My last post has my general recommendations for the students at the workshop based on my review of their work. Well, Saturday I got to meet the students firsthand. My workshop was about creating characters. I showed the kids pictures out of my old high school yearbook (yes, a few were actually in color) and we invented characters together. What fun! The kids participated fully and eagerly and we constructed a delightful little love triangle with two boys and one girl. I showed them how they could create the main conflict scene just from the character personalities. (More to come.)

Writing: Characterization

Carole London, owner of Lifetime Chronicle Press and a Montrose, Colorado, local who specializes in helping local authors through the “daunting process of self-publishing,” collaborated with Meg Nagel of the Montrose Public Library to organize a two-Saturday workshop to celebrate March as Small Press Month.

The workshop was filled to capacity and beyond both Saturdays. Carole spoke on the first Saturday about writing and self publishing and Betty McKinney spoke about submitting manuscripts.

This last Saturday, the second of the event, once again found overflow crowds. I spoke about marketing on the Internet, and intend to put the information in my presentation into posts here. This was followed by a panel discussion (I was on the panel), and the afternoon saw a reading by 20 local authors (including me) and the opportunity to sell books (I sold 16). I also donated a copy each of Broom 1 and Broom 2 to the Montrose Public Library, so stop by and check one out!

My many thanks to Carole for organizing the event!

Mt. Sneffels Press, Writing: Characterization

How do you like to describe events in your novel? By event I mean something that happens to further the plot. Let’s take an example.

Your outline (you do have an outline, don’t you?) says that Jack, Mary, and Jane meet each other at the Post Office. Jane is excited about her new movie role. Mary is upset because she didn’t get the role. Jack is courting Mary, so wants to advocate for her. The scene begins stiffly as Mary offers her grudging congratulations to Jane. Jack tells Mary she should’ve had the role. Mary starts to cry. Jane, embarrassed, tries to leave but Jack starts explaining why Mary should’ve won.

Okay, how can you describe this? I can think of three ways. You may think of several more (if so, please comment and describe them). First, you can play the scene live. You set the scene and record each line of dialog just as it was spoken. Second, you can summarize Read more…

Writing: Characterization, Writing: Dialog, Writing: Style

In previous posts, I’ve talked about a necessary ingredient in your novel (indeed, in all fiction): conflict. So what should the conflict be? Sometimes it’s obvious, for example your novel on star-crossed lovers. Other times it may not be.

When you think about your next novel, you start with a hazy picture in your mind. In fact, the conflict may be the first thing you see: a couple loses their only child because of a doctor’s (perceived) incompetence. With that you can construct characters. Clearly you need a man and a woman. And maybe a boy or girl. Oh, the doctor. Maybe a lawyer or two. Throw in a judge. Starting with the conflict opens up whole new vistas.

Ah, but perhaps you’re writing your next romance novel. The characters are standard: a (few) women and an irresistible man (or two). But hasn’t every possible romance novel been written? Hmph. You’re stumped for an appropriate conflict. After all, the whole point of a novel is to Read more…

Writing: Characterization, Writing: Dialog, Writing: Plotting, Writing: Style

You’ve honed your characters and written their bios and let their backstories consume your daydreams. The conflict is palpable. The plot is moving forward. But you’ve rewritten your scene to the point of wearing out your keyboard, and it still doesn’t work!

What might not work? Here are some possibilities: A character is out of character, for example old miser Don suddenly becomes a delightful counselor and a shoulder to lean on. That doesn’t work. Maybe the setting is wrong: you want a sunset on the beach but your story is set on the East Coast. Or your hero, who has a serious heart condition, is throwing things in a screaming rage, but his heart attack doesn’t come for another 100 pages.

If you keep honing that scene you’ll get an ever-more lovely description of a scene that doesn’t Read more…

Writing: Characterization, Writing: Style

Chief Inspector Preston (a major character in Broom 3, to be released in early 2009) has a degree in criminology from Leeds City College. But that fact is never mentioned in the book. So how do I know it?

The way I know it is that I write out a complete bio for each of my major characters. In fact, I do the bios before I finalize the plot! Why?

To me a novel is a story about people and how they change under stressful circumstances. I have a vague plot line Read more…

Writing: Characterization