Showing posts with label character development. Show all posts
Mar 24, 2021
Creating Memorable Characters in Your Writing
March 24, 2021
By: Patricia Jellerson
Are you satisfied with writing an interesting and readable manuscript? Of course! But we want more, right? Every author hopes to have a work that people just can’t put down, a ‘page-turner.’ For many readers, character and character development are the most important elements of fiction writing. They want to be drawn in and fully involved with the people you have created. Often, the plot could be weak, but an interesting character will move it along and still capture the reader’s interest. But, how do we create memorable characters?
May 1, 2020
Finding Your Voice
May 01, 2020
By Sarah Appleyard.
Voice. We all have one. Even our characters. It is oftentimes one of the defining reasons a reader returns to buy every book an author publishes. Also, one of the key pieces of a manuscript that editors, agents, and publishers use to determine if a book is worthy, in the first place, of publishing.
Apr 22, 2020
Writing a Worthy Villain
April 22, 2020
By Jessica Hogbin.
The last few years have produced several amazing villains, whether it be in television, literature, or film. Authors find themselves looking at these fantastic antagonists and wanting to write equally interesting characters. To achieve this, writers try to give their villains intricate backstories filled with emotion. However, sometimes this simply isn’t enough. The bad guy can simultaneously have an incredibly detailed past and physical description while still lacking the je ne sais quoi of a worthy adversary. Here are three simple questions that you can ask yourself as you write your villain to bring them to the next level of wickedness.
Apr 20, 2020
How I Use Character Development to Plot
April 20, 2020
By Renay Marsh.
I’m a character-first writer. That means my characters come to me before any other part of the story. Plot? Setting? They come afterward.
Yes, my characters appear to me. Not completely formed. Sometimes, all I get is “Hi. Will you write my story?” Other times the character pulls up a chair, plops down, makes themselves comfortable, before spilling everything. Either way, it is up to me to listen, ask questions, and get to know them.
Apr 1, 2020
Writing a Worthy Villain
April 01, 2020
By Negus Lamont.
Writing a worthy villain is crucial to any successful project. Fans flock to see Iron Man but stay to see him fight Thanos. Most people love themselves some Luke Skywalker, but they love to hate themselves some Darth Vader. And then we have King Joffrey, a character so polarizing that his death was celebrated by millions. This blog post will give you the key ingredients to writing a worthy villain, so you can create your own dastardly devil.
Mar 25, 2020
Matching Your Character’s Mood to the Setting
March 25, 2020
By Hallie Christensen.
Have you ever watched a Broadway play that was made into a feature film? There are many examples of these: The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia—I could go on. While there are several differences between a play and the film of that play, the one difference I want to focus on is camera angles.
Mar 16, 2020
Matching the character’s mood to the setting
March 16, 2020
By Chelsea McCard.
Creating a relatable character is something most authors strive to convey in their writing. It’s not always easy, though. It can often be challenging to express a character’s personality without outright telling the reader. One of the best ways to do this is by using the setting to set the desired mood.
Picture a girl sitting on the edge of a pool.
Jan 3, 2020
Internal Conflict 101
January 03, 2020
By Bethany Tucker.
Conflict
is the fuel of a story. It’s what makes the character burn and shine and the
plot points churn. Without it, the engine, the world in which the story is
told, has nothing to make it thrum with life. Conflict, however, comes in two
forms, external and internal. Both are necessary for a strong story.
Aug 12, 2019
Author Interview Series: D. A. Bartley
August 12, 2019
This week we chatted with mystery author D. A.
Bartley about her new book, her latest projects and even got some tips on how
to develop characters.
CritiqueMatch: What
motivated you to choose mystery as your genre?
D. A. Barley: I don’t think I chose it as much as it chose me. The classic murder
mystery is my happy place; it always has been. My grandmother gave me my first
Agatha Christie when I was about ten, and I’ve been reading murder mysteries ever
since.
CritiqueMatch: The
second book in the Abish Taylor series, Death in the Covenant, will be released
on August 13, 2019. What should we know about your exciting new mystery novel?
Jul 15, 2019
Pulling Off Unlikable Main Characters (Part 2) - Writing Redeemable Villains and other Unlikable Characters
July 15, 2019
By Lidija Hilje.
In Pulling Off Unlikable Main Characters (Part
1) - Writing Irredeemable Villains,
we
discussed different types of unlikable characters, and some of the techniques
that can be used in writing irredeemable villains.
