She's Such a Character: 8 Tips for Creating Characters By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy I'm well into week two of a terrible cold, but just well enough to get something accomplished, so I'm dipping into the archives again. Here are some tips to consider when creating a character. Characters make the story. No matter how intriguing the idea or exciting the plot, if there isn't a character there we care about (even if it's just curiosity or fascination) the rest of it falls flat. There are all kinds of ways to develop characters. I'm not one of those writers. What I've found more useful, is to ask questions about my characters that pertain to their lives and how that works with the story. And if you can't answer everything, or only have vague ideas at first, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with starting a story with basic, underdeveloped characters if you need to write them to know them. Here are some things to consider when creating a character: 1. Chances are these needs will be connected to the core conflict of the story. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3.
Writing Killer Fight Scenes Fight scenes are dangerous territory for writers. On the surface, they seem as if they’re guaranteed to keep the reader glued to the action in the same way as they often do at the movies. In reality, though, readers tend to skip over fight scenes – skimming the long, tedious, blow-by-blow descriptions in favour of getting back to the dialogue and character-driven drama that truly engages them in the story. My novel, Traitor’s Blade, is a swashbuckling fantasy in which fight scenes are a crucial part of the storytelling. This means having to ensure that every piece of action is vital and engaging; it means that every duel must draw the reader in and not let them go until the end. GIVEAWAY: Sebastien is excited to give away a free copy of his novel to a random commenter. Column by Sebastien de Castell, who had just finished a degree in archaeology when he started work on his first job. 1. No matter what you might think, violence is actually boring. 2. 3. 4. 5. You might also like:
Character Trait Chart Character Trait Chart and Personality Components It can sometimes be helpful to make a Trait Chart for each character. To use this chart, print it out and make a copy for each of your characters. Full name - a character's name is very important. Besides the character's official name, we also need to know what he is called (and, perhaps, what he prefers to be called). Date of Birth/Age - we should carefully consider assigning our character a birthday. Address - this can be as detailed or as vague as you wish, but it should answer a few questions: does the character live in a large city, the suburbs, a small town or deep in the country? Height - this doesn't need to be specific. Weight/Body Build - again, we don't really need to know a character's exact weight, only if he or she is stocky, slender or "had a figure that . . ." Hair - keep in mind the character's ethnic background in assigning hair and eye color. Health - does your character have any health problems or weaknesses? Questions?
Creating A Great Antagonist | Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors The antagonist or antagonists of a story are often the central driving force to the story or what causes the central driving force to come into being. That being said, a lot of thought has to go into creating an antagonist, especially the central antagonist. In fact, for horror novelists such as myself, it’s often one of the first things we come up with in a story, and what we often use to describe our stories to others (ex. “an evil clown demon terrorizes a small town”, “a cult leader with horrifying dark powers and those who stand against him”, “two children fall through a doorway to a world where the demonic ruler has a terrifying interest in the young boy”) When designing antagonists (human or otherwise), there are a few things I try to keep in mind in order to make them as evil/terrifying/monstrous as possible. 1. 2. 3. And now that we’ve come up with the antagonist’s motives and who’s going to try to stop him. 4. This is basically how I design villains. Like this: Like Loading...
How to Write a Flat Character Arc, Pt. 1: The First Act Next to the positive change arc, the flat character arc is the most popular storyline. Also called the “testing arc,” the flat arc is about a character who does not change. He already has the Truth figured out in the beginning of the story, and he uses that Truth to help him overcome various external tests. The flat-arc protagonist will be confronted with tremendous opposition. …the protagonist changes his perspective, learns different skills, or gains a different role. So how exactly does this work? If you’ve hung with me for the last few months, you’re already familiar with the foundational principles of the positive change arc. The Truth the Character Believes The positive change arc is all about the Lie the Character Believes—which he will spend the entire story overcoming. This is why we often see change arcs in the first book in a series and flat arcs in the following books. The Normal World The Characteristic Moment The First Act 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
How to Create a Character | How To's by Holly Lisle All Rights Reserved No matter what sort of fiction you’re writing, you’re going to have to populate your story with characters, and a lot of them, if not all of them, you’re going to have to create from scratch. Unfortunately — or maybe fortunately — there is no Betty Crocker Instant Character-In-A-Can that you can mix with water and pop into the oven for twenty minutes. There aren’t any quick and easy recipes, and I don’t have one either, but I do have some things that have worked for me when creating my characters, and some things that haven’t. Don’t start your character off with a name or a physical description. I know this doesn’t seem logical at first glance — after all, you name a baby before you get to know him very well. There are a couple of reasons. Do start developing your character by giving him a problem, a dramatic need, a compulsion. What does the character want? Don’t rely on crutches. Do empathize with your character. This is sometimes easy.
