Physical Descriptions - List of Hair Colors Hair Color List (Note: an updated and expanded version of this list appears in my 15K-word book How to Describe Hair and Skin. See below.) [First, my profound apologies to the vast majority of readers who don't steal content, but I have to state the following. This article and all content on this website belongs to Val Kovalin, copyright © Obsidianbookshelf.com, except where noted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from Val Kovalin is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Val Kovalin and Obsidianbookshelf.com with a return link to the original content.] I'll admit it – hair colors are fun, even for someone like me who advocates keeping description to a minimum. Natural human hair color comes in these basic shades: blond(e), red, light brown, dark brown, black, gray, white. Don't forget about highlights! What are the nouns that apply to people with certain hair colors?
Character Flaw Index To make characters realistic and relatable they are given flaws, because if there is anything a writer can be sure of it is that no one in their audience will be perfect. Flaws are character traits that have a negative impact in the narrative, unless they are simply informed. They can also be exploited. Abusive Parents: Habitually violent and cruel to their own children, often because that's how they themselves were raised. 50 Portrait Retouching Tutorials To Take Your Photoshop Skills To A New Level Email Is it something that often happens to you? You just sit and keep on looking through your photos on the computer screen trying to take a closer look at your full-size pictures. And then it occurs to you that they didn’t really suck that much during the actual shoot? Of course, what you see during the shoot with your eyes and what you get after the photo session is not the same thing. But do not let your despair take possession of you! Photoshop is capable of making slightly imperfect photo into an awesome shot. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. \24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Character Questionnaires - Get to Know Your Characters Receive more writing tips and advice (along with special offers and other Gotham news). One of the best ways to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them. Many writers do this as a kind of homework before they actually start writing a story. Character Questionnaire 1 This questionnaire is found in Gotham Writers Workshops Writing Fiction. You might start with questions that address the basics about a character: What is your characters name? What is your characters hair color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Who are your characters friends and family? Where was your character born? Where does your character go when hes angry? What is her biggest fear? Does she have a secret? What makes your character laugh out loud? When has your character been in love? Then dig deeper by asking more unconventional questions: What is in your characters refrigerator right now? Look at your characters feet.
6 Ways to Make Sure Your Reader’s Brain Syncs with Your Protagonist’s Brain photo by Andres Musta via Flickr Because here’s the thing: it’s not fiction. It’s fact. Except, you know, for the Vulcan part. And, okay, the part where you have to put your fingertips on the other guy’s face to do it. To figure that part out we had to wait for something that even ‘Bones’ McCoy didn’t have access to — fMRI technology, which revealed that when we’re really engaged in listening to a story, our brain synchronizes with the speaker’s brain – literally mirroring it. fMRI studies reveal that when we’re really engaged in listening to a story, our brain synchronizes with the speaker’s brain – literally mirroring it. In other words, we really are on the same wavelength, and their experiences become ours. The exact same thing is true when we’re reading a story. Cognitive psychologist and novelist Keith Oatley defines fiction as “a simulation that runs on the software of our minds. Exactly! In short, a story is about how the plot affects the protagonist. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
How to Break the Rules of Writing (& More) According to Bestselling YA author Ransom Riggs Like most first conversations and bad first drafts, my (WD’s Managing Editor Adrienne Crezo) interview with Ransom Riggs begins with a discussion about the weather. And not just any weather, either, but peculiar versions of standard precipitation: dust storms, cloudbursts, thundersnow and tornadoes. Of course, Riggs is experiencing none of those phenomena as he sits in the warmth of the never-ending summer of Los Angeles. “I hate to tell you what it’s like here right now,” he says. “No, I don’t. That kind of easygoing humor is familiar to Riggs’ fans. Whatever dreams Riggs may have had about his future, he couldn’t have predicted the wild success of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, a tale of time travel and magic set against the eerie backdrop of unnerving black-and-white photos of levitating girls and creepy twin clowns. It’s easy to see why Riggs is enjoying the ride, but what appears to have happened overnight actually evolved over many years. What about schedules? Yes.
Creating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 1: Can You Structure Characters? What if there were a sure-fire secret to creating stunning character arcs? Would you be interested in discovering it? If you care about connecting with readers, grabbing hold of their emotions, and creating stories that will resonate with them on a level deeper than mere entertainment, then the answer has to be a resounding yes! But here’s the thing about character arcs: they’re way too easy to take for granted. 1. 2. 3. That’s character arc in a nutshell. Turns out: a lot. (Featured in the Structuring Your Novel Workbook.) The Link Between Character Arcs and Story Structure Too often, character and plot are viewed as separate entities—to the point that we often pit them against each other, trying to determine which is more important. We often think of plot as being about structure, but our notions of character and character arc tend toward the more airy-fairy. Surely, right? Wrong, actually. The three acts of the [story] correspond to the three stages of the hero’s outer motivation.
Baby Names at BabyNames.com | Baby Name Meanings | Baby Boy Names | Baby Girl Names | Top Most Popular Names Al's Writing Block: Writing: How to Describe a Room I've noticed lately in the stats that people have been actively searching for "how to describe a room." Even though I had done a writing prompt that called for using the description of a room, I never did go over the particulars of describing locations. So for anybody looking for some specific answers, here are my thoughts on describing interior settings, for fiction and prose. First and foremost, you got to ask yourself, what importance is the room or setting to the story or characters? If the room is only there for a brief passing scene, it may just suffice to say "so-and-so went into the broom closet. It was dark, cramped, and loaded with brooms." For more significant settings, where you really do want to paint the picture in the readers' heads and firmly establish a sense of space or ambiance, then of course you'll want to dig into more details. The objects in a room - furniture and stuff - may or may not factor into your scene. In summary... Do: