Stephanie Cage - Writer

In my last post about characters , I mentioned 'Desperate Measures', my work in progress which is a sequel to my first novella, ' Desperate Bid '.  In it, the heroine finds herself alone in the hero's office, indulging in an irresistible moment of nosiness. This is that moment...   Miles' desk was tidy, so tidy that Michelle could have wondered if he ever worked, to sully it, if she had not already known the answer. He worked harder than anyone she had ever known. His desk was indeed, as a tidy desk is said to be, the sign of an ordered mind.   There was just one letter, lying dead centre. It was handwritten, in a looping old-fashioned hand, and although Michelle did not intend to read it, she found she'd become absorbed by the first sentence. "There is no easy way to say this."   There never was. Nowadays, you didn't write, not in pen, if there was an easier way to say it.   "Your father has been diagnosed with cancer. They sa...

Could you use a few tricks for getting to know your characters in a deeper way?  If so, join me over at the Book-in-a-Week blog, where this month I'm talking about questions you can ask your characters, from the pretty obvious to the slightly bizarre.  As well as my five favourite questions, I also share a nifty trick for making use of the media.  Read more here:  http://www.book-in-a-week.com/2013/05/5-questions-to-ask-your-characters/ By the way, these tricks aren't just theory: one of them provided a whole new plot strand to my work in progress, 'Desperate Measures' (full marks to anyone who guessed it's a sequel to my first published novella, 'Desperate Bid').   I asked the question, 'What's in the hero's desk drawer?' but instead of answering it directly, I played it out as a scene in which the heroine is sneaking a look at his desk while he's out of the office... and gets caught.  She's initially puzzled by one of the items ...