Novel Writing Help Creating Bitchy Characters: How to Write a Mean Character If you’re interested in breaking the mold with your character, there is no single criterion for a bitch. However, you might want to consider making several of her dominant traits negative or what society has typically not expected of females. For example, her traits might include being manipulating, selfish, cunning, power-seeking, or vengeful. Or, perhaps your bitch character cannot connect to others emotionally, or she is sexually insatiable. Or maybe she’s simply a nonconformist who is opinionated, mouthy, aggressive, ambitious, or confident. How to Create a Bitchy Character The juxtaposition of what women are supposed to be—sweet, feminine, compliant, and vulnerable—and what they are truly capable of being—tough, athletic, powerful, and violent—creates a natural friction that can yield fascinating results in fiction. Tips For Writing Strong Female Characters Do you want your reader to be appalled when your bitch character dares not to follow the rules? You might also like:
7 Steps for Writing a Novel in Scenes - Live Write Breathe You’ll notice I didn’t include the word “easy” in the title of this post. There are not seven “easy” steps to writing a novel in scenes. It takes hard work. I suspect that’s why so many writers substitute narrative summary for scenes. Of course, when you’re not sure of the components that make up a scene, it’s harder to write one. If your writing seems flat or passive and you don’t know why, you may have omitted one or more of the following: Real Time: Even if you’re writing in third person using past-tense verbs, lay out actions in sequential order. Telling a cohesive story through scenes is an art that, once mastered, will breathe life into your writing. What are your tips for writing scenes? Need a good book to read? DawnSinger, Tales of Faeraven #1 by Janalyn Voigt A headstrong young princess and the guardian sworn to protect her fly on winged horses to the Gate of Life above the Well of Light in a desperate bid to release the DawnKing, and the salvation he offers, into a divided land.
How to Use Mental Illness in Your Writing | Fantasy-Faction Sunday, April 8, 2012 Mental illness is always a tricky topic to discuss, especially in the politically correct society of the present. I can tell you though, I work in a psychiatric hospital, and the patients there are often more than happy to discuss their illnesses, whether you would like them to or not. This is how I came to meet Jim Bob, the recovering-alcoholic duckling who likes nothing more than to chill out with his issue of Cosmo. It is all part of their character, and as we readers and writers of fiction know, character is a huge part of the story world. The most famous mentally ill character in fiction is of course Gollum/Sméagol. Gollum’s illness very definitely affects his behaviour and actions throughout the novels. Another example of mental illness in fantasy that some readers may be aware of is in Brian Jacques’ Mariel of Redwall. Mental illness can be used to add layers of depth to a character, but they do not need to be as extreme as the examples stated above.
descriptive words chart Creative Writing Prompts: Secrets and Lies for Your Characters Nothing is better (or more fun for the writer) than a story-relevant secret or lie. Give some dilemma beneath the surface story to give your character depth, add suspense and tension, and keep your reader turning the pages. You can drop hints throughout your writing and when the reveal comes—you will surprise, shock, and delight your reader. Creating a character with a strong internal conflict, secret, or burden makes for one compelling read! (To see more on writing a compelling protagonist, check out The Compelling Protagonist Part 1 and Compelling Protagonist Part 2.) Below are writing prompts to help you find some ideas for internal secrets, lies (and therefore conflict) for your characters. Write about a broken promise. Write about a secret. Write about a lie that protects. Write about a lie that is told to hurt. Do this brainstorming throughout the writing of your work in progress.
Stephen King's Top 20 Rules for Writers Image by the USO, via Flickr Commons In one of my favorite Stephen King interviews, for The Atlantic, he talks at length about the vital importance of a good opening line. “There are all sorts of theories,” he says, “it’s a tricky thing.” “But there’s one thing” he’s sure about: “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. We’ve talked so much about the reader, but you can’t forget that the opening line is important to the writer, too. This is excellent advice. Revision in the second draft, “one of them, anyway,” may “necessitate some big changes” says King in his 2000 memoir slash writing guide On Writing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. See a fuller exposition of King’s writing wisdom at Barnes & Noble’s blog. Related Content: Stephen King Creates a List of 96 Books for Aspiring Writers to Read Stephen King Writes A Letter to His 16-Year-Old Self: “Stay Away from Recreational Drugs”
18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently This list has been expanded into the new book, “Wired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind,” by Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman. Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Creative thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Neuroscience paints a complicated picture of creativity. And psychologically speaking, creative personality types are difficult to pin down, largely because they’re complex, paradoxical and tend to avoid habit or routine. “It’s actually hard for creative people to know themselves because the creative self is more complex than the non-creative self,” Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist at New York University who has spent years researching creativity, told The Huffington Post. While there’s no “typical” creative type, there are some tell-tale characteristics and behaviors of highly creative people. They daydream. They observe everything.
6 Ways to Hook Your Readers Although I consider myself an avid reader, I must admit I have a short attention span when it comes to getting into books. If you fail to grab my attention in the first few lines, I start spacing out. Most readers are like me. Most people don’t want to spend the first 50 pages trying to get into a book. Here are a few things I find annoying in the first lines of a story: Dialogue. The last thing you want to do as a writer is annoy or bore people. (N.B. 1. Put a question in your readers’ minds. “Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” 2. By starting at an important moment in the story, your reader is more likely to want to continue so he or she can discover what will happen next. “It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told.” 3. Description is good when it encourages people to paint a picture in their minds. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” 4. 5. “They had flown from England to Minneapolis to look at a toilet.” 6.
Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking 2382 516Share Synopsis Aspects of creative thinking that are not usually taught. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. And, finally, Creativity is paradoxical. Tags: adversity, contemporaries, creative education, creative geniuses, creative life, creative thinker, creative thinking, education, lighting systems, masterpieces, minor poets, motions, picasso, practicality, profitability, rembrandt, self-help, shakespeare, sonnets, special person, symphonies, thomas edison, wolfgang amadeus mozart 10 Amazing Historical Conflicts That Are Completely Forgotten History While some wars and skirmishes stand out and are immortalized in television, art, and film, history is full of thousands of fascinating conflicts that most have never heard about. The following are just 10 of these. 10The Battle Of Bloody Bayc.1480 This just might be the mother of all father versus son conflicts. After King James I of Scotland was captured and held prisoner in England in 1406, Scottish barons gained tremendous authority over the people. Everything was to change, however, when John Macdonald took over as ruler of the clan. With Angus Og and his father John commandeering either side, the two armies met in an extraordinarily violent and murderous skirmish that took place off the coast of Mull. 9The Lusitanian War155–139 B.C. When the army under praetor Servius Sulpicius Galba and proconsul Lucius Licinius Lucullus occupied the land of the Lusitani, a small Celtic tribe, the Lusitanians offered a treaty of peace to the Romans along with willful submission. Dr.
7 Deadly Sins of Creativity Email Creativity is not just for artists and poets. Everybody has the potential to exercise their creative mind – to innovate new ways of accomplishing things that will ultimately make life easier and more gratifying. Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. - Franklin D. Acts of creativity can be found in every facet of life. Now, it’s to be expected that there will be ups and downs in our levels of creativity. 1. Knowledge and attention are absolute necessities. The first steps the brain takes when tackling a creative venture are actually governed by logic, not creativity. 2. Enthusiasm is the lifeblood of creativity. 3. There’s a saying that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 4. Most creative ventures step into the unknown, slowly taking you in a direction you haven’t gone before. 5. Where are you when your most creative ideas come to you?
Home - Flovoco 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders