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?
Aug 9, 2019
Boosting Authenticity Through Real-World Setting
August 09, 2019
By Alicia McLachlan.
Establishing a strong sense
of place can be a valuable secret weapon when immersing readers into a story.
I’ve even seen this particular craft listed as a major draw on some agents’ wish
lists.
It’s why fantasy writers
spend so much time world-building, often including maps and extensive prologues
to help readers orient themselves in their vast imaginary universes. It can be
just as effective in a real-world setting as well.
Aug 6, 2019
Trust Point Of View To Deepen the Reader Experience
August 06, 2019
By Max Vonne.
Point of view is
something to take seriously as a writer. It’s one of the primary
decisions we make when writing a scene or chapter. Whose point of view
are we viewing the action from?
The answer can be a
black hole. The point of view (POV) of no one is actually an
option. That is called omniscient POV.
A detached, all-seeing eye informs us of what we need to know. We
don’t know where it comes from or how it feels about anything. And because of that, omniscient POV is a
thinly disguised data dump.
Readers hate data
dumps. Information in itself is not interesting; it’s just a bunch of
facts. For example:
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 17, 2019
Wringing out that Soggy Middle: What to do when Act II Falls Apart
June 17, 2019
By Bethany
Tucker.
Stuck in the middle of your draft? Already written to the
end but that section between the beginning and the end feels stale, limp, or
messy? Beta readers giving up in the middle? You might have a case of what’s
called a “soggy middle.”
Soggy middles are Act II problems where the tension is
low, the plot meanders, or the reader, and maybe the writer has trouble staying
with the story. Symptoms are lack of interest, passive shrugging, and dusty
pages.
However, the solution is simple. Want the secret? Fall in
love.
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.
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