{"id":8216,"date":"2023-11-12T14:03:51","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T10:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/?p=8216"},"modified":"2023-11-12T14:03:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T10:03:51","slug":"pioneering-women-authors-illuminate-the-art-of-crafting-compelling-characters-at-sibf-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/?p=8216","title":{"rendered":"Pioneering women authors illuminate the art of crafting compelling characters at SIBF 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the highly anticipated Thriller Festival, taking place as part of the 42nd<\/sup> Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), three prolific women authors discussed the unique methodology they use to craft complex, yet likable characters.<\/p>\n

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Titled \u201cUnveiling the Unknown: The Secrets Behind Writing Engaging Detective Protagonists\u201d, the session was well attended particularly by aspiring writers eager to learn key trade secrets from within the writing world.<\/p>\n

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Elaborating on the method she uses for characterisation, K. J. Howe, Author and Executive Director of \u2018ThrillerFest,\u2019 an annual conference of International Thriller Writers, said she focuses on creating a protagonist who has relatable human tendencies as well as being a strong character.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile most crime fiction focusses on murder, I chose to write about kidnapping, with my protagonist as the lead kidnap negotiator who happens to also have Type 1 diabetes. I mixed in my medical writing background into my story and wanted to show the world that people with chronic illness can also be good at their job. Most protagonists in books are healthy, but mine is not, and yet she is an ace negotiator,\u201d said the author, a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award renowned for her book The Freedom Broker and Skyjack<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Author and Engineer Dr. Suaad Al Shamsi, famous for being the first female Emirati aircraft engineer shared her perspective saying, \u201cThe writer is the voice of the people. I knew I wanted to be the voice of a lot of people who can\u2019t share their story. I remember after I wrote one of my books a woman called me crying and said \u2018the hero of the book is me,\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Explaining how writing is a spiritual journey, which allows an author to create a mirror for their own thoughts, UAE based Syrian author Kinana Issa stated, \u201cThorough research is essential when aiming to create a character with depth and complexity. In my book, the protagonist grapples with memory loss and the mysterious loss of his beloved wife, who goes missing in Granada unable to speak Spanish. Immersing myself in the character’s perspective demanded extensive research on my part.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All three women advised budding authors not to worry about things like word count or how many pages they have finished writing. Al Shamsi said, \u201cAlways believe you will be famous one day and that you are a good writer, take advice from experts and most importantly read more books.\u201d Echoing the same sentiment, Issa\u2019s advice was simply to keep writing. \u201cWhen you want to write, don’t think of criticism.\u201d Despite winning awards, Howe said she is constantly learning and hoping to grow with every single book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the highly anticipated Thriller Festival, taking place as part of the 42nd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), three prolific women authors discussed the unique methodology they use to craft complex, yet likable characters.   Titled \u201cUnveiling the Unknown: The Secrets Behind Writing Engaging Detective Protagonists\u201d, the session was well attended particularly by aspiring writers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8218,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8216\/revisions\/8218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evisionworlds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}