Share it Please
The other day I was thinking, "Hmm... I haven't posted much about my writing lately. Maybe I should do that." Honestly, there really isn't much to say except that it's hard work. The hardest part, I think, is finding the time to do it, then actually editing. It takes me awhile to psyche myself up enough to start writing. And I thought writing the actual novel was hard....
Thankfully, I'm almost finished with the major edits (meaning I'll be done by the end of the month) and then it'll be on to round two. I hope that'll be a little more enjoyable. As soon as I finish the second draft I'll post what I plan to do.
But for now, I'm mostly fixing things. Developing characters, adding depth to the plot, creating new scenes, etc. It's hard stuff!
Developing characters is definitely something I struggle with. For a while, I wasn't sure how to do it. I understood that the characters needed to be different, but I didn't know what they meant. I spent a long time trying to figure it out. Was it the back story? The motives? Their unique traits?
It is all of those things, but the most important part of making a character seem truly lifelike is their actions and their voice. What do they do? How do they react? What are they like? When I realized this creating real characters became easier. Once you figure out how they react everything else falls into place.
For example, say our supporting character (we'll call him Jerry) is pretending to be friends with the MC (who is trying to save the world from a robot invasion), but is actually working with the robots. We know Jerry's actions, but why would her turn his back on his best friend? Obviously Jerry is reacting to something, the question is, what is it? That's where the motives come in. Maybe the MC hurt Jerry a long time ago and Jerry is finally getting the chance to have revenge. There's the motives, then comes the back story. The back story is the absolute last thing that should be revealed. What did the MC do to Jerry? It's what keeps the reader confused, but hanging on to find out what happens next.
I'm not saying that I know the exact formula for developing characters or that I'm particularly good at it, but, from my experience, this is what seems to work.
Inquiry of the Day:
Who are some of your favorite supporting characters?
Severus Snape in Harry Potter is one of my favorites. J.K. Rowling does such a good job of making all of her characters distinguishable from one another and making them feel very real. Haymitch and Effie Trinket are some more of my favorite supporting characters, too and Dory from Finding Nemo. I could go on. I tend to love supporting characters more than I do main characters. ;)
This is off topic, but any non-dessert recipes you'd like to see on the blog?
Thankfully, I'm almost finished with the major edits (meaning I'll be done by the end of the month) and then it'll be on to round two. I hope that'll be a little more enjoyable. As soon as I finish the second draft I'll post what I plan to do.
Developing characters is definitely something I struggle with. For a while, I wasn't sure how to do it. I understood that the characters needed to be different, but I didn't know what they meant. I spent a long time trying to figure it out. Was it the back story? The motives? Their unique traits?
It is all of those things, but the most important part of making a character seem truly lifelike is their actions and their voice. What do they do? How do they react? What are they like? When I realized this creating real characters became easier. Once you figure out how they react everything else falls into place.
For example, say our supporting character (we'll call him Jerry) is pretending to be friends with the MC (who is trying to save the world from a robot invasion), but is actually working with the robots. We know Jerry's actions, but why would her turn his back on his best friend? Obviously Jerry is reacting to something, the question is, what is it? That's where the motives come in. Maybe the MC hurt Jerry a long time ago and Jerry is finally getting the chance to have revenge. There's the motives, then comes the back story. The back story is the absolute last thing that should be revealed. What did the MC do to Jerry? It's what keeps the reader confused, but hanging on to find out what happens next.
I'm not saying that I know the exact formula for developing characters or that I'm particularly good at it, but, from my experience, this is what seems to work.
Inquiry of the Day:
Who are some of your favorite supporting characters?
Severus Snape in Harry Potter is one of my favorites. J.K. Rowling does such a good job of making all of her characters distinguishable from one another and making them feel very real. Haymitch and Effie Trinket are some more of my favorite supporting characters, too and Dory from Finding Nemo. I could go on. I tend to love supporting characters more than I do main characters. ;)
This is off topic, but any non-dessert recipes you'd like to see on the blog?
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love comments so please comment often! Thanks!