Category Archives: Writing Tips

Today’s Writing Tip

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Villains can be the most difficult characters to create. Unless they’re entirely psycho, they need motivation and yes, a human side. They need to be believable, just like everyone else in your story, with strengths and weaknesses. About the only exception would be if you’re writing a fantasy or a comic book with superheroes. Then extremes are more acceptable.

I find villains difficult to create because I try to find the good in people. I’m also not emotionally driven, but lean more toward logic. This doesn’t mean I get along with everyone or even like them, but in general I don’t associate with anyone I would categorize as a villain. There are enough of them on TV or the news.

This could easily go off on a tangent on the definition of a villain, but I’ll keep it relatively short. For your story’s purposes, it’s whoever is standing in the way or actively undermining your hero or heroine, keeping him or her from what they want. It doesn’t have to be an ax murderer, just someone with evil or unkind intent.

To be honest, I kind of wonder about authors who can create horrific villains! One author who absolutely excels at it is Mary Higgins Clark. I get the shivers just thinking about some of hers, so if you need some good examples, check out her books.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Strong characters are important. However, if they are too strong to the point of being annoying or offensive, then the reader may not finish the story! Face it, readers usually want to relate in a positive way to the main character.

I have to admit that I’ve had a difficult time getting through a couple stories because the main character was such a piece of work I wanted to slap her upside the head. However, I also recognized what a great job the author was doing creating such a vivid, albeit abrasive, character. Thus, I pressed on, sometimes rather slowly, and finished the stories. And guess what? In both cases I gave the story five stars in my review.

Granted, not all readers will force themselves to finish a book with a character who makes them crazy, so it needs to be done with care. As an author, however, take careful note of the expertise it took to creative such a vivid character and learn from it.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Little habits and speech patterns are important for building believable characters. These can be pensive, humorous, annoying, physical, or simply endearing. Everyone has them, whether or not they are conscious of them.

When I mention pensive I’m referring to the expressions and gestures a character might make when he or she is thinking or considering something. Humorous, think of characters like Inspector Clouseau or Maxwell Smart.  Annoying should be easy. If you don’t know anyone who has any annoying habits, you are either too easy-going or not paying attention. Endearing should be easy, too. Think of your favorite aunt or grandparent.

These are another element that provides depth and a realism to your characters.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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An obsession is another trait that can make a character more interesting. It can be just about anything, as long as s/he cares about it a lot. It can be a hobby, a career goal, another person, revenge, or just about anything, provided it’s a driving force.

Obsession and passion go hand in hand. If you want your character to move mountains, there needs to be a strong and very personal reason to do so. You will need to establish what the rationale is behind it for it to be credible. That is what will pull in the reader’s interest and empathy to either root for or against what the character wants. Needless to say, this works for both heroes and villains. The latter need motivation, too, the stronger the better. Note I said rationale not rational. It doesn’t need to make sense, only be enough to push the character and plot forward.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Some individuals have a very difficult time forgiving others when they’ve been hurt. This can be a strong motivator in a story and makes for a great “fatal flaw” if your character is otherwise a good person.

Characters who are at peace within themselves are often rather boring. Those who are walking around with a plethora of grudges, unresolved issues, and hurts are far more interesting. These are issues that everyone struggles with from time to time, if they’re a sentient being. Tie it in with the plot and you have the motivation you need.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Conflict at a personal level is essential in any story and comes in various degrees and flavors. It can be anything from good-natured bickering to abusive and anywhere in-between. It’s another way to add depth to your characters and their relationships. Few can say, at least honestly, that they get along with everyone. There’s bound to be someone, or some type of someone, that drives you crazy.

If everyone is fighting all the time, then that can get grating, too. Like so many other things, balance is required. However, if everyone always gets along and is happy continually, that’s going to get pretty boring, mostly because it’s not a representation of life. Even fairytales have conflict, often brutal and lots of it. How many of those stories should be investigated by Children’s Protective Services? But how much of a story would it be without that element?

Conflict between characters makes a story come alive. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your main characters. Secondary characters are fertile ground for introducing personality conflicts.

Today’s Writing Tip

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No matter how unique your character is, he or she needs to be “relatable” to the reader. One way this can be accomplished is by including everyday life tasks and responsibilities, which are part of life. You don’t want to overdo it and give a twenty-four hour chronology of everything your character did from the moment he or she got up that morning. However, including a few in your story gives it a touch of reality.

For example, if your hero forgot to pay his power bill and his electricity was cut off, it tells you something about him. It builds character. If you can tie it into the plot in some way, that’s even better, but the main thing is it tells you something about the character than many can relate to, either in themselves or someone they know.

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A story is more interesting when the reader learns something they didn’t know. Learning should be enjoyable and picking up a few facts in a novel is always a bonus on top of a good story.

I could easily go on a rant right now about how important I believe it is to keep your facts straight in your fiction, but that really isn’t my intent, at least in this blog. What I’m talking about are little tidbits, perhaps in the trivia category, the the reader didn’t know before. This can be about a remote subject, profession, or historical situation.

To be most effective, it needs to be tied into the plot in some manner. One easy way is to give your protagonist an interesting career or hobby. But remember to keep you facts straight. It’s usually best if it’s something about which you already have some knowledge. For example, I like to sneak some astrology into my stories.  If you enjoy research, like I do, then the possibilities are endless.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Symbolism in your story will give it another dimension. Not all readers will catch it, but those who do will appreciate it. Much of the great classics in literature are heavy on symbolism. I remember being in my Senior Lit class in high school studying such things and wondering if the author had intended that when he or she wrote it. I have written things that I looked at later and realized they were symbolic while at the time that was not intentional. At any rate, if you want to write an award winning story, it should probably have it at some level.

Using weather to reflect or enhance a story’s mood is a classic, albeit unoriginal, way that actually isn’t true symbolism, at least the kind I’m talking about. It doesn’t have to be an object, though it can be. Often it is the plot itself, for example illustrating that not all prisons have bars, but can be a person’s mind. Science fiction is often used in this manner. If you’ve ever read “Alice in Wonderland” and didn’t catch the symbolism (perhaps because you were too young), you might want to read it again. Like nursery rhymes, literature is often used as a form of thinly veiled political protest.

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Pets in a story are another way to add humor. Be sure to give the animal a personality, though. Its presence alone isn’t sufficient. Otherwise it won’t have any more impact than a picture on the wall or a random joke.

Being an integral part of the story is even better. Animals, at least to those who love them, are endearing and teach us about life in subtle, nonverbal (obviously) ways. A story written from a pet’s point of view can be particularly humorous.

Another benefit of including an animal or pet is that it can help sell it to those who are also fans of that particular critter. Some authors have done very well capitalizing on this trick. Give it some thought how it might add another dimension to your story.