Interviewing Characters: Follow the Energy - Conversations with Dale On November 13, 2007 I ran out of plot for the NaNoWriMo novel I was writing. I had no idea what to write next. That’s not uncommon for NaNo novelists, but I hadda do something to jiggle myself loose. In NaNoWriMo, word count is everything, and I couldn’t afford to fall behind. So I tried something I hadn’t tried before: I interviewed my characters. Well, that turned out to be more interesting than I’d anticipated. I didn’t use any pre-planned questionnaire. Instead, I did what I do in many real-life interviews: Follow the energy. Ask a question that invites the character to tell me something newListen for emotional intensity in the answer. Rather than describing this process in detail, I’ll let you read the interviews as I conducted them, unedited. Some background: The novel involves a time loop. In the first plot, Dan Roberge murders his wife Faith and her lover Zorem. The interviews: In the second plot, Amy Anderson saves her son from drowning in a pond on the family farm.
Marco Polo - Exploration Two years later, Niccolò and Maffeo sailed to Acre in present-day Israel, this time with Marco at their side. At the request of Kublai Khan, they secured some holy oil from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and then backtracked to Acre to pick up gifts, papal documents and two friars from newly elected Pope Gregory X. The friars quickly abandoned the expedition, but the Polos continued on, possibly by camel, to the Persian port city of Hormuz. Kublai, who generally relied on foreigners to administer his empire, took Marco Polo into his court, possibly as a tax collector. After many years of seeking a release from service, the Polos finally secured permission from Kublai to escort a young princess to her intended husband Arghun, the Mongol ruler of Persia.
Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: On Writing — Dialogue SFWRITER.COM > How to Write > On Writing: Dialogue by Robert J. Sawyer Copyright © 1996 by Robert J. Sawyer. All rights reserved. Writing convincing dialogue is one of the hardest things for new writers to master. Here's the kind of dialog you read in many beginners' stories: "What happened to you, Joe?" Here's how real people talk: "Christ, man, what happened?" See the differences? Also note that in the first example, the speakers refer to each other by name. A few other features of real human speech demonstrated in the second example above: when relaying to a third party a conversation we had with somebody else, we usually only directly quote what the other person said; our own side of the conversation is typically relayed with considerable bravado, and the listener understands that what's really being presented is what we wish we'd had the guts to say, not what we actually said. Now, which of the above examples is better? "Christ, man, what happened?" "Interchangeable?"
Water Cures in Ancient China Water Cures in Ancient China Water is the source of every thing on earth, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses it as an important ingredient for healing. The well-known pharmacopoeia, the Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), has classified water into different types, as the ancient Chinese held that water could exert diverse effects according to its source, for example: The tradition of water cures occurs in many cultures. It is well accepted that bathing can be a remedy for healing or health maintenance. In Chinese culture, baths are not just for sanitary reasons but also an integral part of rituals.
Character Chart for Fiction Writers - EpiGuide.com If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing. Fill in only as much info as you choose. If this character chart is helpful, please let us know! Looking for more character questionnaires / charts?
Religion and gods in ancient Egypt Religion governed life at all levels of Egyptian society. Ancient Egyptian coffin painted with winged serpent Photographer: © Australian Museum From natural forces like the rise and fall of the Nile and the passage of the sun, to death, healing, childbirth and prosperity – all were inseparable from gods and magic. Religion Throughout Egypt's history beliefs and practices were constantly changing though the themes of fertility, rebirth, death and resurrection generally remained constant. The ancient Egyptians had a tendency to merge new beliefs with the old ones rather than simply replace them. Gods We know of hundreds of gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as their names, personalities and appearances have survived in the artwork the civilisation left behind. Local areas had local gods, with each city or region often having their own deities that they worshipped. Anubis was the jackal-headed god of embalming and mummification and the patron god of embalmers.
