Tag: Writing

Who Are You Talking About?

4 Comments
[found on tylerlehmann.wordpress.com; by Tyler Lehmann]

“The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible.” — Mark Twain

“A good writer knows his characters better than he does his closest friends. Oh, that sounds nuts, you say? Yep, probably.

But the reality is, no one will give a rip about your characters if you don’t make them come alive, as good ol’ Twain points out above. Humans are infinitely complex, and if your characters don’t mimic that complexity, the illusion that is reading is lost.

    1. Gender
    2. Age
    3. Ethnicity
    4. Body type
    5. Hair color and style
    6. Eyewear
    7. Facial hair
    8. Clothing style
    9. Tattoos and piercings
    10. Scars and birthmarks…”

For more tips on writing, and the complete list of traits from Tyler Lehmann, click here.

[found on http://tylerlehmann.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/80-powerful-questions-you-need-to-make-a-character-traits-for-creative-writing]

Sight Is Not the Only Sense

4 Comments
[found on thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com; by ]

“Remember to use more than SIGHT to describe.

Sight is only one way to get an image across. The other senses like smells, sounds or touching can also reveal a lot about a character and create intimacy ties between the character and the reader through recognition. Use them to characterize! Our pal Melvin would probably steer clear of heavy scents, careful to always consider both his guests sensitivity to strong colognes and to maintain his background role. Yet I could imagine standing next to him in the elevator and catching a whiff of clean soap, or perhaps a touch of aloe from his hair gel.”

For more writing tips from Angela Ackerman, click here.

[found on http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2010/04/writers-bane-describing-characters.html]

Prevent the Hatred of the Main Character

Leave a comment
[found on jodyhedlund.blogspot.com; by Jody Hedlund]

“How can we know if we’re crossing the line and making our main characters too unlikable?

We hear this writing mantra over and over: Add tension to every page, increase the conflict, and get our main characters (MCs) into trouble. In humble obedience to the rules of fiction, we try to heap mountains of problems upon our MCs.

We do this externally in the form of villains, trauma, or drama. And we do it internally in the form of emotional struggles, character weaknesses, or relationship problems. A story wouldn’t be a page-turner without the conflict to move it forward.

However, at the beginning when we’re trying to establish the problems and the need for character growth, we may tip the scales too far. Yes, our MCs need flaws, things they have to work through as the story progresses (aka character arc). But in the process of making our MCs imperfect, we can’t turn them into bitter, whiny, selfish, angry, mean, cold-hearted jerks.

I’ve learned that in making my MCs have real, everyday, human problems, I have to be careful not to shape them into the kind of people no one wants to hang around for 300 plus pages.”

For more writing tips from Jody Hedlund, click here.

[found on http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-avoid-trap-of-creating-unlikable.html]

See Your Scene

Leave a comment
[found on thewritepractice.com; by ]

“Visualize Your Scenes.

If you, the writer, cannot visualize the fight, expect the readers to have trouble as well. Visualize how each moment of the scenes will take place.

Try writing multiple ways of how the scene plays out. Ask other people to read them out. Did they like what they read? Were they able to picture out a clear image of the fight?

Remember: Action scenes don’t always involve fights. They can also be about your protagonist trying to race against time to stop a time bomb. But they always must be clearly written.”

For more great tips on writing from The Write Practice, click here.

[found on http://thewritepractice.com/pow-fight-scenes/]

Dialogue Your Characters

Leave a comment
[found on theguardian.com]

“It’s never too soon to start thinking about what your characters will say and how they’ll say it. Giving each of your characters a distinct voice is key to writing great fiction.

The goal of Worksheet 9 is to encourage you to think about your characters’ individual speech patterns and specific word choices. Your characters will probably reveal these distinctions as your story progresses, but thinking about it early will make you more receptive to such revelations.

For each of your major characters, record information about individual speech patterns and any catchphrases they may use.

