Camaraderie - a guest post by Clara Diane Thompson

via #Daily  Joyfulness

Today, I have the wonderful pleasure of having the lovely Clara Diane Thompson on my blog, to share about what makes our favourite stories tick. Clara is one of the five authors of "The Five Glass Slippers" Cinderella anthology, with her story of "The Moon Master's Ball". I just got the book in the mail last week, and I am really looking forward to enjoying that story. Enjoy, folks :). I will be back blogging soon =).

First things first—I’m terribly flattered to be on Joy’s lovely blog today—thank you, Joy, for having me!

As a writer, I’m always looking for new and different ways that I can make my stories better. Usually I look for writing help in favorite books of mine…how did Anne Elisabeth Stengl handle this situation between her characters, or how did Margaret McAllister describe that epic scene? And what makes Jessica Day George’s dialogue so very enjoyable?

Recently I had a “ah ha!” moment when I was wondering what was missing with my main character. What do readers enjoy? What do I enjoy in a book? There’s the great story, the wonderful characters, but more than that I realized that I loved reading a book where there is camaraderie between characters.

 Now I’m probably terribly late to the game with this realization, but if you’re like me, think back to some of your favorite books. Did the characters have deep, camaraderic (that isn’t a word, is it?) relationships that kept you coming back to that book throughout the years? What about TV shows and movies? I can think of some like Merlin or Doctor Who, or Once Upon a Time, that keep drawing me back in because of the wonderful story built from relationships.

Some old favorite books of mine that feature a healthy dose of camaraderie are: The Mistmantle Chronicles (that series is practically built on camaraderie), the Princess trilogy by Jessica Day George (again, lots of great relationships), The Tales of Goldstone Wood, The Little White Horse, and many, many more! Now I hope to transfer a little of those great author’s wisdom into my own writing by creating a story built on relationships.

What about you? Do your writings feature great relationships or has your book felt a little flat lately? If so, I suggest dusting off an old favorite of yours and finding out what it is that you think makes the book tick! 

Clara Diane Thompson lives in the swamps of Louisiana with her loving family, dashing dog, and a very confused frog that resides in the birdhouse outside her window. Aside from writing she enjoys playing guitar, singing, Broadway plays (particularly The Phantom of the Opera), ballet, tea with friends, and long BBC movies. An enchanted circus may or may not appear occasionally in her back yard.

You can find out more about Clara and her writing on her blog: www.ClaraDianeThompson.blogspot.com