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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, [...]
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 [...]
Setting: “Where am I? And why should I care?” Readers ask these two questions at the beginning of every story. We often focus on the second question, how to hook a reader. But orienting the reader is just as important. They need to know the setting: this is a wider question than just the geographic [...]
In my WIP, I’m looking for mini-conflicts among characters. I want to keep the tension high throughout. Donald Maass, agent and author of Write the Breakout Novel, says, “Tension on every page.” Ongoing Conflicts. These mini-conflicts are the stuff of everyday life: The ongoing battle between teacher/student over chewing gum. The ongoing battle between brother/sister [...]
Character’s Job Affects Your Novel When you think about a character’s profession or job, what are you looking for? Stand out. Usually, you want something that will stand out. Maybe taxidermist, taxi driver, armored car driver. The ch Implications of the Job. Think carefully about the implications of the job. This might be considering the [...]
Celebrate Milestones of Writing This week, I finally have 1574 words done, a solid draft of Chapter 1. I’m celebrating. It’s been a struggle to get this one started. And I have a plan for what comes next, even better. Do you celebrate small steps along the way of writing and publishing your work? What’s [...]
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