I’ve been spending the past few years getting my doctorate degree in creative writing with the thesis Breaking the Curse: Retelling a Folk Fairy Tale to Explore Trauma and Healing in Novels for Young People. During my research, I came across Donna Jackson Nakazawa’s brilliant book Childhood Disrupted. She included a resilience questionnaire, which I have adapted here for creative writers to use in their character development process. I recommend taking this questionnaire alongside the Adverse Childhood Experiences quiz. Resilience Questionnaire My character believes that their mother loves them. Definitely True Probably True Not Sure Probably Not True Definitely Not True My...
I’m continuing my theme of sharing my events from WriteOnCon 2018 (an annual online kidlit writing conference I help organize) in preparation for WriteOnCon 2019. If you haven’t signed up yet, you should! This is a recording of a live workshop I did (which basically covers the premises in my How Plot and Narrative Strengthen Stories entry). You can still follow along yourself, try out the exercises, and hear me discuss people’s entries. Questions? Leave a comment here!
I’m beginning *dundundunnnn* a new project! If everything works out, this new story will be coming out Fall 2019. Right now, I’m calling it The Invisible Boy and it’s about a girl that makes friends with a boy who just might have some secrets up his sleeve… or, rather, in his hoodie pockets. Meet Nadia! What is Beautiful People? Beautiful People is a blog meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. Every month, they post ten questions to help writers get to know their characters better. How do I join? Just jump in! Snag the March questions, post...
Ah yes, we all know the description cliché: Our hero or heroine looks in a mirror and studies it so that the reader can form a full picture of this character. Bonus points if it’s in the first chapter! Appearances can be tricky, I won’t deny that — but there are lots of creative ways to get around Ye Olde Mirror cop-out! My cheat-answer for just about any writing question is intentional details. How do you build a fantasy world? Intentional details. How do you create mood? Intentional details. How do you describe a character? Intentional details. Details help add context and reality to...
As a young writer, I didn’t know the difference between plot and narrative — or how to make both work for the most compelling hook, arc, and story. Lucy Christopher at Bath Spa University was the first to sit down with me and really explain it. You need both plot and narrative hints to hook a reader. It’ll take a lot of revisions to get the balance of this right, but hooks that instantly immerse you in the story have this in common: Plot and narrative are working together. In the opening of Hugo, for instance, the action (plot) that changes everything is...
I was recently telling someone I’ve been novel-mentoring about creating graphics, and how it can be a great way to break writer’s block. She was like, “Huh?” And I was like, “Oh, I guess this isn’t the most obvious.” So, we already talked about visualizing characters with photo collages. Today we’re going to talk about assembling our casts. This used to be something I just did for fun, but it’s become a necessary part of my drafting process. In fact, for Eleventh Trade I had to stop writing and take a day just to pull together my cast. Making a cast...
I’ve just turned in my new draft of Illuminate so I wanted to participate in Beautiful People as my reward! The character I’ll be talking about this time is my darling romantic interest, Luc. Sweet child. What is Beautiful People? Beautiful People is a blog meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. Every month, they post ten questions to help writers get to know their characters better. How do I join? Just jump in! Snag the September questions, post them on your blog, and come back to add your link! I also recommend checking out the posts...
Characters! Those cheeky fellas. I love seeking out my characters’ hearts. Finding the deep-down stuff that really makes them tick, and then bringing it out in the story. Normally I’ll spend a lot of time brainstorming this in the early side of my drafting, but I also like to revisit the basics when I hit a roadblock and stall out. Often when I’m stuck, it’s because I have stopped listening to my characters. Here are some questions that can help you explore your characters and gain new insights. I’ve written them addressed to your character directly, and recommend answering them...
From the basics to the very in-depth, these are some of the resources I go to when I’m developing new characters. Have a look at my favorites, and add your own in the comments! 1. 25 Things About Creating Characters As a writer, creating characters is probably the most important thing you do. Get it wrong, and the story will be wrong no matter how well plotted. 2. Lessons From James Scott Bell: Characters That Jump Off The Page Readers are engaged by characters who do not always act in a predictable way. Think of how to have your character...
I’ve finished my WIP’s first journal, and I have to say: I’m in love. Before this journal, I never knew the wonders of graph paper and all the creativity you can unleash on it. Having a journal can be a great way to keep notes, brainstorm off the computer, do research, or just relieve stress. My journal was stuffed with the usual sort of thing (character arcs and bios, scene ideas, name research, etc.), but I also branched out and tried to find unusual or more creative ways to explore my story. Below are my five favorite creative activities that...