With this information in place on a dialogue sheet, you’ll know exactly what a given character will say and how he/she will say it. You can also use this worksheet during the final edit and polish of the manuscript to double-check speech patterns.”

[found on http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/19/researching-your-novel]

Identity Creation

Leave a comment
[found on writetodone.com; by Mary Jaksch of GoodlifeZen]

“Forge your identity. Say, “I am a writer!” Maybe you feel reluctant to say it because you think you’re not good enough? Well, forget about ‘good enough’! A writer writes. Do you write? If yes, then you are a writer. Plaster your home with notices that say, “I am a writer!” Tell people about it. When you next fill in a form, put ‘writer’ as your profession. Thinking of yourself as a writer will boost your confidence and unlock your creativity.”

For more tips from Mary Jaksch, click here.

[found on http://writetodone.com/zen-power-writing-15-tips-on-how-to-generate-ideas-and-write-with-ease]

Schedule, Not Afterthought

Leave a comment
[found on chronicle.com; by Michael C. Munger]

“Write, then squeeze the other things in. Put your writing ahead of your other work. I happen to be a “morning person,” so I write early in the day. Then I spend the rest of my day teaching, having meetings, or doing paperwork. You may be a “night person” or something in between. Just make sure you get in the habit of reserving your most productive time for writing. Don’t do it as an afterthought or tell yourself you will write when you get a big block of time. Squeeze the other things in; the writing comes first.”

For more writing tips by Michael C. Munger, click here.

[found on http://chronicle.com/article/10-Tips-on-How-to-Write-Less/124268]

Be Passive The Writing Must Not

Leave a comment
[found on bookcoaching.com; by Judy Cullins]

“Stop passive sentence construction.

When you write in passive voice, your writing slides along into long sentences that slow your readers down, even bore them.

Before you put your final stamp of approval on your writing, circle all the “is,” “was” and other passive verbs like: begin, start to, seems, appears, have, and could. Use your grammar check to count your passives. Aim for 2-4% only.

Instead of, ”Make sure that your name is included on all your household accounts and investments.” Passive culprits include “Make” and “is included.” Create more clarity with this revision,” Include your name on all household accounts and investments to keep your own credit alive after your divorce.”

For more tips on writing from Judy Cullins, click here.

[found on http://bookcoaching.com/wp/non-fiction-book-writing-solutions]

Show Up, It’s the Secret

Leave a comment
[found on writing.ie; by Carol Tallon]

“Turn up, keeping turning up and don’t forget to breathe!

While this may not sound original or particularly enlightening, struggling writers should focus on this as a first step.  Turn up and keep turning up until it no longer requires any conscious effort.  You might not be in the mood to sit at the computer, and you may even feel that it is a waste of time if your mind is blank, turn up anyway.  The ego of a writer is a great thing as it means we will not tolerate a void, regardless of whether that void is in our mind, in conversation or on the screen in front of us.  Our aim will be to fill that void.  It’s a compulsion. Give into it. Over time, with discipline, your words and ideas will be transformed into concepts that can be shared with the world.”

For more tips from Carol Tallon, click here.

[found on http://www.writing.ie/resources/tips-for-writing-non-fiction-from-carol-tallon]

Feel Not Alone, Dear Writer

2 Comments
[found on quentinschultze.com; by Quentin J. Schultze]

“Discuss Your Writing with Writers (and Authors)
Authors need one another.  Writing is personal, but learning about writing is communal.  Every author depends on the work of earlier writers.  This is true for style and content.  We all need feedback from other writers as well as from readers.  Discussing our ideas and manuscripts with other writers helps us to discover what works and what doesn’t—and why.  Join a local writers group (e.g., through a bookstore), read one another’s drafts, and offer kind but honest feedback.  If possible, invite some published (but humble) authors into the group.  Eventually, sitting at your keyboard or staring at a notebook will not seem so lonely, intimidating, and baffling.”

[found on http://quentinschultze.com/tips-1-5-for-book-writers]