There are many ways to create a character for a reader. Many writers stumble in and out of indirect characterization, which is where the writer takes on the omniscient narrator voice and “tells” us everything about the character that we should know. In many respects, “telling” a reader what a character is all about is … Continue reading »
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Character Development: A Step by Step Method
Some of the best characters have spent much time inside the brain of a writer, incubating, developing, becoming more realistic with each thought. However, one might wonder what the process of creating great characters might entail. I decided to record my process for creating characters (at least main characters) to help writers who have trouble … Continue reading »
Show, Don’t Tell…But Don’t Show Too Much
I am trying a new technique with my latest novel. I am finding it to be a refreshing way to tell a story, and fun to create puzzles that the reader has to solve. Let me give you an example. The following is a chapter from my novel in which Ethan relates his struggle after … Continue reading »
3 Ways to Refresh and Revitalize Overused Character Archetypes
I love Netflix, but then I’m a sucker for bad movies. We pay $8 a month for the instant streaming service, and when we surf through the possible titles, we see literally thousands of movies that probably should not have been made. Most of the worst are those movies made by The Asylum, called “mockbusters”, where … Continue reading »
5 Questions Every Novelist Should Answer
Writing consumes me. It consumes most of my time when I’m not playing with my kids, helping my wife out with all the chores necessary to run a household and working full time. As a teacher, summers are great. I get to spend more time writing, working on the novel, and generally futzing about with … Continue reading »
Tolkien’s 5 Tips for Creating Complex Heroes
Tolkien’s letters are rich with information about J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing process. I wrote a post last week about Aragorn being Tolkien’s example of an epic hero, and someone posted: “But Frodo Baggins is the hero of the LOTR trilogy, right?” I would argue that he is not, but only one of three or four characters who together … Continue reading »
Juxtaposition: Creating a Foil for Your Heroes
Juxtaposition is defined as an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. Juxtaposed characters are not seen very much in short fiction, but if you are writing a novel you will want to strategically design characters who are foils for your heroes to shine a light on the traits of those heroes. One of the best examples of the use of this … Continue reading »
A to Z Challenge: Creating Characters Using Mindnode
Today I thought I would post a video tutorial about how I use Mindnode to create vivid characters. Mindnode is probably the easiest tool for brainstorming and character mapping out there. A free version is available that allows you to use the basic functions, but the full version is only $20 and is well worth … Continue reading »
