Before we get started, just look at this: Isn’t it the most beautiful cover you have ever seen? I know, I’m biased, but… it’s the most beautiful cover I have ever seen!
Yep, yes, you guessed it. It’s a Taylor Swift song. I think I don’t need to say I’m a Taylor Swift fan – although I just did. I was completely obsessed with 1989, listened to it nonstop for months, depicted each lyric trying to guess the stories behind them. Unfortunately, I can’t remember exactly why Welcome to New York was the one that gave birth to this book. It’s not my favorite song, not even close, to be honest. I only remember I found my two main characters in these verses:
I have a lot of ideas. As I said before, I have way too many unfinished stories saved and buried somewhere in my computer. In the odd case where I do develop one of them, one of my main concerns is making sure everything would make sense outside of the page. Thus, a good chunk of my writing is spent researching. In Welcome to New York, I write about a lot of things I don’t know – living in New York, having a baby, working at a coffee shop, auditioning for theater, owning a business, among many others. Some of the questions that these situations raised were: Could a waitress with a baby afford an apartment in NYC? How do you get into Broadway plays? What is an equity card? What do you need to open your own business?
Welcome back! So, as promised, let’s dive right into the details of my first ever book, Welcome to New York. Today’s post is all about… CHARACTERS! Writing people is the most difficult thing for me. It took me a long, long time to learn my way around it, and I know I still have a lot to improve. Over the years, one of the tricks I learned is to cast the characters I’m writing about, like in a movie or TV show. So, very early on, when I have most of their personality down, I tend to start looking for pictures of the people I’m writing into my stories. And, I have to say, it is surprisingly helpful. Once I see them, it’s like I’m finally meeting them, and they naturally become more fleshed out as I write along. With Welcome to New York, it was no different – most of my characters are “cast”. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to our beloved main characters: