Who Cares? Character Values and Conflict Who cares? Well, our characters do. These sometimes larger-than-life types care passionately about people and places and objects and concepts and experiences. If you can figure out what your characters care about, you can use these values to discover more about them, to…
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Who Cares? Character Values and Conflict Who cares? Well, our characters do. These sometimes larger-than-life types care passionately about people and places and objects and concepts and experiences. If you can figure out what your characters care about, you can use these values to discover more about them, to…
Hi, all! I have several free writing booklets, and I want to make sure that you have access to them if you want any or all of them! Do you want any of these? I’ll add the direct link to the download page just in case the live link doesn’t…
Your Story Conclusion Story endings are literally anticlimactic– that is, the conclusion comes after the climax scene. But you don’t want the end actually to be an anticlimax, an afterthought, something stuck in there so the reader will know the story is over. What an effective ending can do is give…
I know I’m not the only writer kind of obsessed with point of view, so I thought I’d talk about one aspect of POV — which character should narrate a particular scene. Often this is an easy decision, but if you’re having trouble making the scene as dramatic or deep…
Get out a scene you’re working on, and let’s see about drafting and then revising. A lot of writers bore themselves by planning a scene too much in advance. This scene, how about just sketching the very basic events? Try choosing a big scene, like The Reversal, or The Point…
Telling vs. Showing We’ve all heard the writing aphorism, “Show, don’t tell.” Yes, all the critics have the solution to vague, talky, directive stories and passages. Show, don’t tell! Don’t tell me Sarah is angry– show her kicking the trashcan over! It’s great advice. Today’s readers want a more interactive…
CHARACTER AND SETTING INTERACTIONS: 10 QUESTIONS TO BUILD YOUR STORY PLACE Here is a quick exercise to help you explore your protagonist’s relationship with the setting. Just free-write on the questions. Look for conflict and character-building opportunities. Also look for possible events and places where events might take place. See…
For some reason I decided I had to have a story where my sleuthing couple are at a cricket match and the batter gets “beaned” by the ball. Only it’s not a ball, it’s a meteorite. No prob! Of course, I know nothing about cricket or meteors either! But that’s…
Problem #10: Backstory Blunders
The past is prologue, for sure, but you can tell too much too soon dragging your plot down, if everything about the characters’ past is explained right upfront in Chapter One.