Tag Archive - writing instruction

The Not-So-Long Good-bye

Good-bye

Earlier in the year I covered some tips about creating scenes, and most particularly in discussion about your novel’s first scene. I mentioned that the first scene in your book carries a special burden, and if you’ve been faithfully following this blog, you’ll recall we spent a whopping five months on just your first scene! Now, as we approach the end of this year, with only nine posts to go to wrap up this year-long intensive look at writing the heart of your story, I want to shift from scene endings to ending scenes. Continue Reading…

Secondary Characters Have a Life of Their Own

hands waving through window

We all need a supporting cast in our novels. Secondary characters have to be in there, unless your book is about a guy stuck on a deserted island the entire time. But even in that instance, an animal or even a volleyball (sorry, had to put that in there from Castaway) can play the role of a secondary character. There are plenty of great movies where even the hero is an animal (The Incredible Journey is one that comes to mind) or something not human. but whether your secondary characters are human, feline, canine, or bovine, they need to be fully human in their characteristics (well, maybe cats can getting away with just saying no).

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Bad Guys Have a Story to Tell

wicked stepmother cartoon

Last week I dove into bad guys in your fiction. Before you say you don’t have a clear antagonist in your story, think about a character that opposes your protagonist. It could even be a good friend. In some instances, supportive characters take on the role of an antagonist, so try to broaden your perspective a bit as we go a little deeper into understanding your antagonist and working on making him/her more human (unless they aren’t human, as might be the case in a sci-fi novel–but they still need to have some agreeable “human” traits, so if you think you can get out of doing this because of the genre you’re writing in, you have another think coming). Continue Reading…

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