My characters talk to me. We live together, (sleep together) eat together, breathe together... we are one, bound forever... I rarely, if ever, get stuck on something. If I do, they are there to get me out and we work on it together. I have just figured out what my latest character baby, Tess, will be: an action hero. That is about all I have. I know she is a blonde, with blue eyes and has pale skin. Her character father is Legolas from Lord of the Rings and I am her mother, but her story will not reveal that. (Just to clarify, my characters and I have a life of our own that will never get published in any book... unless, perhaps, it is published after I pass away.)

Anyway... I got the idea for her action heroine trait from an article I saw on Yahoo! "The Femme Fatals of the Virtual World" I told my guys, "That is just what we need, a female heroine, but not one that has a perfect body; one to show girls that they can be strong without needing to starve themselves or be perfect."

I had a difficult time figuring out her last name. I originally wanted something like "Swift" or "Hunter"... something that described her. One thing about me is that I don't want anything about any of my stories to be like anything else out there. I search every name, concept, place and thing on the internet to make sure it hasn't been used before. Tess Swift and Tess Hunter were much too common.

I went searching on Thesaurus.com, a favorite landing spot, and eventually landed on "volant", while looking up synonyms for swift. Volant means "having the ability to fly; quick or nimble." I thought it was perfect. That was pretty much where I came to a dead end. I know that it was not the last name that struck me; I was feeling a sense of uneasiness before. Knowing Tess's character, however, I know that this is the perfect thing for her to be.

I usually just leave things until they come to me. They progress on their own and are much better because they do. For some reason I feel like there is something that I need to find this time, instead of it needing to find me.

I don't play video games at all, which might be why I feel so lost. These books are not going to be destined for the virtual world; I am writing them for a different purpose. They will, however, have that feel, apart from the over exaggerated moves and physical features.

Do you think that playing online computer games might help? Or do you think that I should build the story from a completely different angle so that my stories are different; the way that I wish them to be?

Any suggestions on how I can blend my mind with his kind of story would me most appreciated. Tess is still, literally, a baby and can't help much with her character. It will only be once I figure more things out that she will truly begin to blossom and be able to help more with the story.

Thanks,
Natalie