FireHeart - Characters

Well into the second week of the NaNoWriMo challenge, how are your writings going? Are you in a scramble to achieve your daily word count? Did you slam into the ominous tower of Writer's Block? Are you bored with your plot? Characters? Or is everything just about hunky-dory?
Sometimes it's the simple things that you overlooked that cause the biggest problems. Whatever the issue is, allow me to tell you that, with this being my fourth year of NaNoWriMo, and having 7 years of writing experience, I am well able to assist you in whatever stands in your way. Don't be shy, just ask. They may call me Wolf, but I don't bite, promise!
Oh, me? My project's going great. 25k written as of yesterday, and I'm about to hit the novel again after this post. The plot is extremely dull in places, I noticed, but that'll patch up later. Right now the suspense is killing me. I'm itching to get a breakthrough. I think Axle Garrett is, too.
Speaking of the guy, as promised, let me whip up some character descriptions for you to read:

Sonja Leoni: The protagonist and lead singer/songwriter of the band FireHeart. She has long, curly, medium-brown hair, light, hazel eyes, and somewhat bony features. She's also half-Italian. 
While she carries herself with bold confidence and pride, Sonja is skilled at hiding her feelings and past, and her heart's under a lock and key. She strides headstrong through the day, show after show, wearing a plastic smile and a sassy attitude, but all the while is afraid that someone will know what's underneath it all.

Axle Garrett: The deuteragonist and backup singer/songwriter and skilled secondary guitarist of FireHeart. He has mid-neck-length, straight, dirty-blonde-colored hair, light brown eyes, a slightly large jaw and a lightly dimpled chin. He's just a regular white guy with a deep voice influenced by a tinge of a Texas accent.
Axle is down-to-earth, yet quirky and humorous at the same time. In ways, he's the opposite of Sonja, and has a humble and compassionate heart, willing to open up to anyone who will let him. He is quite interested in unlocking Sonja's heart, despite the complications that often stand in his way. He is also protective of not only her, but the rest band, all of whom he perceives as brothers.

Jared Augustine: The antagonist and lead guitarist of the band. He has short, trimmed black hair that sticks up somewhat in the front, light blue eyes, and angular facial features.
Once thing you'll notice right away about Jared is that he's very possessive of Sonja. He's also very competitive of everything, and a little like her, prideful and cocky. He is one to shoot blunt or snide comments in conversation or upon observation of something. Most of the time he ignores Axle, despite his increasing feelings of envy and resentment toward the young man, but even though he almost always speaks (or, rather, blurts) what's on his mind, sometimes it's very difficult to tell what he's really thinking...

Dustin Garcia: An important supporting character. He's the drummer and the backbone of the band. He has long, about shoulder-length brown, somewhat shaggy hair that hangs in his face most of the time. His eyes, whenever you can see them, are brown also. He has sharp features, a strong, sturdy build, and he's half-Hispanic.
Dustin is very quiet and reserved, but also highly observant and intelligent. While he comes off as grumpy and unfriendly most of the time and hardly speaks unless spoken to, after moving past the stage of brief responses, you will eventually find that he is quite open to friendship and can be surprisingly supportive. He and Axle hit it off pretty early on, and the two of them are working together to unlock Sonja's mysterious secrets--for the sake of her own safety. When in trouble, Dustin is always there for any of his band mates, especially Axle, to talk to. But most of all, Dustin is a good listener. He always listens.

And there you have it--the main characters of FireHeart. There's a lot of conflict between them, you may notice!


Word of the Day

Paraphernalia:
1. Miscellaneous articles, esp. the equipment needed for a particular activity.
2. Trappings associated with a particular institution or activity that are regarded as superfluous.

Writing Tip:
If your plot seems dry, there's always a solution. Whether it doesn't have enough development or you're only focusing on the plot itself, some things that always make a novel more interesting for both the writer and the reader are subplots, backstory, and plot twists. A subplot could be a character's personal problem, which they hope to resolve during or at the end of the novel. Or just something else that's happening in the midst of the plot. You can focus on the subplot at any given time, like between intervals of major events in the plot. It helps things to seem less rushed as well.
Backstory gives a lot of realism and depth to the novel and especially the characters. Everyone has a past...and maybe some secrets to be unfolded. Both backstories and subplots could result in a shocking discovery of the character, plot, or a new direction to the plot--a plot twist!
If you're at your wits end of the novel right now, make something sudden and unexpected happen that will throw your novel into an exciting direction. Sudden doesn't necessarily mean random, like a unicorn with a cotton candy mane appearing in the sky, but whatever it is, if its relevant to the story, it should really save your novel's hide!

Encouragement: Remember, this is only the first draft! The Dawnwolf was pretty bad once I finished it last year, but after editing and revision AFTER the challenge, it cleared up. Also, get help from friends, family, and just generally honest people for editing.

Peace, and happy NaNoing!
Wolf