Tag: character development

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 11/21/14

CHARACTERS II

Many years ago my writing friend, Sara Huff, gave me a paperback book titled: Fiction is Folks by Robert Newton Peck.  The subtitle on the cover reads: “Characters are what readers remember, what editors look for, and what turn aspiring writers into published authors.”  SO TRUE!  Mr. Peck has been writing for a while, listing upwards of fifty-five novels, six books of nonfiction, thirty-five songs, three television specials and over 100 poems to his resume.  Much of his success he credits to his teacher—Miss Kelly.  “She taught first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in a tumble-down, one-room, dirt-road school in rural Vermont,” Peck tells his readers. “She believed in scholarship, manners, and soap.”  Do you already have an image in your minds?  Yes, I’m sure you do.  And creating such images—intricately detailed ones—is how Peck develops his characters.

Following Robert Peck’s example (and the pattern of many well-known and established authors) I offer the following simple concepts about character development.  They blend several philosophies about character types and have helped me see the people who walk and talk in the fiction and non-fiction stories I enjoy reading.

  • Who makes you laugh? Who makes you cry? These two seemingly opposite emotions are crucial in developing layered elements of any character type—because—laughing and crying are major pieces in everyone’s life. The personality elements that bring out these reactions in people will help you create very believable characters.
  • Who makes you feel safe? Who makes you feel afraid? Security and fear are two components that heighten a character’s makeup and set the stage for multiple possibilities within the plot—the storyline—of any book. The human DNA seeks security and fears the loss of it. Therefore, the writer must understand these facets of their characters from as many perspectives as possible.
  • What do you believe—at your core? What do you have real doubts about? These two character aspects (at least for the main group of characters) give writers miles of material for character and plot development. Dialogue develops naturally from the interplay between characters who not only hold conflicting beliefs and doubts, but who agree with each other on various levels of the same beliefs and doubts.

Although these three concepts seem ultra-simplistic, they are not.  The writer who avoids developing them will end up with paper-doll characters who barely breathe in the pages of the book.  As writers we have been given an extremely valuable gift—a legacy passed forward to us by multiple generations who may have never owned a book of their own.  Robert Peck acknowledges this in his headline statement on his Internet Homepage.  It reads: “If I possess any wisdom at all, most of it was given me by a mother, father, an aunt, and a grandmother…none of whom could read or write.”

So it is that I encourage you in your writing efforts to be the best writer you can be at any given moment in time.  Hopefully, we all continue growing in our craft.  To that end, I suggest adding another of Mr. Peck’s books to your resources library: HOW to Write Fiction Like a Pro—A Simple-to-Savvy Toolkit for Aspiring Authors.

May each and every one be blessed with exceptional inspiration this day as you develop your own writing legacy to pass forward in ALL the books you PUBLISH!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 6/06/14

TRIGGER WORDS-3

HOPE

This little mini-series about trigger words will pause with this third word: hope.  On the surface, many writers might overlook this four letter word, considering the concept it embodies to be passive—an ingredient that leaves little (or no) flavor in an excellent piece of writing.  However, I ask you to take another look at the word; open your writer’s imagination and consider the following points.

For the writer who wants to dig deep into their characters and the situations they are being placed into, the depth of definition behind this word, HOPE, can take you millions of miles.  As found in our dictionaries, this noun can also be used as a verb.  I’m not suggesting that the word (hope) itself be overused; however, its multi-level meanings have the potential to build deeply impactful characters, scenes and scenarios.

Hope embodies all of the emotional spectrums; it can become the antonym to any negative emotion.

When something your character has dreamed about for their entire lives seems totally out of the realm of possibility—the feeling of hope can reside within allowing the author to dig a very deep hole of despair until just the right moment.  Then—success!

If a character is ill, or physically challenged, there resides within the human spirit a hope DNA (if you can imagine that), that many in the medical profession today have come to accept and actually rely on as part of treatment plans.  Raising expectations increases physical ability—as witnessed during extreme conditions when one character is trapped under a huge boulder and “the hero” is able to move it.  Knowing this is actually possible “in real life” gives authors lots of examples to draw from.

Are you developing one of your characters with a total lack of trust—in anything?  Again, that hope DNA can be a big factor is creating a surprise ending that will not only shock the reader, but that will also be very satisfying.

You’ve heard the idiom: We’re hoping-against-hope for a change in this situation.  THAT is where your readers live.  If you’ve done your job well, and created real people, then your readers will love and hate them—and “hope-against-hope” for the best outcome by the time they reach the last page of your book.

And—just in case you think I’m speaking only to fiction authors—I am not.  Non-fiction writers who tell the true stories of life must consider these aspects of hope so that the real people they’re writing about can touch the lives of every reader.  HOPE allows us all to look forward—with reasonable expectations and confidence—to a good (even better) outcome than what we’ve faced within any particular circumstance.

In my ghostwriting and editing efforts I can emphatically state that EVERY project I’ve helped develop carries a strong thread of hope.  My work with the self-publishing industry also demonstrates that hope is the backbone of the majority of books being published today.  From my perspective hope is the connecting rope that ties writer and reader together.  So it is that I hope more writers will look forward—move forward—and get their works published TODAY!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Fiction, Kelly Speaks, NaNoWriMo, Writing

Character Development Tips for Fiction Writers

Back in November 2012 I participated in NaNoWriMo.  As a first time fiction writer, one of the things I found the hardest was keeping character traits straight in my head. Did he have red or brown hair? Was he short or tall? As I was working through this problem, I developed some tricks to help me keep all those important character traits straight. Here are my favorites:

1. Let someone inspire you.

Even if you are writing fiction, you can use people in your real life as inspiration. Picture someone you know or see and base your character on that person. Not only is this a good way to generate ideas and help you remember your character descriptions, it is also a great way to ensure your characters are realistic because you will be describing someone you’ve actually seen or met.

2. Keep a list of character traits.

Even if you think you know your characters well, it is hard to remember all of the details once you are well into writing your book. To avoid messing up descriptions half way through the book, keep a list of all the character traits. You can format this however is most convenient for you. Perhaps create a table with headings such as physical characteristics and personality traits. The key is to keep the list updated and to review it often while you write and edit your book.

3. Plan ahead.

Some people let their characters develop as they write the story, but if remembering character traits is an issue for you, it may be beneficial to create your characters ahead of time. Before you begin writing, envision your characters. Imagine you are interviewing them and write down everything they would tell you and you would observe. What do they look like? Where do they live? What is their temperament? What are their motivators? Their fears? Their strengths? The more you figure out ahead of time, the easier it will be to write about them as they come into your story. Be sure to keep all this information in a safe, organized place that you can reference often.

4. Double and triple check your work.

As you write your book, your character may begin to take on a different personality than you expected or you may decide different characteristics are more suiting for certain characters. It is okay to change things, and you don’t have to be glued to your list of character traits as you write. You do, however, have to make sure everything is consistent before you self-publish your book. While you are revising your manuscript, read through it while focusing on character traits. You should also have at least one other person review your manuscript because he or she will often catch subtleties you missed.

5. Hire help.

If character traits is a struggle for you, a developmental editor may be able to help. Unlike copyeditors who review your manuscript for grammar and style issues, developmental editors look for consistency and structural elements such as character development and realistic dialogue. They can point out errors in your manuscript where you made mistakes and offer advice on improving your characters.

I’d love to know, what do you do to help you remember your characters’ traits?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog at http://kellyschuknecht.com.