7 Essential Elements of Character Creation Last week Nikki Jefford requested a post on developing characters. There are many different approaches toward developing characters for a story. Last year I wrote a post on different ways to get to know your characters which might help anyone getting started. The techniques I included were the use of visual aids, character questionnaires and family trees. Each author needs to find the technique that works for them. No matter what method an author chooses to adopt, there are a number of elements that are essential to include in the creation of every character: The name: Many writers will start with a name and build on the character from there. The appearance: There are a lot of factors to consider for the appearance of a character: their height and build, how they project themselves, if they have any scars or tattoos, and so much more. The motivation: The easiest way I get to know my characters is to find out what drives them. --I was recently tagged by Tiffany Garner.
How Much of My World Do I Build? First, let me say that worldbuilding is an essential skill for every writer, regardless of genre. Not all writers need to concentrate on all areas of worldbuilding, but every writer must do some worldbuilding if he hopes to have a novel that is coherent, consistent, and real. Second, writers seem to come in three varieties — those who really have no idea what worldbuilding is or why they should bother with it; those who do know, but figure they’ll wing the details as they go; and those obsessive folks who secretly believe that they really can’t start the book until the whole planet is in place. I’ve spent time in all three camps — most of my time in the last one. The system works. Build only what you need; imply the rest. What do you need? A — Special physics It used to be that the only places where you might run into special physics were in SF and fantasy novels. If you require special physics, however, you must now answer the following questions. Special Physics — Matrin Magic On to step F.
How To Write a Death Scene | Writerly Life People often visit Creative Writing Corner searching for answers about how to write a death scene, so it’s about time that I gave my thoughts about it. I was first given the assignment to write a death scene as a stand-alone piece when I was a freshman in college, in my very first creative writing class. I chose to write a creative non-fiction piece about a relative of mine. For someone witnessing the death of a beloved person, the scene is not just about the way the person is going. After the jump: more things to do in a death scene. It’s very easy to get cheesy in a death scene, instantly robbing your story of its tenderness and emotion. What made people respond to my written piece and call it poignant weren’t the heavy-handed bits or the sweeping generalizations, but the details. These are a few tips for writing a death scene in your own story or novel.
Creating a Realistic Fantasy World by Penny Ehrenkranz Did you ever wonder how David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, Piers Anthony, or J. R. R. Tolkien created their worlds? Creating your fantasy world means building a world based upon reality and making sure that your reader knows the rules of that world. J. How do you go about creating a reality that readers will accept as readily? Defining the Physical World Defining your locale can be a good place to start. Orson Scott Card began his fantasy novel, Hart's Hope, by designing a map. Instead of a map (or in addition to it), you may prefer to jot down descriptions of places you will need to use in your story. Defining the Rules of Magic Magic is often the key in fantasy. In Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover series, wizards and witches have innate power. Your society will be structured around the question of who has magic and who doesn't. Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series offers are two parallel worlds. Defining a Consistent Reality
How to Plot a Character Driven Book in 3 Easy Steps | Historical Romance Author Robyn DeHart, Legend Hunters , Ladies Amateur Sleuth Society Theme & Premise: Or How to Plot a Character Driven Book in 3 Easy Steps It is said that there are two types of writers: plotters and seat of the pants writers (or fly into the mist writers). Obviously the majority of us fall somewhere in between. I’m a serious plotter, one of those scene-by-scene plotters who knows primarily everything that will happen in the rough draft. Step 1 – THEME. To define your theme, you need to know what theme is, so what is theme? But how do you come up with a theme out of thin air, especially if you’re doing this with a book you haven’t even written yet? So now you have your theme, let’s move on to Step 2 – PREMISE/CHARACTER LESSON. This is the biggie for me when I’m doing my prewriting. Character lesson or premise is just what it sounds like: what does your character need to learn? Which brings me right into Step 3 – CHARACTER ARC. Now comes the plotting. That’s it. As for you plotters out there, I recommend using this from the very beginning.
Writing Tips - General On other pages of this site, you can read many of my best writing tips. But this page is for you! Your tip can be about a grammar or spelling rule, the writing process, or how to get published. Click below to see writing tips from other visitors to this page... Spelling, Spelling, Spelling!!!!!! What to do for Writers' Block. Agony first, ecstasy second As you and your contributors have noted, reading is essential; lots of reading and extra reading in fact cannot be emphasized enough. Avoid time warp Keep notes of details and timeline separate from what you will write or need to write in your novel. Google Images for the win! Your writing - your interests One problem I often face is that I get bored half - way through. Cliches and Sterotypes We always roll our eyes at these. interesting characters Think of how you would you be if you were the character you describe. Add a bit of everything When you're writing a book you must add a small bit of everything. Backwards! enjoy it! Written.
The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s so easy to hide in your little bubble, typing your little words with your little fingers on your little laptop from the comfort of your tiny chair in your miniature little house.
Never Be Blocked: Keep a Writer's Notebook When I was 11, I was given a little five-year diary with a lock and key. I wrote the usual pre-pubescent stuff in it, a few lines a day, most days. At 14, I began using steno notebooks, and over the next couple of decades I filled dozens with my tormented longings and occasional excited high points. Since I became a professional—and computerized—writer, I've been keeping a writer's notebook. To free your creative self, suggests Janet Burroway in her popular textbook Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft , you must give yourself permission to fail. Such a notebook may include observations, ideas, notes about projects, emotions, overheard dialogue, dreams, "what-I-did-today" accounts, notes kept during a trip or to record a particular harrowing experience such as a home renovation. In my notebook, I have lists by category for use as idea-joggers, including times I felt shame and experiences of painful loss. Then there are the meta-notebook entries. W. Copyright (c) by Susan K.
Worksheets for Writers The writing community is fortunate to have many great resources. Based on things I learned from phenomenal teachers like Larry Brooks, Michael Hauge, and Martha Alderson, I developed these worksheets* to help all writers, from plotters to pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants). Let me know at my Contact page if there are other worksheets you’d like me to create. Sign up for my newsletter to receive my blog posts and hear about all additions I make to this page. * With the exception of the Save the Cat Beat Sheet, which was developed by Elizabeth Davis. New to Beat Sheets? Note: I love sharing these worksheets, but if you give others the direct links to the files, the links won’t work. (Click each image to view larger version.) Save the Cat Beat Sheet: This spreadsheet is based on Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat writing craft book. Save the Cat Beat Sheet Spreadsheet for Novels by Elizabeth Davis. Story Engineering Story Structure Beat Sheet: Jami Gold’s Basic Beat Sheet: