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While all your fictional or memoir characters may seem perfectly clear to you, readers may struggle and get confused if asked to remember too many characters too fast. One solution is to create composite characters. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss composite characters for fiction and memoir. Write Representatives, not Crowds Composite Characters are exactly […]
Mamma Mia! is a great supporting character So much of the time we focus on our protagonists, the heroes of our stories, and rightly so. But what about our supporting cast?Writing Tip for Today: What are some tips on writing believable secondary (supporting) characters? Keep it Simple. You may imagine your novel or memoir with […]
Writers put a lot of effort into their characters. And why not? A story succeeds or fails based upon these characters. While many of you are away from the keyboard during this holiday weekend, as you gather with your loved ones, keep your eyes and ears open and your notebook handy.Writing Tip for Today: Holidays […]
Thanks to those who have been waiting for this post. I evidently forgot I was still doing the compelling characters theme. But never fear!Writing Tip for Today: Tricks might not be the best way to describe creation of a character. It’s mostly trial and error and a lot of writing and exploring. But there are […]
Some writers seem to have a built-in knack for creating characters that readers can’t help but follow. For the rest of us, it’s a learning process.Writing Tip for Today: In that learning process, we often start out with less-than compelling characters. This shortcoming is critical. Story IS character. Character IS story. Here are a few […]
Most first novels contain a protagonist with at least a little of the author in them. We’re told to write what we know, right? As you gain experience, you’ll want to work toward creating characters who are distinct and likable and who aren’t you.Writing Tip for Today: How can a novelist create authentic characters who are […]
I teach two different essay writing classes. One is a general essay class, the other focuses on memoir or the personal essay. One question I hear often is, “How personal should the writer be in a personal essay?”Writing Tip for Today: The question then branches into one of two categories. In the first, the writer […]