First Person Voices Article

First Person Voices Article An article that I wrote for an eZine was released earlier this week. I thought I'd share it here. The source is cited below.  I'll be spending most of today trying to meet my daily word count on The Summoning and obsessing about my book-signing tomorrow afternoon. If you're in the San Diego area - stop buy. I'll have some of my Temptation Blood Bath (Bubble Bath) on hand! ***** When I first conceived of my book series I knew that I was going to be faced with a challenge selling the idea to my publisher. There are so many wonderful series out there that use vampire mythology. I realized that somehow I would need to make mine different, to set it apart in the readers mind. Although I planned to use traditional lore, I also planned to create some rules that are unique to the Forbidden universe. For example, traditionally vampires are portrayed as strong, powerful, creatures of seduction. I wanted my vampire hero to be a little more relatable, more accessible to the reader. Most urban fantasy is written from the point of view of the female protagonist. That first person POV allows for a very immediate, intimate, and intense reading experience. There's no better way to let the reader inside a character's head and heart. That's the reason that I decided to write the series from the point of view of the heroes. Was it difficult at first? Yes! Up until that time I'd primarily written from the third person perspective. Making the move to writing in first person meant that I, in effect, needed to become more of a conduit or a channel for the hero's voice. The first challenge was finding that voice. The second was holding onto it. My background as a psychotherapist became invaluable. I started out by creating a psychological profile for the hero. This included a family history as well as his personal history. I realized that in order to be successful I'd have to solidly know my hero and what makes him tic. I'd need to fully understand his motivation, what he wanted, what he feared, and what inspired him.  It was my belief that once I knew the hero inside and out, his story would begin to unfold. His responses and reactions would become inevitable. And his voice would just...stick. People ask me on occasion how I deal with writer's block. When they do I cringe. I've always become easily absorbed in stories, especially my own and now that I write in first person POV that's even more true. It feels more my world, more my narrative than ever before. In addition to my own stream of consciousness I can access Byron's, Dell's, Jake's, and now Wesley's. And sometimes, it's not so much about accessing it as it is about turning it off and coming back to the present. Just the other night I realized quite suddenly during dinner with some friends that my husband stopped talking mid-sentence. When I looked at him he smiled, then he leaned over and whispered, "You were off plotting, weren't you?" Busted. I was guilty as charged. "Wesley?" he asked. I turned bright red and nodded. See? I'm not psychotic, I just hear this guy's voice in my head. Samantha Sommersby is the author of the critically acclaimed Forbidden series, including her newest book "Forbidden: The Temptation". Sam happily spends her days immersed in the world of the Forbidden, a world where vampires, werewolves, and demons are real, where magic is possible, and where love still conquers all. To learn more about Sam's books or to sign up for her monthly newsletter visit http://www.samanthasommersby [dot] com Article Source:http://EzineArticles [dot]com/expert=Samantha_Sommersby