Building Character

We all go through changes. I’m not the same person after some of my past military experiences. It’s been six years since my daughter Randie’s passing, and no doubt, this has impacted my life greatly. I miss our long, heart-to-heart talks about anything and everything. Noticeably, my writings have certainly changed over the past few years, and I would like to share with you some of my storytelling lessons. Hands down, one of the most important aspects of storytelling is character development. Were there any changes in your main character’s life? If so, how did these changes influenced your character’s outlook? In real life, none of us are the same as we were a few years ago. Your characters are no different. In telling your story be sure to show your character’s growth. And equally essential, make sure none of your characters sound the same. We each have our unique way of expressing ourselves. No two characters in your story should ever sound the same. As writers, we run the risk of confusing the reader if we don’t distinguish one character from the next. I wish you continued success in whatever you’re pursuing. Don’t ever give up and keep climbing that ladder! – Randolph Randy Camp More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Write With Heart

Whether you’re a journalist covering a story for your local paper, an aspiring screenwriter, or a student working on your class assignment, write with your heart. Second guessing and self-doubt are two obstacles in writing we must overcome. When I was writing ‘Coreville Park a Reggae Novel’ it took me three drafts before I was able to drop some of my inhibitions and finally allow my true writer instincts to kick in and let my characters come alive. While going deeper into ourselves we discover more about us as writers and at the same time we make our stories richer. Every story is lit by an initial spark. There's always a backstory to everything. The backstory and inspiration for '29 Dimes a Love Story' came from me running the Los Angeles Marathon several years ago, as I was raising funds for one of my favorite charities 'I Have A Dream Foundation'. While running through the many different neighborhoods and streets of Los Angeles, I absolutely fell in love with the Silver Lake area. After running in the LA marathon two years in a row and getting to know the Echo Park and Silver Lake neighborhoods very well, I knew I had to write a story that captures their spirit and character. The love story in '29 Dimes' takes place in Silver Lake, and writing this novel carries a lot of beautiful and heartfelt memories for me. When I'm talking to students and aspiring writers the topic of backstory and inspiration always comes up. That initial spark which inspired us to start a new project is filled with emotions and feelings. Don’t be afraid to put your feelings into your work. Don’t be afraid to show your heart. Just let it out. Of all the quotes from my novels, this particular quote is the one I get asked about the most during my book talk sessions. The quote is from '29 Dimes: A Love Story'. More info at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Keep Pressing On: Defeating Self-Doubt

Self-doubt and discouragement can slow us down, even stop us altogether. During our talks, Randie would tell me how searching for the right words would be so daunting at times, especially when she was working on her dissertation. But Randie wouldn’t give up. On page 209, a line from a great book my grandson Noah and Amy Popillion had given me a few months ago made me think of my conversations with Randie. “No need to be afraid of yourself when you write.” That’s the quote and encouraging advice from Steve Zeitlin’s book ‘The Poetry of Everyday Life, Storytelling and The Art of Awareness’. Even though I’m an ‘old man’ now, I still enjoy being a student and that’s why I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m still growing and learning. Life can be very challenging. We all get discouraged but please don’t let it stop you from completing your tasks or goals. – Randolph Randy Camp

Character Development: Vicki and Timmy

Whether you’re working on your next manuscript, or writing something for a school assignment, or simply writing something for your own pleasure, it’s imperative to show some type of growth within your characters. How are your characters different at the end of your story than from the beginning? Have there been any changes in your characters’ lives within the story? As in real life, we all go through changes, good and bad. These changes definitely have an impact on us. In my own personal life, there are some traumatic events that happened while I was in the Air Force that I still have trouble coping with. People going through life-changing events sometimes will have their whole thought patterns drastically rearranged. And this is the same for the characters we create for our stories. It’s vital that you, as the writer, show and tell your readers how your characters have changed due to certain events within your story. In creating the characters Vicki and Timmy for ‘Coreville Park’, it was a challenge for me to show both Vicki’s and Timmy’s reaction after Vicki had revealed to Timmy something so deeply personal, something in which she had never told anyone ever before. After this revelation halfway in the story, I challenged myself as a writer to come up with interesting scenes and interactions between Vicki and Timmy as the story unfolded towards the end. Making sure that your characters don’t all sound the same, and showing interesting character growth have been valuable lessons and tools for me. I hope that whatever writing project you maybe currently working on that these helpful reminders will benefit and make your story stronger. – Randolph Randy Camp Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Flipping Procrastination: Creating Monica

