Writing Tip 3. Memorable Characters make a bestseller

The reason the Loveday books could expand from the original concept of a trilogy to become a series now running to nine books with two more due for publication, is due to memorable and diverse characterisation. The three sets of male cousins are all entirely different both in personality, goals and psychological makeup. Adam the privateer sea-captain who is passionate about the shipyard and the family estate at Trevowan. His twin St John, the heir, a wastrel and obsessive gambler who will always take the easy option and becomes involved with smuggling. Japhet, eldest son of a vicar: the lovable rogue, a rakehell with an interest in horse breeding, often engaged in dealings perilously close to the wrong side of the law. He risks all as a highwayman. His younger brother Pious Peter chooses the church but has his own wild demons to overcome. Cousin Thomas in London the son of a prominent banker, a renowned duellist whose heart is set upon becoming a famous playwright. All are fearless in the face of adversity and driven by the wildness in their blood. All are united in their family loyalty to overcome their enemies. Each is driven by their ambition to succeed no matter the danger or adversary. Background and personality colour every scene as they are driven by their motivation to overcome all odds. Give your reader well motivated and memorable characters, and do not be afraid to show their flaws, and they will stay in the readers mind long after the novel is finished with them wanting to know more about their lives.

Writing Tip 2

Want to write your own bestseller. Then learn from the masters. Once you have decided upon your genre study the bestsellers in this field and your favourite authors. Analyse the overall plot and then how each chapter revealed character history and personality, created crisis and conflict and how the main character and their protagonists interact with each other. Note how each chapter opens and builds to a new drama and how it ends foreshadowing some conflict or problem still to be resolved. What kept you turning the pages?