Characters Act and React by Janet Lane Walters

This may be something I remember from physics or it may not be since that is the only college course I failed to ace. I did not fail but nearly. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. For characters part of this may not be true though I'm not sure.

Just what is an action in fictional works. The action can be physical or verbal, usually. If someone slugs the hero or heroine with fists or with words, the hero or heroine is going to react. This reaction can tell you much about the character.

Since much of the way I develop my characters is by using a bit of Astrology, their reactions are usually geared to their signs. An Aries would hit back and usually not with words. A Scorpio wouldn't get mad but they would get even. These are just examples of reactions.

The kind of action the character chooses will also delineate their character. Are they upfront, subtle or some variation of these two. An action can be deliberate or unintentional. We all know people who open their mouth only to shove their foot inside. There are some people who will never act openly.

An action or reaction can come from outside the character or be an internal one. Think of how people operate during an emergency. Some panic and some take charge. Or when a value is challenged. Some may act in the open and some may do so in secret.

When developing your characters, imagine how they would react in a given situation and when putting them into action, think of how this particular character would act or react.

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Janet Lane Walters' recent release from BWL is Shattered Dreams, Moonchild Series, Book 1
Torn apart years ago by lies and threats, Rafe Marshall returns to town and confronts Manon Lockley. She has been told he died on the night he stood her up for their senior prom. When she faints, Rafe catches her and realizes he hasn’t stopped loving her.

Manon carries anger and now grief that wasn’t real. Rafe wants her in his life, but she doesn’t want to talk about what happened in the past. She can’t be sure if her father or someone else told lies about Rafe and she doesn’t want to know. Can Rafe persuade her to listen? Not without a battle.  

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPZT6K2

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Janet Lane Walters has been writing and published since the days of the typewriter. She has 30 plus novels and seven novellas plus four non-fiction books published. Janet lives in the scenic Hudson River valley with her husband, a psychiatrist who has no desire to cure her obsession with writing.

She is the mother of four and the grandmother of five with two children expected to arrive soon from China. Janet writes in a number of genres - Romance from sweet to sensual and from contemporary to fantasy and paranormal. She has published cozy mysteries and medical suspense. She also has a number of YA fantasies published. Visit her Blog:
   

http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com/