TESSA | What's Their Name Blog Tag

Who's a blogger you really admire? Who's a blogger you could never get tired of binging their posts? Who's a blogger that you strive to be like?

I can answer all three with one blog: Ava Coulter. I absolutely ADORE this girl's blog. She is an amazing writer, a super amazing person, and an even better friend. And, when she did a post a little bit ago titled "THE SEVEN TRILOGY - Get To Know My Character (What's Their Name Tag)! (avacoulterauthor.com)", I was secretly hoping she'd tag me.

And she did! I was the first person she tagged. *enter excited squealing and jumping up and down* I was so stinking excited, to be tagged by my favorite blogger! *giggles*

Anywho, enough with me fangirling and being weird (😜). Let's get on with the tag!

the rules:

1. Don't take other people's words or ideas

2. Make sure the story is kid-friendly

3. Don't be mean or bully others with your post

4. Fill out the questions as the characters were at the beginning of the book

5. You can tag up to seven bloggers

6. Make sure to email faithandwriting@gmail.com when you complete the tag

7. Link back to the blogger who created the tag (Miley Simmonds)

I'm going to be using a character from a new contemporary story I'm working on! (Am I using this tag to flesh out a character I don't know well enough? 🤐 Shhh. 🤫)

1. What's their name?

Tessa Elizabeth Collins.

2. What's their role? (Sidekick, Main Character, Villain, etc)

Tessa is the protagonist, and one of my favorite characters I've ever written.

3. Do they love anyone?

As of the beginning of the story, she only ever had a crush or two in high school. But you never know what could happen. 😉

4. Do they have any relatives?

Yup! Tessa has an older sister named Katie, her mom, a super cool aunt who lives in another state, and a dad, who actually left them when she was little.

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5. Inspiration for the character?

I take inspiration from everything I can. From songs, movies, other books, random strangers on the sidewalk, YouTubers, etc. I think the most inspiration I got for Tessa came from watching a lot of Abbie Emmons videos last summer, and deciding I wanted to write a super fun contemporary (*cough* romance *cough*) story. I also drew a lot from a bunch of different heroines in some of my favorite classics—Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March, a little bit of Amy . . .

6. Backstory?

When Tessa was about . . . five? . . . her dad up and left, leaving her mom to take care of Tessa and her older sister, Katie. She sort of grew up trying to prove herself to her mom, always secretly worried that she'd leave too. But she didn't.

Tessa has always had a sort of . . . fascination with writing, and her dream has always been to be an author. But, being totally not like what you would think, her favorite subject in school was Math, and she hated writing assignments in English unless it was fiction short stories. 😂

At the beginning of the story, Tessa is 21 and has graduated high school, and is now working as a barista at the local coffee shop during the day, and binge-reading a new book series by night.

I'm not sure how much of a backstory that is, but there ya go. 🤣

7. Dream? Fears?

Ooh, good question. *ponders for about 1/4 of a second* Hmm.

Tessa's dream is to become an author, and see her book behind a gorgeous cover, on the shelf in Barnes and Noble beside her favorite authors.

I think she fears that, well, her dream will never happen!

8. Friends?

She has a super amazing and fun friend who lives a few states away, so they're long-distance pen pals. She also makes friends really easily, so literally everyone that orders a coffee becomes a friend. ;)

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9. What is the story's name?

I'm calling it, "The Summer we First Met". I came up with this title a few . . . . years ago, and it is just PERFECT for this story!! 😍

10. Blurb of the story?

Blurb? Y'all, I don't even have a completed manuscript! But I can tell you my tagline:

"In the name of book research."

11. What are their habits?

Habits . . . habits . . .

Finding a new favorite author and reading all his/her books in a week. Binge-watching Granite Flats with her sister.

Stress-brewing coffee.

Being ridiculous.

Staying up late and waking up early.

Tabbing all her favorite books lines.

Writing about emotions she doesn't understand to process them.

Watching Jane Austen movies as a coping-mechanism.

Naming pets after said movies' characters.

12. Random fact about them?

1. She once ate an entire carton of ice cream in five minutes.

2. She has the love-proclamation scene in Pride and Prejudice memorized.

3. She has a cat named Darcy, a dog named Whickham (stab me now!), and is hoping to get another dog and name it Bingley! 😁

4. She owns 564 books.

5. She was born in December.

6. Her favorite season is summer, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

7. #COFFEE

8. She has a whole collection of caffeine-jokes she wears to work XD

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13. Personality?

In a word? RIDICULOUS. I have an entire scene planned out where she slacklines across a lake for the sake of book research. Like, really. But even though she's such a goofball, she is really sensitive and super caring. She is very much an extrovert but likes to have alone-time too.

14. Hobbies?

*points to #11 & #12*

15. Inspiration for the story?

This story was DEFINITELY from the Lord. He gave it to me at the perfect time, a time I really needed it. As for other things I got inspiration from, definitely Jane Austen and Abbie Emmons. I also got a lot of inspiration to work on this after reading "Love and Other Great Expectations" by Becky Dean, and chatting with a friend about the DEPLORABLE lack of good contemporary romances.

Le Tags

Allyson Jamison @ allysonjamison.wordpress.com

M. L. Milligan @ mlmilligan.wixsite.com/blog

Karlissa @ quillinginthepines.wordpress.com

YOU! (:

I would absolutely love to see y'all's answers to this! Let me know if you end up doing it?

What did you think of Tess? Does she sound like a fun character? Does this story sound intriguing? What are your character's answers to these questions? I'd really love to know! <3

Cheers!