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IN the on-going series of Thinking Like a Writer, everyone can recite the plot diagram of rising action which ends in a climax and denouement. But writers can’t just recite the particulars of a diagram; instead, we must create a plot that changes a character in some way. One way to get at that change [...]
Is 750 words per day getting easier or harder? January 2012 is a month when I am making a commitment to write at least 750 words each day. For me, it’s hard to get started, but goes easily once I actually go to 750words.com and log in. Just knowing that it is timed makes me [...]
I am trying to keep up with my friend, Charlie, who has ridden his bike over 25 miles a day for over 3000 consecutive days. I want to write 750 words a day and I’m using 750words.com to keep track of everything. The point of this exercise is to make sure I am Thinking Like [...]
I’m on a 4 day streak, after messing up a 36 day streak of writing daily on 750words.com. Sigh. Why did I mess up? Too many family issues going on. If you’re writing 750 words daily, too, part of the goal is to learn to think like a writer. Character relationships are important to establish, [...]
This month, I am trying to Think Like a Writer and write 750 words a day, practicing my writing, much like a musician plays scales daily. When you introduce a character, do you say something like this? John Doe, age 37, trotted down the street. The question is how old is the character and how [...]
The Think Like a Writer series continues here with an exhortation to continue thinking in sensory details, the basic exercise of any writer. Today, think about how a person moves as a way to characterize him or her. Action and Metaphors of Action She is as lithe as a jaguar. That simile evokes a certain [...]
You Can Tell a Lot About a Person by His/Her Nose Yes, noses. Writers of novels, short stories, picture books or other fiction must keep firmly in mind that the character rules. You must be able to characterize quickly, whether your characters are wooden men or birds or airmen or teenage boys. One thing I’ve [...]
Character Emotions MUST Spill Out into Big Actions Characters, even supporting characters, should be bigger than life. No flat characters. Fiction demands round, “fleshed-out” characters. I’m working on a revision and I know this. Yet, when a friend read my revision, her response was that I needed big actions for my characters. In the revision, [...]
OK, so I have this revision to do and one key element of it is to deepen characterization and relationships. Uh, oh. My weakness! How did the editor know that it was my weak area? Even after spending agonizing hours on characterization, I’m still not hitting the mark. Which left me stumped on this revision. [...]
Working on a novel revision, I realize that I need to refocus the relationship between two characters. The question is where to start. Grand Entrance for Your Character I once heard the late Sid Fleischman talk about the importance of giving a character a Grand Entrance. Think about a stage play, where a character sweeps [...]
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