After finishing the Rory’s Choice series I knew I wasn’t done writing, but I worried that my new characters might feel like those in Rory’s Choice. I mean let’s face it, who, what, when, where, why dialogue is pretty much unavoidable in every story.

As I considered the problem I realized I’d already faced this issue throughout my years of stage acting. I can’t tell you how my times I’ve said lines like, “Where did you go? How am I ever going to do that? Why? Why? Why?” Blah, blah, blah, you get the picture.

It wasn’t the words that defined my characters on stage; it was the motivation I created behind them. I could do the same for my characters in my books. By leaning on the core values I create for my characters, those tired old, but necessary, lines get delivered in ways that become distinct for each character.

It’s funny to me that I found another use for all those Method Acting classes I took years ago. But instead of a director asking me, “What’s my motivation?” I’m asking imaginary people in my head. 🙂