I Survived by Celisha J.

 

I love memoirs because you can learn so much from reading them. Get inspired with this excerpt from I Survived and thoughts on creating our own characters from author Celisha J. Follow the tour for even more! Best of luck entering the giveaway!

In “I Survived” the author’s journey through a life marked by hardship, pain and resilience. From the devastating loss of a mother at a young age to abusive relationships and a harrowing escape, this gripping memoir unveils the story of survival, redemption, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. With unwavering determination, the author overcomes the shadows of her past to forge a path toward self-discovery, healing, and hope.

I Survived is an inspiring testament to the power of resilience and the unwavering belief that no matter the obstacles, one can triumph over adversity and ultimately thrive.

Read an excerpt:

We always thought my grandma was crazy because of how she treated us. For example, I remember a time my grandma whipped me. She had the switch in one hand and a gun in the other (no lie). It was a revolver. I know this because I had seen it before in her small travel case. She told me if I moved, she was going to shoot me. Judging from our history, I wasn’t going to test her. She was whipping my butt, and I was screaming for my little brother and sister to help me, call the police, and do something, but they wouldn’t move. They were crying on the front porch like they were the one it was happening to, but little did I know that my grandmother told them they would be next if they move off the porch. We all were scared. I think what hurt me more was not the whipping itself (yeah, the hits hurt) but her calling people bragging about what she did, and telling people that if I had moved, she was really going to shoot me—the nerve of her.

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Character Creation

Character creation – this is something that we all unconsciously do whenever we interact with someone else, especially for the first time. We tend to create a character, rather, an image of a character of the person based on what we perceive of him. Signs of this approach are remarks like, “he doesn’t look like…”, “are you sure that he really is…”, “I was expecting to see someone else…”, “can he really do that?” and more.

The next step is to build on this based on your expectations and perception of that person. You would be asking yourself questions like, “what is he going to say?”, “what does he think about me?”, “what does he think about my appearance?”, “is he going to ask me out for a date?”, “what does he want from me?”, “is he married?”, “where does he work?” and more.

These are immediate behaviours or expectations. Then, you would need to get into predictable traits or behaviours. For this, you would need to ask yourself questions like, “what would he do in this situation?”, “what can I expect from him?”, “can I expect him to change?”, “can I expect some more kindness or respect from him?”, “how would he react or respond in this scenario?”, and more.

As you progress, you will realize that you have built a persona of a person by defining his behaviours or traits. Although these are based on your perceptions or expectations, this is still a start. To build on this, put this character through various situations like, “will he do grocery shopping for me?”, “what will he pick up from the supermarket?”, “in which section of the supermarket will he spend more time?”, “how does he drive his car?”, “will he stop to rescue the puppy by the road?” and more.

With this approach, you will be able to create a character. He may be far from real; however, you will come across several traits or behaviours in different people at different times. Once your character is ready, it becomes much easier to conjure an image and persona as the behavioural traits have been defined by answering some questions, some of which are outlined above. Feel free to read my book, “I Survived” on Amazon Kindle, in which, I have described by own character in depth with a few other characters who were part of my life.

Born in Michigan now living in Atlanta Celisha J. is an Actress and Author all in one, landing a role in a movie and a lead role on a TV Series.

She currently has a book entitled “I Survived”. It is a chilling story about her life from losing her mom at an early age and all the things that she has endured in her life, that should have broken her but she uses her pain as motivation to continue on her journey to following her dreams of being an actress, author and motivational speaker. She is currently pursuing more roles in acting.

Website: http://www.Celishaj.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Celishaj_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Celishajtheactress

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/celishaj

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