Tagged: characters

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Writing Tips

Creating Character Depth by Jami Gray

For all those who have interacted with small humans in the kinder-to-third grade arena, you might be familiar with Flat Stanley (also known in some cases as Flat Lizzy). For those who haven’t had the joy of meeting this illustrious character, a quick introduction.

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Writing Tips

The 10 Essential Elements of a Great Escapist Hero by Kay Keppler

A writer I know recently asked for song ideas to build her writing playlist—the music she’d play while she worked on her latest WIP, a fantasy adventure tale. She wanted songs that would speak to the acts of the book—her heroine on a mission, in trouble, fighting her way out, and resolving her issues. I thought of “I Need a Hero,” sung by Bonnie Tyler, who asks for a street-wise Hercules.

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Writing Tips

Your Job Description by Kay Keppler

I recently had the opportunity to do a beta read on a novel and provide a critique. The experience was both sad and depressing. Everything was off—pacing, character development, and conflict. Keeping all those ponies in harness pulling their weight and working together is complicated. But this is your job as a novelist.

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Writing Tips

Characters and Their Sensory Limitations: POV and Description by Susanne Lakin

Few writers pay much attention to character placement, but this is something of paramount concern to filmmakers, and a subject I cover in depth in Shoot Your Novel. A director has to lay out his camera shots, deciding when a close-up shot would be more effective than a long shot, for example. He may want the camera positioned far away from the action, to make details unclear and evoke curiosity or misinterpretation. Or he may have an extreme close-up to ensure viewers don’t miss a tiny detail that is crucial to the plot.

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Writing Tips

How to Be Funny Without Hurting Yourself by Catharine Bramkamp

When you try really, really hard to be funny, it inevitably won’t work. Like when my mother tells a joke. She always forgets some critical piece in the set up that, if forgotten, renders the punch line unintelligible. Which, as she backtracks and says, Oh, I forgot to tell you about the bath tub, is funny, but not the way she intended.

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