Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Earlier this year I wrote a post about Internal Conflict based on a character’s flaws, fears and morality. Like External Conflict, Internal Conflict can be numerous and varied. The only rule is it all must get in the way of the hero achieving his/her goal. If it doesn’t, you don’t have conflict, just baggage. And …
Continue reading “Prime Inner Conflict (aka Conflicting Wants)”
Today we’ve invited back one of our favorite fellow bloggers, Natacha Guyot. I met Natacha over a year ago and I just adore her upbeat attitude and can-do spirit. She publishes books in her native French and in English, and this year has created an impressive list of publications in fiction and nonfiction. More on …
Continue reading “Writing Archetypes: The Wise Woman”
Although every protagonist is the hero of their own story, the hero is a step above the typical character. The hero is the fearless leader of the space mission. Creating a hero every reader will bond with and root for can make for some memorable fiction, the kind of story where the hero walks off …
Continue reading “H is for Heroes”
Most writers understand the value of creating contrast in their stories and characters. We’ve all been told to write our characters with dissimilar looks, and to give our antagonist and protagonist different types of skills and flaws. But when a writer takes any story differences and sets them up in parallel for the purpose of …
Continue reading “3 Ways to Use Juxtaposition in Your Writing”
There are lots of things that make a story good. In fact, I’m constantly overwhelmed trying to keep track of them all. But what elevates most stories above the rest is a satisfying character arc. What is this? Well, at the most basic level it is a story where the character changes. If your character …
Continue reading “How to Create a Character Arc from Plot”
Character mapping is a technique I use on every project I write. These simple flow charts keep track of all the interconnected relationships in my books and help me build more complexity into those relationships. I love including lots of secondary characters. Out of personal necessity, I developed a quick method for making character maps. …
Continue reading “6 Easy Steps to Great Character Mapping”
Heist fiction is not easy to write. It’s fast paced and twisty, and it takes a lot of characters. Over the last two Wednesday posts, I’ve been throwing open the vault and letting out all crime writing secrets. If you need to catch up, you can get more help for your story with Tips for …
Continue reading “Writing The Heist Novel: 7 Character Tips”
I’m sure most writers know how to craft a major character; they understand the importance of their leads and that they should occupy the most page space. Yet every story needs supporting characters. Today, it’s all about the minor players, those characters we see briefly and yet are so well written they’ll stick with us. …
Continue reading “6 Tips for Writing Minor Characters”
Over the last year I’ve done a large number of posts on character archetypes; you can read some of those posts here. I write these posts because I’m obsessed with creating groups of coordinating and contrasting characters. Some of my favorite books, TV shows and movies combine characters to create an interconnected web of personalities. …
Continue reading “Assembly Required: Create an Ensemble Book Cast”
Kat, the protagonist (portrayed by Julia Stiles) in the film 10 Things I Hate About You, is not a likable character. Nor does she strive to be likable. It’s more the reverse with her; she’s intentionally rude, domineering, and opinionated. Since the film is based on The Taming of the Shrew, making her a bit …
Continue reading “10 Things I (Don’t) Hate About You”