Creating Unforgettable Characters, Part 3 Dig up a goal to motivate your characters into action. They will have depth and your story will come alive. Delve into each character’s personality and ask about the hidden fears, secrets, and the values. Find out what makes them tick. Interview the characters you’ve created. Ask about their external […]
Archives for 2009
Writing Lesson 12 – Creating Inner Conflict
November 13, 2009 By 2 Comments
Creating Emotion in Writing Almost every writing class or craft book will tell you the same thing: fiction must create a compelling emotional experience. The problem is these teachers also let you know that if your character cries, the reader probably won’t. So how do you build this emotion? Simply writing highly emotional phrases such […]
Writing Lesson 11 – Taste the Rainbow!
November 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Sensory Writing is Sensational! Reading and writing are by nature very visual activities, but most people have five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. The more sensory perceptions you are able to engage in your writing, the more your reader will be able to experience your story almost first-hand. That’s a very good thing! Stories […]
Writing Lesson 10 – Know Your Enemy
October 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Create Villains as Real as Your Heroes When you’re planning a story, it is natural to pour your efforts into developing your protagonist’s character. You may spend a lot of time imagining his or her history, strengths, weaknesses, physical appearance . . . even, perhaps, what he or she eats for breakfast! What if you […]
Writing Lesson 9 – Liven It Up!
October 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Show, Don’t Tell If there’s one thing you will be told as a writer over and over again, it’s Show, Don’t Tell. So, if you haven’t heard that said before, allow me to be the first. What does it mean to show and not tell? It means to let the reader see, hear, taste, smell, […]
