Your characters are the anchor in your story. It’s the character relationships that add believability and relatability and allow readers to get emotionally involved, and hopefully see themselves in the characters.
Tag: writing fiction
Examples of Writing Using Sensory Details
Sensory details bring your story to life. They enhance the character’s depth as well as the setting. It’s these details that helps connect and engage the reader emotionally.
Supporting Characters and Your Story
If you’re writing your first book, think about your supporting characters. How will they help liven your story up and engage the reader? How will they help move your story forward?
Hiring a Children’s Fiction Editor
I’m a children’s ghostwriter and rewriter (editor). I’ve seen a lot of drafts and manuscripts over the years and the one thing that really irks me is when authors hire an editor who doesn’t know what s/he’s doing. The real problem though is that this pattern never ends. I just recently had another client who…
Creating Story Characters? Avoid These Common Mistakes
Guest Post by Linda Wilson Many characters inhabited the early drafts of my WIP: a MG mystery. Like many of my characters’ counterparts—kids—I assigned each character a “friend,” following the example I’d seen so often of kids going around in “packs.” What fun I had! The snappy dialogue! The endless opportunities to showcase what was…
Writing a Publishable Children’s Story: 12 Power-Tips
I’m a children’s author and ghostwriter, and I’m always honing my craft. I read lots of books and articles on writing and writing for children, as well as books in the genres I write. I also attend workshops and webinars by expert children’s writers and editors. If you want to write for children, you must…
Grab the Reader’s Attention
Contributed by Team Member Suzanne Lieurance You can be a best-selling author! Is that true? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’ll bet I got your attention with that statement. And that’s exactly what you want to do if you hope to write novels and short stories (even nonfiction articles) that sell – grab your reader’s attention…
Making a Fiction Story Work – 5 Key Elements
Think about the last time you read a story that stayed with you. A story that made you feel. A story that took you on an adventure or had you sitting on the edge of your seat. A story that made you cry or laugh . . . or think. These types of stories have…
Create a Believable Protagonist with Realistic Characteristics
It’s noted that you should let the reader see your protagonist’s characteristics within the first few pages. This enables the reader to quickly identify with him. This connection will determine whether the reader turns the next page. Unless you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, your protagonist will have ordinary strengths (possibly extraordinary, but within the…
8 Top Fiction Writing Mistakes to Avoid
There’s a great article in The Writer, April 2012 issue (1). If you’re able to get your hands on a copy or find it online, it’s worth the read. Delving into this article, I did some additional research and came up with eight elements that are probably the most common fiction writing mistakes. 1. You…