In
this article, we will explore the techniques a writer can use when writing redeemable villains and other unlikable characters, such as oddballs,
weirdoes and jerks.
Writing
unlikable but redeemable characters is not any easier than pulling off irredeemable
psycho-villains, but there are more tactics available to make sure the reader will
keep turning the pages.
Jul 12, 2019
Pulling Off Unlikable Main Characters (Part 1) - Writing Irredeemable Villains
July 12, 2019
By Lidija Hilje.
There’s
a lot of talk about the importance of writing a likable protagonist. As
readers, we have to like a character to be willing to devote several hours of
our precious time to read their story. We want to feel invested in them and
care about their story enough to be tempted to read a three-hundred-page book.
An
unlikable main character can kill the book. If we hate the protagonist, we are
almost sure to lose interest and put the book down before finishing it. Not to
mention not recommending it to other readers.
But
what if you want to write a character that isn’t necessarily likable? Even more so, a
character that is repugnant or revolting? Can it be pulled off, and how?
Jun 12, 2019
Death by Character Questionnaire?
June 12, 2019
By Kyrstin
Oke.
Quick! Take our character questionnaire to discover everything
about your character today! It’s as simple as answering 100 questions that will
only take around 20 minutes to 2 hours to complete, (depending upon your decisiveness),
and you’ll know everything you’ll ever need to about your character and writing
will be so much easier! Remember, if you don’t know a character’s favourite
sandwich, favourite colour, their shoe size or social security number, you
don’t know the character at all!
Pfft.
Perhaps I’m just a cynic, but I abhor character questionnaires
with every fibre of my being.
Always have, probably always will.
May 15, 2019
Sharpen Your Main Character by Using Books on Writing
May 15, 2019
By Max Vonne.
Making sure that readers connect with your main character is a
critical point of focus for your writing. This is an especially tough
challenge for new writers. Thankfully,
there are some great tools available to us.
In my last article, I spoke about CritiqueMatch.com, which I’m
just going to briefly mention here. Getting your work in front of
others and getting their feedback is key to understanding if your main
character is resonating. Other writers will not only tell you if they
like the character but will also make suggestions on how to improve
him/her. I can’t imagine developing my
characters without this process.
May 13, 2019
Developing Minor Characters 101: A Neville Longbottom Exposition
May 13, 2019
By Madison Bringhurst.
Though
you could write an entire soliloquy about the amazing character arch Neville
Longbottom has, his unfailing ability to try, or how he overcame a tragic
beginning, the real genius of Neville Longbottom’s character is in JK Rowling’s
ability to use him.
In
the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire, Neville is shown clumsily falling into the trap of a trick stair after
dinner one evening. The scene paints a vibrant image of the quirky nature of JK
Rowling’s magical world and pairs it with a light-hearted laugh. Though this
great moment in itself would make the scene worth having in the final draft,
its implications for later in the book are what make Neville more than just a
comic relief character. Later in the book, Harry finds himself trapped by the
same stair. Rather than having Harry explain this during a heated moment, thus
taking away from the urgency of the scene, Rowling shows the necessary details earlier
using one of her favorite expositional devices: Neville Longbottom.
May 8, 2019
Character Stereotypes – How to break them
May 08, 2019
By Ela Mishne.
The Chosen One, Dumb Blonde, The Wise Old Man, Queen Bee.
We’ve all seen these characters. The scientist is always crazy and looks like
Albert Einstein. The bully loves being bad because—well, for no particular
reason. The problem with these characters is that they make the story predictable
and boring. So writers are encouraged to create fresh and unique characters.
But here’s the problem. Readers love familiar
characters because they don’t have to get to know these new people. They feel safe.
But safe is boring, and readers should never be bored.
Apr 5, 2019
Developing Character Empathy – A Darth Vader Example
April 05, 2019
By Margi Guilfoyle.
“Be Careful Not to Choke on Your Aspirations.” –Darth Vader
If you have not read Michael Hauge’s book, Writing Screenplays That Sell, it is worth your time to do so. Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi recommend Writing Screenplays That Sell as a
resource in their craft book, The
Positive Trait Thesaurus. And, for good reason. Hauge’s character
development advice is succinct, approachable and proven. All the quoted
material in this blog (except for Darth Vader’s words, written by George Lucas),
comes from Hauge’s book, Writing
Screenplays That Sell.
Now, back to our friend Darth…
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