Where Normal Need Not Apply
We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives. As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!). My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day. But when […]
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Today’s post is the unofficial “part three” of the results from my poll. I hadn’t planned this post, but the comments from last time inspired a new thought. In part one, we talked about how to help your blog readers find you. And in part two, we discussed the things […]
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Should authors blog? We’ve all seen this question in some form or another. Some wonder if agents expect it. (Not yet but close.) Others want to know if it will help build that elusive platform. (It can.) But I propose another reason to blog: training your muse. My regular readers […]
Okay, what have we learned from the big series on creating strong characters? To feel realistic, characters need to have goals, a delusional self-image, multiple personalities, flaws, and a reason for their actions. Hmm… All that makes them sound a touch crazy, doesn’t it? (Not as crazy as I am, […]
Congratulations! We made it to the end of the checklist for creating strong characters. We’ve given our characters goals, delusions, lies, and flaws. Only one thing left could go wrong… Do They Die Before the End of the Story? The flowchart specified that a character had to survive to the […]
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We’re almost through with the list of how to create strong characters. So far, we’ve ensured they had goals and contrasted their self-image and persona. Next up… Do They Have Flaws? To feel lifelike, our characters must have flaws like real people. Without flaws, our characters risk making our whole […]
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We’re working our way through the list of how to create strong characters. So far, we’ve ensured they had goals and analyzed how their self-image differs from reality. And related to that contrast we talked about last time… Do They Merely Represent an Idea? Characters are often most cardboard-like when […]
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We’re going to continue talking about how to implement the list to make sure we’re creating strong characters. Last time, we made sure that our characters had goals. Next up… Are They Three-Dimensional? There are plenty of ideas out there about how to make your characters seem real, but I’m […]
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Last time, we looked at a simple list for What Makes a Female Character Strong based on The Female Character Flowchart. But if that list is so simple, why does it seem so difficult to create a strong character? Why do so many fail and fall into stereotypes? Maybe because […]
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There’s a graphic making the Twitter rounds called The Female Character Flowchart. It walks through the different female stereotypes—from The Trophy and Damsel In Distress to The Shrew and Ugly Duckling—and it’s interesting reading. The chart’s goal is to avoid those stereotypes to create a “Strong Female Character”. Some writers […]
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