How Much of My World Do I Build? First, let me say that worldbuilding is an essential skill for every writer, regardless of genre. Not all writers need to concentrate on all areas of worldbuilding, but every writer must do some worldbuilding if he hopes to have a novel that is coherent, consistent, and real. Second, writers seem to come in three varieties — those who really have no idea what worldbuilding is or why they should bother with it; those who do know, but figure they’ll wing the details as they go; and those obsessive folks who secretly believe that they really can’t start the book until the whole planet is in place. I’ve spent time in all three camps — most of my time in the last one. The system works. It can work for you. Build only what you need; imply the rest. What do you need? A — Special physics It used to be that the only places where you might run into special physics were in SF and fantasy novels. If you require special physics, however, you must now answer the following questions. B — Organized terrain
Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language Translate emotions into written body language We are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it's easier said than written. I decided to create these cheat sheets to help you show a character's state of mind. The Top Five Tips For Using Body Language Use body language to add depth to dialogue. If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course in Johannesburg. Even if you're not busy with a book, prompts are an excellent way to exercise the writing muscle. If you enjoyed this post, read: 50 Questions to Ask Your Characters It's time for another PEP rally by our guestblogger Sam. Just as a reminder, PEP stands for Productivity, Ego, and Procrastination, the three most important things to a writer after their computer or favorite pen. Even though the Rally was created to start a week off right, it can help combat the dreaded writers block any day of the week. Productivity One of my most difficult challenges when writing is trying to get into the mindset of my characters. Today’s productivity task is an interview to help you get a better grasp of your characterization. Name and age? Nickname? What is most noticeable about your character’s appearance/physical presence? Describe his or her voice, verbal ticks, pet phrases etc. Describe a gesture your character makes. Where does he or she now live? Has s/he lived elsewhere? What part of her home is her favourite? What does your character’s bedroom/sleeping place look like? What does he or she wear to sleep in? What does your character dream of at night?
10 Things Teenage Writers Should Know About Writing Dear Teenage Writers: Hi there. I was once a teenage writer like you (see goofy picture to the right), although that was so long ago that between now and then, I could have been a teenager all over again. I’m going to talk to you about writing as straight as I can; there’s a possibility that some of what I say to you might come off as abrupt and condescending. 1. It’s nothing personal. There are reasons for this. a) You’re really young. Now, if you’re really good, you can fake perspective and wisdom, and with it a voice, which is almost as good as having the real thing. b) You’re besotted by your influences. You are not likely to have my influences, but you almost certainly have influences of some sort, who you love and to whom you look as models and teachers. c) When you’re young, it’s easier to be clever than to be good. There’s nothing wrong with being clever, and it’s possible to be clever and good at the same time. So those are some of the reasons your writing sucks right now. 2.
3 Steps to Writing a Novel with Unforgettable Characters Character development is one of the first essential steps of writing a novel and it involves creating the people who will carry out your story. There will most likely be a variety of characters needed for your story, but none as important as your lead character – your protagonist. A well-developed protagonist has much to do with the success of writing a novel. When writing a novel, the protagonist should be someone that your readers feel is a “real person” that they come to love (or at least like a whole lot), can relate to in many ways, and will care about and think about long after they’ve turned the final page on your novel. How to Create “Real People” for Your Novel When writing a novel, there are many ways to go about creating characters and much has been written about it in “how to write a novel books”, sometimes in great detail. Writing a Novel – Four Attributes of a Lead Character: 1. 2. 3. 4. Writing a Novel – Three Attributes Every Character Has: 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.
25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters - StumbleUpon As storyteller, you are god. And to be frank, you’re not a particularly nice god — at least, not if you want your story to resonate with readers. A good storyteller is a crass and callous deity who treats the characters under his watchful eye like a series of troubled butt-puppets. From this essential conflict — storyteller versus character — a story is born. (After all, that’s what a plot truly is: a character who strives to get above all the shit the storyteller dumps on his fool head.) Put differently, as a storyteller it’s your job to be a dick. It’s your job to fuck endlessly with the characters twisting beneath your thumb. And here’s 25 ways for you to do just that. 1. Gods have avatars, mortal or semi-mortal beings that exist on earth to embody the deity’s agenda. 2. The audience and the character must know the stakes on the table — “If you don’t win this poker game, your grandmother will lose her beloved pet orangutan, Orange Julius.” 3. 4. 5. 6. This one? 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.