Along with losing focus at times, one of my dreadful faults is procrastination. But in a strange twist of fate I was able to flip procrastination on its head and make it work for me. You see, I’m constantly writing and simultaneously coming up with new story ideas. As you can tell, this creates a big problem whereby I temporarily lose focus on my current writing project because of the steady flow of fresh incoming story ideas. In an effort to organize and keep track of my numerous story ideas, I jot down notes about each one and then I stick them in a pile in which I tell myself that I’ll get to them sometime in the near future. Sometimes this method works for me but for the most part it simply doesn’t. One day I looked at my ever-growing pile of story ideas and the lightbulb in my brain suddenly came on. It hit me, sift through the pile and create a short story collection, and that was the initial work to bring my latest project ‘MONICA a Short Story Collection’ to fruition. Whatever your goals are, don’t let procrastination stop you completely. For sure, it may slow us down a bit but keep moving on and never let it defeat you. Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Writing Challenges: Time and Voices

WRITING CHALLENGES: TIME and VOICES…Needless to say, any writer would tell you that procrastination and actually making time to write is one of the greatest challenges of finishing any project. For me, personally, when I don’t feel like typing, I go old school, and I simply jot down a few handwritten notes. When I’m fully energized and motivated again, I would start typing. While writing ‘Monica A Short Story Collection’, one of the other challenges I encountered was writing in the voice of a fourteen-year-old girl. Allie is one of the main characters in the story ‘Heaven’, and looking at the world from her POV certainly made me totally step back and wipe away all of my maleness. Choosing from whose POV will tell your story is a unique challenge. Ask yourself who is best suited to connect with your audience or your readers when making this decision. More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Keep The Arts

Promoting and nurturing creativity is always a good thing.


Ever since I was a little boy I used to listen to the songs on the radio so intensely. I was fascinated by the stories and characters within these songs, especially the early songs of artists such as Curtis Mayfield and Bob Dylan.


When I was able to read I would read anything I could get my hands on, books, magazines, Readers Digest, etc. I was amazed at how someone could dream up something in their head, put it on paper and then see it come to life within the comics or in a novel.


One of my favorite classes at Spotsylvania Jr. High was 8th grade Language Arts. We kept a journal that we would turn in weekly and the teacher would give her feedback on it. In the journal we had the creative freedom to jot down our personal thoughts, write poems or short stories, etc. And, looking back now, I think that it was this particular class that really got my mind to open up and let some of the characters I’d been dreaming up out unto the page.


Sadly, across America in recent years, a lot of school districts have eliminated arts education from our classrooms (mostly due to budget issues). This is very unfortunate because I’ve personally experienced and come to know the extraordinary value of these arts educational programs and classes in our public schools. Without a doubt, my 8th grade Language Arts class and other arts-based classes definitely played a big role in cultivating my childhood passion for storytelling and creating my own original characters.


Although science, math and other STEM-related programs are crucial for students nowadays, I hope that school districts that are dealing with low funds and budget issues will find the balance and a way to compromise to keep arts education in their curriculum because I strongly believe that helping students to express themselves in creative ways builds a strong foundation for a productive child and a positive student.


I’m so grateful for all of my teachers during my early years in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and God bless all of the moms, dads, dedicated volunteers, teachers and educators across the world who are helping kids and students every single day to open their minds and express themselves. – Randolph Randy Camp


More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp


(By the way, no, I didn’t create the comic character Harley Quinn. That credit goes to Paul Dini and Bruce Timm.)