood drinker heroine, which reveals his wild side. For some humor, I have an ongoing joke with my hero and heroine in my Dark Goddess trilogy—their enthusiasm in the bedchamber breaks many beds.
My biggest challenge is naming all those pesky body parts without sounding too graphic (who knew that cock was a vulgar term for a penis?) or too flowery (her ‘rose petals of love’ won’t do). I also have to keep my terms relevant to the time period I am writing so I can’t use modern slang.
I don’t want all of my sex scenes to sound the same either. Too much caressing, stroking, entwining, writhing and thrusting can get tedious. A change in scenery can help break up the monotony. Or some honey instead of whipped cream. That just gave me an idea. Maybe this isn’t as hard as I thought. All I needed to do was to experiment a bit.
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Long Hair Hottie for November!
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJke2rqQxQqycABICJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dconan%2Bthe%2Bbarbarian%252C%2Bjason%2Bmomoa%26fr%3Dfp-yie9%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=864&h=576&imgurl=0.tqn.com%2Fd%2Fmovies%2F1%2F0%2Fh%2FC%2FX%2Fconan-barbarian-jason-momoa-photo.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmovies.about.com%2Fod%2Fconanthebarbarian%2Fig%2FConan-the-Barbarian-Photos%2FJason-Momoa-Photo.htm&size=162.4+KB&name=Jason+Momoa+photo+from+Conan+the+Barbarian&p=conan+the+barbarian%2C+jason+momoa&oid=18171643a45844dad8e3a6b31e2be7c5&fr2=&fr=fp-yie9&tt=Jason%2BMomoa%2Bphoto%2Bfrom%2BConan%2Bthe%2BBarbarian&b=0&ni=48&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=1300ot84j&sigb=13uqc5kmd&sigi=122ot1sjm&.crumb=3.Kx7Au1.rn
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Writing fiction—don’t forget the Goal, Motivation and Conflict
First, the goal is the one thing the main characters want. The goal needs to be something that they want so badly they will do anything to get to that goal. The goal should be important enough for characters to act against.
The motivation is why the characters want what they want—the drive and back-story. Anything is possible for a character as long as the writer explains why to give the reader enough motivation to give the story credibility. The writer needs to know their characters well so that the actions stay in character and are justified and clear to readers. When a character wants something bad enough, the reader will too.
The last piece is conflict—why the characters can’t get what they want, the trouble, tension and roadblocks that are preventing the characters from achieving their goals. Conflict drives the plot and motivates the characters. There are two types of conflict—external and internal. External conflict can be a person, an intolerable situation or an act of God. Internal conflict is inner struggles within the characters.
I find it helpful to have character charts for my main characters. Here is an example of a character chart that I use to help me get to know my characters so I can define their goals, motivation and conflict:
Character Name:
Sun Sign:
Race:
Age:
Height:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Skin Color:
Weapons:
Religion or Beliefs:
Dilemma:
Goal:
Motivation:
Conflict:
His secret:
What would destroy him:
What would help him survive and be better:
Bad Trait:
Good Trait:
Happy Writing!
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Long Hair Hottie for October!
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'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Hanging on to Faith
I’ve scoffed at faith many times. I’m not a religious person. I’m more spiritual so I don’t belong to a church of any kind. I always thought it silly when I heard someone say they had faith that God would provide. Isn’t it our obligation to make things happen for ourselves? But I’ve also had respect for faith claimers when something remarkable happens to me like the pieces of a puzzle coming together at just the right moment when it’s needed. I guess you could even say that things happen for a reason. Maybe that’s the atheist version of faith.
I’ve always associated faith with large religious groups, but I’ve come to realize that anyone can have faith, even those who don’t believe in God. Faith comes in many shapes and sizes. There is faith in oneself, faith in family and friends, faith in the world and faith in a job, hopes or dreams. Faith keeps us going, grasping on to something to help keep us from falling.
I have come close to losing faith in the world, in our government and people in high places that just let everything fall apart. I’ve decided that I just need to keep having faith in myself and my place in the world, and allow things to happen as they happen.
And I’ve learned one important lesson: You can’t control everything and it’s best to let the things you can’t control slip by. Having faith can make this easier.
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Long Hair Hottie for September!
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'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
Monday, August 15, 2011
Looking forward, not backward
Now that I have seven novels finished—six published and one contracted, I have been thinking about the next phase in my writing career. One thing I have pondered is whether I should go back and re-write/re-release my first couple of novels. I keep having this thought that I could make them better since I am a more experienced writer now. But my rule of ‘keep moving forward’ is standing in my way. And maybe I should follow my rule.
If I decided to re-write and re-release some of these earlier novels, then precious time and energy that could be used to start and finish a new series and/or new stories would be wasted. A little voice inside my head is telling me to move forward, to put out new stories. I think I should listen to that voice.
Kelley Heckart
'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html
Monday, August 01, 2011
Long Hair Hottie for August!
http://www.kelleyheckart.com/