Don't you think it’s fairly reasonable that a person who spent over 15 years doing automotive advertising would have cars in her manuscript? If you said yes, well then read on and if you said no, well you're probably right because the cars don't really move my plot forward on the story superhighway.Cars are just a small personal luxury I've added to make things more realistic. Besides, aren't you suppose to write what you know? These models are not actually mentioned, but reference is made to raindrops on windshields, rent a cars, crashes, etc. In fact, it seems automobiles are popping up all over the place.
I’ve blogged a little bit about Penniless Hearts and since I’m always afraid of giving too much away, I think that the car is a nice way to get to know my characters without divulging too much information. So fasten your seat belts and let's go....
My main character Penny drives a faded old Volvo in need of new windshield wiper blades.
The woman she works with is Tina who drives her boyfriend Darin’s car. Darin owns a few car dealerships. Here are Tina’s wheels.
Penny’s dad drives a giant Oldsmobile from the seventies. A classic gas-guzzler.
Her boyfriend John drives a truck for his carpentry business. It’s a regular small truck like this....
The pilot rents the nicest car at the airport.
Alevina, the Hawaiian family man about to have a holiday luau drives up in one of these:
The hamburger guy has a filthy Honda with a loud stereo.
.jpg)
Later on, we need some more rental cars.
Penny gets a Sentra.
The petrologist and her husband are driving a white sedan like this:
Glenn the reporter is driving a black Hyundai.
What kind of vehicles do you have in your book?
Gosh! My vehicles are horses and the odd cart or two, Eve. :0) Do you think you could pop over to my new blog and join, please? Looking to increase numbers. http://caroleannecarr-creativewritingtutor.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThat would be great if you could.
Cars do turn up in my book, but mostly as an incidental thing. I did mention my male lead driving a Jeep... probably because I like those, and those are among the few types I can identify just by a look.
ReplyDeleteI use a red Fiat and a BMW in my books.
ReplyDeleteA 2009 Solstice (my car)!
ReplyDelete:D
I feel like I know your characters just by seeing what kinds of cars they drive. I definitely think that in books, and in life, cars say a lot about a person from which type of car to how well the car is maintained.
ReplyDeleteI've used everything from Honda Civics to Mazda 6s to Camaros.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this just makes me smile. There are cars in my WIIPs--well, not the SciFi--but I've never thought of adding car types to my character bibles. I love this!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at this as I thought about my book. My first thought was that a lot of my main characters poof in and out due to their otherworldly natures :) Love this post and love that we can relate to your characters just by their rides!
ReplyDeletewahahahahahaha...
ReplyDeleteI wonder how all you writer with blogs that I read and comment on, put up with me the only non-writer in the bunch.
And I want the lime green, Oldsmobile gas guzzler.
Love the way you thought about cars and your characters.
cheers, parsnip
My first car was a lime green Pontiac Ventura, if that helps. Come to think of it, the first truck I ever drove was a lime green 1976 fire engine!
DeleteIn Storm Chaser, my hero drives an Indiana State Police cruiser, and my heroine drives a huge white RV -- pretty easy to pick them out in a crowd!
ReplyDeleteDetailing the car a character drives is a great way to add to your story! Nice work, Eve.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my neck of the woods. (and for the best wishes)
ReplyDeleteLatest MS...Rambler and Renault (set in the 60s)
Mac
Wow - I love this concept and post! Sometimes the car a character drives can speak volumes about the person more than any dialog.
ReplyDeleteMy main character would probably drive a mini van because that's what I drive.
ReplyDeleteI’ve not written a book, so I can’t really comment other than to say my first ‘car’ was an old Austin A30 van. I loved it with a passion. The dash was decorated with wood grain Fablon (the stick-on kind that was supposed to look like ‘real’ wood – but didn't!) My dad drove a really old Buick and a ‘home made’ camper van – just a delivery van with a sink and bunk beds added. Those were the days!
ReplyDeleteI have not written a book either, but I kind of like the giant old '70's car...reminds me of my youth! One of my brothers used to have a Renault, LeCar! Remember those? What about the 'Thing'?! It was like some big dune buggy thing..
ReplyDeleteI love the variety of these cars! This has got to be one fun book. I have used a couple of cars in my book too, but nothing like your variety. The classic gas guzzler's pretty well put together. Love it.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that Volvo made me nostalgic. My mother-in-law used to drive one, and I drove it whenever I visited, and I was always overheated because it had no a/c.
ReplyDeleteIt's said that you can tell a lot about someone's personality by the car they drive. I prefer Mini Coopers. I wonder what that says?
ReplyDeleteSo far, I haven't written about any characters that are old enough to drive. I have a wip that has a teenage boy on a motor bike. I can't remember what type it was, but I asked a high school boy what a stud would drive if he was in HS. :)
ReplyDeleteCars can say a lot about a person....
Also how a person treats his or her car and what it means to him or her. If that sort of thing fits into the MS, that is. My MC has a Mercedes (biodiesel).
ReplyDeleteI've never given my characters' cars much thought, but I really like this idea! Even if I never use the information in the book, knowing it still helps me to visualize and then write about an authentic, true-to-life character.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Hi! I ѕіmply want to givе you a big thumbs
ReplyDeleteup for the еxсellent informаtiоn
yоu havе here on thiѕ post. I ωill be coming
baсκ to yоur website for more sοοn.
mу wеb-site buy and sell cars for profit