Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
As fiction writers we get to play God. We create an entire universe (unfortunately it takes longer than seven days) and have total control over our characters, even to the point of who lives and dies. It’s a heady experience and one we shouldn’t take lightly. Killing a major character is fraught with danger, so, …
Continue reading “A Time to Kill: The Death of a Major Character”
Great books inspire great writing. Without further ado, the novels that push me to be my creative best… SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson This is the first YA book I ever bought. I read it yeeeeeears ago, when I was about 22. Though I can’t remember the details, I do remember the issue and …
Continue reading “Friday Inspiration: Seven YA Books that Inspire Me to Write Better”
*In my first novel I must have changed the name of my protagonist ten times and that’s before I wrote a single word! I finally began the first page with a name I thought would serve my character well. However, I hadn’t really met Sarah yet. As I’ve explained in prior posts, my characters take …
Continue reading “Naming your Babies”
Nothing elevates the quintessential protagonist like the perfect sidekick. These secondary characters help showcase the protagonist’s positive and negative traits by contrasting them against the sidekick’s own traits. The bond between these two characters is often a vulnerable relationship. Our good friends always know our darkest history, the secrets we never share with outsiders. At …
Continue reading “Casting Call: 7 Sidekick Archetypes”
I have a new crit partner who just happens to be a line editor and might be a reincarnation of my dreaded high school English teacher, Mrs. Howard, although I’ve never actually met him in person. Mrs. Howard resembled a bag lady and according to urban legend she apparently wound up as one. A ragged …
Continue reading “He Said What? Direct vs. Indirect Speech”
As part of my ongoing posts on understanding character archetypes, here are my next three examples to study. Last week’s entry was for the Hero, the Leader and the Mentor, for those catching up, it might help to read that post first. The next three characters are predominantly used for the protagonist in a story; …
Continue reading “Casting Call: 3 More Great Character Archetypes”
Writing dialogue is the heart of my writing. A scene always takes shape in my mind with two or more people having a conversation. I put the dialogue to paper and then add the physical setting, background details, emotions, inner monologue and body language. It’s the only way I know how to write. As I’ve …
Continue reading “He Said, She Said: Writing Dialogue”
As I mentioned in my last post, The Dos and Don’t of Character Chemistry, I love to write stories with huge casts. As a historian, coming up with characters is easy for me, I always start the process with real historical figures, twisting and combining traits from different ones until my characters take shape. Unfortunately, …
Continue reading “Casting Call: 3 Fictional Character Archetypes”
If you’ve read my first post, you’ll know I’m a screenwriter who took 2013 off from a career penning cartoons to write a novel. Now it’s 2014 and I’m back in the TV biz writing on a super fun animation show. Not that I’m shelving the novel, no way! I’ll still work on it in …
Continue reading “Screenwriter Tip for Novelists – Pitch Before You Write”
We’ve all had this experience, we hear about a new book, movie or TV show and it resonates with us. We know we’re going to love it. We count down the days to the release. During the waiting agony, we talk the ears off anyone who stands still long enough, eagerness dripping from every gushing …
Continue reading “Character Chemistry: 6 Dos and Don’ts for Getting a Group Together.”