Joely Sue Burkhart

Thirteen Things About Me I’ve been tagged for the “8 things meme” and decided to make it 13 instead. 1.I don’t like feet. I always wear socks. I despise open-toed shoes or sandals.  2.My hair’s been going gray since my sophomore year in high school. The Burkhart family went to get pictures taken for Christmas a few years ago. I walked in beside my Dad, and the photographer assumed I was the grandmother. I was pregnant with LM at the time. 3.I work as a computer programmer and “specialize” in a programming language very few people have ever heard of. Or so I thought. The last time I mentioned “OmniScript” on my blog, I got an e-mail asking if I’d be interested in a job in OK. 4.I’m almost 4 years old as a writer. 5.I read Gone With the Wind three times in high school. 6.My Mom censored my reading when I was growing up. I wasn’t allowed to read Stephen King or any romance except trad Regencies and Grace Livingston Hill inspirationals until I got married. 7.I’ve been married since I was 18 to That Man. 8.I have a Masters in Mathematics but I can’t compute percent decreases without deriving the formula from scratch each and every time. 9.Since college, I’ve only had ONE job. I plan to keep it until I retire. 10.I work out of the house for this company as a telecommuter. Thank God for high-speed cable!! 11.I’m an obsessive compulsive perfectionist. 12.I have to plan when I’ll start reading a book I know will be good–because I will not be able to stop until it’s finished. 13.When I started writing seriously, I gave up all my other crafts. I’ve decided to get back into cross-stitch to keep my other creative muscles flexing.

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One of the greatest tools for me personally in characterization–which leads to plot–is exploration of defining moments.  These are significant turning points in the character’s life before the story I will tell.  Written in first person, these little scenes help me define the character’s voice, personality, and traits.  I also dig into dark secrets, greatest fears, and motivation and goal setup for the main story.  It might seem like a lot of work to write several pages for each character that will never end up in the main story, but I always get really good information.  After writing Eleni’s defining moment earlier this week, I was able to add several plot elements to The Fire Within. 

Now for Zahak, the hero.  This defining moment helped get me in the mood and style of his culture, which is significantly different than Eleni’s Green Lands.  I reviewed the mythology, and explored how this piece ties to Survive My Fire.  A surprising phrase came to me while I worked through his Emotional Toolbox Character Map.

Feeding the Dragon. 

A very, very significant and meaningful part of this story.  Details below the cut if you’re interested–also some eye candy of the actor inspiring Zahak.  *wink*

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