Character Chart FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What? How often? Drinks: What? How often? SELF-PERCEPTION One word character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how character would describe self: What does character consider best physical characteristic? Immediate goal(s): Long range goal(s): How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)? How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)? Jewelry? Owns a computer? © (c ) copyright 1990-2011 Rebecca Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Authors Note: I worked hard on this. ~ Permission is granted to LINK TO the Fiction Writers Character Chart. ~ Permission is granted to print out a copy of the Fiction Writers Character Chart FOR PERSONAL USE ~ Permission is NOT granted to copy and/or use the Character Chart in print and/or electronic form (including the internet) without express written permission)
Ancient Egyptian Soldiers - Warriors of Pharaoh Ancient Egyptian soldiers were the main ingredient of what made ancient Egypt a great civilization. The military might of ancient Egypt was what translated the Pharaoh's ideas and tactics into a reality. It is also what kept ancient Egypt continuous for over 3,000 years. This temporary army only lasted for as long as the campaign was alive, and then dispersed once it was done. The young men would go back to their old jobs and villages. Once it was seen how much of an advantage having a permanent army would be, it was set up in the New Kingdom and the career of a soldier was created. So there were now 2 ways to be part of the army: National Service - You could just join as an adult recruit to train/serve for a year or two, with the possibility of being called back to serve any time after that.Military Career - You were signed up as a child to serve in the army your whole life. Some military men rose to such great power as to become kings themselves... Ancient Egyptian Military Training
Tami Cowden | Author I am happy to say that The Complete Writers’ Guide to Heroes and Heroines is now available on Kindle! And even better – so is Fallen Heroes: Sixteen Master Villain Archetypes! What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes? The word "archetype" was coined by Carl Jung, who theorized that humans have a collective unconscious, "deposits of the constantly repeated experiences of humanity.... a kind of readiness to reproduce over and over again the same or similar mythical ideas...." The observations my coauthors and I made are that there are recurring character types who have starred in story after story, entertaining and informing the human experience for millennia. At his or her core, every well-defined hero or heroine is one of the respective archetypes. But beware when trying to decide what archetypal family to which a character belongs. I am serious – what the character does is not the defining element. “Any archetype can do anything – the question will always be why.” Top
Ancient Egyptian Women - Their Rights and Daily Life Ancient Egyptian women had a lot of rights that other women of the ancient world did not. In fact, compared to women of someparts of the world today, they are considered quite lucky! Still, they were not equal to men of the same social rank and were subjected to a stricter existence. Of course their lives, compared to modern standards, were much more difficult. Egyptian girls married young (age 10) and spent the majority of their days in housekeeping, child bearing, nursing, and child rearing. The Mistress An ancient Egyptian household could have over 15 people in it, and so house work was quite the task. This is actually still the case for some women in Egypt these days. Even though the man of the house reigned supreme, his wife usually was the main household administrator. She was given the title of "Mistress of the House." She either had to carry out most of the household chores herself, or had to supervise the servants who did. The Working Girl Ancient Egyptian Women's Material Assets
Web Resources for Developing Characters When developing characters, many writers use personality traits that they see in themselves and in others, such as friends, family and celebrities. A new source of material and information that can help you develop characters is the Internet. The Internet offers some unique resources for character development, such as psychological testing websites, baby name databases and other reference sites and databases. These websites certainly weren't created for writers developing characters; nevertheless, these site are extremely useful for writers. This article will help you locate some of these useful resources, and give you some tips about how you can use them to develop your own characters. Psychological Resources Psychological websites can help writers learn the underlying principles of behavior that motivate or cause people to act as they do. Biography Resources Biography resources can be a great help to writers. Naming Characters Other Resources Developing Characters
Daily Life - Ancient Egypt for Kids In the movies, you often see the ancient Egyptian civilization presented as a dark and spooky place. The people seem to be in love with death. But the ancient Egyptians were not like that at all. They loved color. Everyone ate well in ancient Egypt. Family life was very important to the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians were not afraid of their gods. The ancient Egyptians were a happy, clever people.
Establishing the Right Point of View Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid "Stepping Out of Character" by Marg Gilks Return to Characters, Viewpoint, and Names · Print/Mobile-Friendly Version "Dalquist was shaking with rage, tears streaking down her face. 'Get out,' she whispered. Yikes! If you can see what's wrong with this excerpt, congratulations. What's wrong with the above excerpt? Paragraph one is ambiguous. Every scene should have only one POV character, and everything must be filtered through that POV character's perceptions. But, isn't it so much easier just to tell the reader what character X is thinking, rather than trying to show it in ways the POV character (and thus, the reader) can see and understand? Let's look at that again, and we'll see a hint: isn't it so much easier just to tell the reader what character X is thinking, rather than trying to show it in ways the POV character can see and understand? Yup: "show, don't tell." Yup: characterization. "Lexas didn't turn around. Find Out More...