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When should your characters notice and comment on something and when should it be just subtly included? Subtext is when something is going on in the story, but it’s only mentioned in passing, slantwise, or it’s just understood. Often, subtext comes out in dialogue, the unspoken things that the audience understands from knowing the characters [...]
Mini-Conflicts Help Characters Stand Out For my WIP, I’m spending the week fleshing out characters. I”ve written about characters many times. Here’s a Character Checklist, and 15 Days to a Stronger Character, and many other posts on character. At this stage in character development, I’m mostly concerned with creating an interesting mix. For this story, [...]
Are there untouchable topics in literature? No, of course, not. But there are topics that are difficult to do well, or it feels like you are preaching. You know the ones: alcoholism, abortion, medical ethics, underage drinking, etc. These are hard to put into a story or novel and have it work. Dealing with Flash [...]
Ever wonder if you’re good at characterization in your novel or story? A good way to evaluate your skill in characterization is the Page 5 Test. Page 5 Test: Are you Good at Characterization? Read the first five pages of your manuscript. Turn over page 5 and on the back,
In two or three years, will we see lots of books with characters named Isabella and Jacob? It’s likely. Obama’s and Twilight’s Names are Popular: Barack and Malia The Social Security Administration tracks the most popular names and says that the changes this year bring Isabella and Jacob to the top. However, President Obama’s family [...]
“It Suddenly Dawned on Her”: Improving Your Character Epiphanies “And then, it suddenly dawned on her.” That phrase is the ultimate cliche for a character epiphany. The term epiphany was originally a religious term referring to the physical appearance of a deity. In fiction, it’s the point at which truth appears before a character; the [...]
Are you in Pain? Question for your character. So, I’m sitting at the hosptial, waiting for my husband to follow in Harry Smith’s footsteps and get the Couric Procedure (screening colonoscopy). Every wall has a sign asking, “Are you in pain? 0 No Pain/Happy face
Doing the character checklist this week, I realized that I hadn’t written much about dialogue. Oh, I have a couple times.
Character Checklist PLEASE ReTWEET! See also: 15 Days to a Stronger Character Latest post on Characters: 3 Types of Character Arcs: Choosing the Best for your Novel EXTERNALS Name or Nickname: Does the character’s name evoke something about him or her? Does it resonate in the story? Character Roles and Jobs. Have you fully explored [...]
Use Character Traits to Make Your Character Sympathetic Yesterday, we looked at 9 character traits that can be used to develop sympathy for your character. Today, we’ll look at using those traits in your story. It’s not enough just to tell yourself, or write on a checklist, that your character has these traits and is, [...]
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