 | |
| |
Writing Information & News
| |
|
|
|
 8 Quick Tips on Creating Vivid, Memorable Characters
These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will help you make sure that readers are involved with your story people right from the start. Tip 1: Make sure that the reader knows as early as possible who the viewpoint character is in any scene. Do this by tapping into thoughts or emotions that can only be known by the viewpoint character. Tip 2: Decide on and mention names early in the story. Carefully chosen names help the reader get a rounded picture of your character. (It also helps to stimulate the writer's imagination.) Tip 3: Give an early "thumbnail sketch" of your character. While it is boring for the reader to suffer through a lengthy description of any character, don't make the mistake of being too sparing with your description. Give the reader enough to form a picture of your character - 'first impression' in looks and personality. Tip 4: Ask: "Whose story is it?" If one of your secondary characters appeals to you more, and is 'taking over the story', you might have chosen the wrong protagonist. Whose story do you most want to tell? Whose story is likely to engage the reader more? Tip 5: Use character tags (hair colour or style, annoying habits, distinctive voice etc) to help readers keep characters straight - especially if you have a lot of characters in your novel. Tip 6: Don't reveal everything about your character in the beginning. Leave room for the character to grow; for the reader to become curious, and for you to get to know him/her. Tip 7: Know each character's motivation for action. If the reasons for your character's actions and thoughts are not clear to you, the writer, then you will probably find your character doing or saying things that are unbelievable. Motivation is all important! Character motivation comes from two sources: from the inner nature of the person, and from external events that move that person towards making certain decisions. The character's actions will be a result of both internal and external motivation. Make sure you give yourself time to really understand your character. Tip 8: Characters who have inner conflict are more interesting than more static characters. This does not mean you can have them act out of character "because they're conflicted". Their inner conflict IS part of their character. They can be pulled two ways? but the reader should be able to understand the reasons for both impulses. (c) Copyright Marg McAlister Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Heartless traffic agent Daniel Chu STILL writing off drivers after scuffle ... - New York Daily News
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Writers Identity: Exploring the Writer Within Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that the best way to find your voice is to write autobiographically. "Writers will never find a powerful, evocative voice until they learn to be bone-deep honest with themselves, open and vulnerable. How To Write A Newsletter In order to be successful with a newsletter, specialize in a subject not adequately covered in existing newsletters. A subject which you can give more, or better information on. Slow Pokes: Short Story On The Changing World Of Writing "No one will ever know who I am, I'm a nobody-writer from nowhere? I've had a thousand rejections from all the major publishers. It seems my destiny is never to be read, another nameless soul lost to the sands of eternity. Is Now the Time for a Play about the War in Iraq? Everone knows that comedy is mostly about timing. If you hit upon the right nerve (is a funny bone a nerve?) at the right time then, usually, you don't even have to be original or even marginally funny to win laughs. Gaining Writing Experience GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Some Catch-22, huh? In the writing business, you can't get published until you have some experience. If you can't get published until you have experience, how do you get experience? How do you get publishing clips to show all those publishers who want to see "previously published clips"? It's almost as if Lily Tomlin's telephone operator character came up with this: "Is this the party to whom I'm speaking? Are you the unpublished writer who has published clips I can look at? (Snort, snort!)" What's an unpublished writer to do? Get published, of course! I'm not being flippant; I'm serious. Characters In A Romance Novel Before you even begin writing your novel, you need to know who your characters will be. Minimally, you would want two major characters, the hero and the heroine. Five Golden Rules for Writers Regardless of what sort of writer you are and how much you love to write, there are probably days when you'd rather clean ditches than face another blank page.As writers, we face common challenges; staying motivated and confident, avoiding "writer's block," and meeting goals (on time!) are some of the toughest. Keep your Book Dream Alive Is your book nearly finished, finished, published, or even in its early stages? Do you want to know how to promote it with ease and low cost?Maybe you have already tried other methods to sell you book and felt tired of?- Submitting unseen or unheard media releases- Chasing book reviews that yielded small negligible results- Selling only a few books at your book signings- Exerting a lot of effort to travel, to speak, only to reap mediocre book sales- Experiencing radio and TV talk show low book sales results- Wondering why your bookstore or distributor has stopped selling your books- Worrying about who will promote your book now that your publisher has stopped- Feeling dismayed your book isn't giving you the ongoing, passive income you hoped for- Feeling discouraged about all the wasted time and money you have spentKeep Your Book Dream AliveJust like you, I wrote Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market your Book Online because as an author, just like you, I was tired of the old ways to get my books sold. Lackluster sales and chasing a low-results pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I turned to the Internet four years ago. A Writers Inner Battle There is a psychological nuisance so powerful that can deflate the drive, self-esteem, and human spirit of many aspiring Writers of any age. These Writers are faced with an obstacle that make them stop, think twice and question their right to be a part of a respected community. Teachers Should Write, During Their Summers Before I became a teacher, I was a sports writer. Working for a newspaper taught me a lot about writing, especially dealing with the pressures of deadlines. Why Manners Maketh the Freelance Writer Lately I've been noticing an odd trend amongst the freelance writers who contact us every week: rudeness.First there was the writer who accepted a job found on our boards and forwarded the completed assignment to the employer with the words, "Project attached. Writing New Ideas Someone once commented that there were no new ideas to write, that all that could be done was a recombination of the words and phrases for a deeper, more personal expression of meaning. They have completely missed the point and purpose to 'writing'. Writing Made Them Rich #3: Richard Bach One day in the mid-1970's a young man stumbled into adiner somewhere in the United Sates.Slung over his shoulder was a kit-bag that containedeverything he owned. Book Publishing Contracts For Writers: What Should I Look Out For? Dave, I just got a contract for a book from a publisher that I haven't worked with before. These long, tedious legal documents just befuddle me, however! Would you mind spinning through this and seeing what you think about the terms and clauses herein?Here are my thoughts on this contract. Writing Requires Self-Control The only way to become a writer is to write. That requires a great deal of self-control and dedication, not only writing when the urge is upon you, but even when it is not. The Authors Life: 14 Hints on Creating a Career Plan 1. Remember publication is a business; writing is an art. Keeping a Love Journal Do you love someone very deeply? A spouse, son, daughter,or maybe a group of people. February 14 is Valentineâ??s Day. Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution? Creative Writing Tips -For a theme to work and the story, which will revolve around the theme, it has to contain three things?CharacterConflictResolutionWhat's the reason for this?If your theme doesn't contain these three essential elements, then you won't be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead. Becoming A Successful Author: The Price! So you want to be a successful author? You want to be up there withBrown, Archer, King, but what price are you prepared to pay? You might be lucky and your first book could be an overnight success but the chances are you'll be hacking it for years before success knocks.If you decided to become a lawyer, an accountant, a bricklayer, or even to start an 'ordinary' business then you would be prepared to make sacrifices, to invest in the future. Starting a Local Writers Group My husband is no poet, so when I offer my carefully pruned poetry for him to review, I get the usual and unsatisfying reply: "That' nice sweetie." Furthermore, he could care less about whom the Poet Laureate is and why I love his smoke pit conversation type poems.
|
| © Writing Information 2010 |