For those of you who have read my second novel, AIR, you may recognize this painting. After reading the second novel in the Elemental Journey Series, Massachusetts’ artist Gay Tracy (gaytracy.com), felt compelled to paint Usui, the Jesuit missionary who becomes a friend and a mentor to Pearl, the protagonist. In this scene, the homeless Usui is living under a bridge in a Tokyo park. He spends hours folding origami cranes. There is a legend in Japan that if you fold 1,000 cranes, a wish will come true.

How many of us have been so compelled by a character in a novel, or a real person in a memoir, that we think about that person for days and months afterward? How many of us still remember characters from novels we read decades ago? Strong, complex characters move us, touch our hearts and transform our thinking.

Click here to like and follow my Facebook page and join us Monday, Feb. 19, for the live event at 3 p.m. PST.

We’ll discuss what I’ve learned about building characters as an award-winning novelist, and as a book coach to writers all over the world. Characterization is important for all types of writing, including fiction, memoir, and scripts.

Please feel free to email me any questions you have that you would like answered during the live event. See you there!

Warmly,
Caroline Allen