To write a character-driven story, the writer must understand what makes people, in general, and characters, uniquely, behave as they do.
Writing Lesson 2.3 – Creating a Story World
September 10, 2010 By 1 Comment
Whether you write historical, contemporary, or fantasy, a variety of research techniques can help you create a vivid story world.
Writing Lesson 34 – Creating a Story World
April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Many of my posts this year focused on character development. In this lesson, I want to touch on research. Get to “know” your characters through research… In a character driven novel, the writer must learn what makes the character act a certain way. By the time I start a novel, I know my character as […]
Writing Lesson 32 – Let Me Show You How to Show
April 16, 2010 By 1 Comment
“Showing vs. Telling” We’ve written much about this concept of using vivid action, description, and dialogue to show what’s happening in a story rather than simply telling readers about what happens. It would be fitting, perhaps, to “show” you an example. Below is the first paragraph of a scene in my work in progress (wip), […]
Writing Lesson 29 – Showing Actions and Emotions
March 26, 2010 By 2 Comments
We all have unique facial expressions and gestures. In a novel, these make each character different. Joe may frown when he’s thinking. Mary may pull her eyebrows together. Tracy might purse her lips and tap a finger against them. You might cross your arms and tap your foot. We’ve discussed showing vs. telling in several […]
