Mary Herceg asked Kendra E. Ardnek:

I absolutely loved Water Princess, Fire Prince! One thing that has stuck with me that I particularly appreciated about your book is the way you masterfully balanced Clara and Andrew's alternating points of view. Your characters, their development, and their contrasting voices are all so well done! Do you have any tips for how to write distinct points of view and voices for one or more main characters?

Kendra E. Ardnek Hi Mary! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed WPFP, and I hope you'll stay tuned for Lady Dragon, Tela Du, which will have no fewer than six Points of View.

Tip #1 - Read a lot of books by a lot of different people to get a feel for many different "voices."
Tip #2 - Listen to a lot of different people talk.
Tip #3 - Know your characters. Dig deep into their lives and find details about them that may never make it into the book, but will bleed into their voice.
Tip #4 - Understand their personalities. Are they thoughtful or emotional? Do they notice details or explore possibilities? Are they introverted or extroverted? Are they schedule-oriented or do they prefer to explore possibilities?
Tip #5 - Try to choose characters who will naturally have distinct voices. I crafted Clara and Andrew to be very different - Clara was intense and competitive, while Andrew was more laid-back and thoughtful.

I hope that helped!

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