Character bios for Gilbert and Amber from Why My Love Life Sucks

I was asked to share the bios of the main characters from my latest novel, so here they are:

The main characters in Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one) are Gilbert Garfinkle--a.k.a. Gilbert the Fixer--and Amber. Gilbert is the ultimate, teenage geek; and Amber is the gorgeous, vampire girl who wants to turn him into her platonic BFF--literally forever. The story is written from Gilbert’s point of view.

GILBERT GARFINKLE

Age: 17

Goal: to fix the world

Weakness: anything illogical

Favorite things: electronics, lockpicks, fixing things, inventing things, rock-climbing, aikido,  comic books, fantasy & science fiction, The Princess Bride, Albert Einstein, Dungeons & Dragons, his father, his Uncle Ian, his friends

Gilbert loves everything geeky: from Star Trek and Dungeons & Dragons to rock-climbing and inventing electronics. He has a compulsive need to fix things that are broken or can be improved on, and he plans on someday fixing the world. He’s already invented a few things to help him achieve that goal, including his Lablet, which is a cross between a laboratory and a computer tablet. At one time he tried to upload his own conscience into the Lablet, but it turned into a closed-lipped, depressed, animated robot instead. He has no idea why this happened. He is currently inventing a form of artificial intelligence with a will of its own. His father was a very successful chemical engineer who died at the age of 83 when Gilbert was still a toddler. His mother is a self-absorbed gold digger who only married his father for his vast fortune and who loathes even being in the same room as Gilbert. Uncle Ian, his mother’s lawyer, is the only person that Gilbert considers living family, even though they aren’t related. His best friend, Dylan, calls him “Little Dude,” and Gilbert calls Dylan “Big Dude.” He’s had a secret crush on the absolutely brilliant Jenny Chen since they were both six, and he considers Dungeon Master Dave his own personal Yoda, the mentor he turns to for advice. His life isn't perfect, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s pretty good...and it was going to be amazing until the Amber ruined his well thought out plans. His brilliant mind, eidetic memory, sarcastic sense of humor, lockpicking, aikido and rock-climbing skills, various gadgets, and friends are just what he needs to help him solve any mystery and get him out of any jam.

AMBER

Age: claims to be 17, although she appears to be 15

Goal: to turn Gilbert into a vampire and her platonic BFF--literally forever

Weakness: low self-esteem (although she hides it well)

Favorite things: bacon, pizza, candy, her friends, boys, dancing, laughing and smiling, and above all being liked

Why My Love Life Sucks is written from Gilbert’s point of view, and the first time we meet Amber is on the first page. As Gilbert lies paralyzed by her vampire bite, he looks back at the events of the night, starting with what happened when he brought her to his room: “Amber laughed. It was a nice laugh. I felt so relaxed, because she’s so beautiful. They say there’s no point in worrying about the things you can't control, and I figured I didn't have a chance in hell with her. Guess I was right, but not in the way I thought.” Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, seemingly sweet, funny and quick, asking Gilbert to kiss her, and the whole turning-him-into-a-vampire thing, she remains mostly a puzzle for the start of the book, a puzzle Gilbert feels compelled to figure out. And he does figure out some of it by the end of this book. But there’s a lot more to Amber than meets the eye, and it will take the rest of the series for readers and Gilbert--and in some ways Amber herself--to truly know who and what she is.

What Writers Can Learn from the Genius of Steve Jobs

Last week, the world lost a one-of-a-kind visionary. Through Apple and Pixar, Steve Jobs changed the world, improved lives, and touched hearts. My son’s school for developmentally disabled kids uses iPads to help its students communicate. And every member of my family cried during the most touching scene in Toy Story 3. It’s amazing to think that all of that started in Steve’s parents’ garage, with nothing more than one friend who believed in him and a dream. What does that say about the rest of us?

Steve Jobs left behind him a great legacy, not only in the products or the movies he helped create, but in his ability to inspire greatness in others.

When I read quotes in Entrepreneur Magazine, I often see how they can apply to writers. Here are several quotes from Steve Jobs from the November issue of Mac Life, and how I think they might apply to writers:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

I think this is a big part of the reason writers write. Life is fleeting. We all want to leave our mark on the world, our ding in the universe.   

“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

If you make your books all sunshine and unicorns, no one will want to read them. As a fiction writer, your characters are your people. Readers want to see them encounter challenges, and they want to join your characters on a journey to overcome those challenges. Your main character or characters should develop between the beginning and the end of your story. Your job is to make them better in the end.

“I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”

In his autobiographical book, Rewrites, playwright Neil Simon mentions once being praised for being a great rewriter. He was told, “Writers are a dime a dozen, but rewriters are gold.” Editing is such an important part of writing. Every character, every scene, every word should be there for a reason. And if it doesn’t have a reason to be there, cut it out. This is what some writers mean by “Kill your darlings.” Cut out the things that have more to do with your ego than your story. Be as proud of your editing as your writing. Be as proud of what you don’t do as you are of what you do.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Description should do double duty. It shouldn’t just paint lovely pictures. Pretty descriptions often fall into the category of darlings that should be killed. Description should work. Like everything else, it should be there for a reason. It should ground the story and help bring it to life, or else it should convey something about the characters. There’s a huge difference between saying the glass was delicate and saying she was afraid to pick it up, because she didn’t want to break it.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

There’s a story in you that only you could tell. Tell it. Don’t waste time trying to follow trends or write like someone else. Write like you, and only you. Because if you’re writing like someone else, so are hundreds of others. But no one else can write like you. Be a leader, not a copycat. Be an original. Be an innovator.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.”

You have to believe in your writing, because if you don’t, no one else will. In fact, even if you do believe in it, you’re going to encounter plenty of people who won’t. It’s going to be an uphill battle at times, so you have to believe that what you’re doing is great work. You have to believe that it matters. You have to believe you’re making a ding in the universe.

And I would like to add one more quote, not from the magazine but from the video above:

"The penalty for failure . . . is nonexistent."
 
It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. You have to allow yourself the freedom to fail. You can edit a bad piece of writing, but you can't edit a blank page. The freedom to fail is also the freedom to innovate, the freedom to create something new and brilliant that only you can create.

Steve, thank you so much for your contributions to this world. You will be sorely missed.

Steve Jobs