Search Results for: Characters – Page 16

When I approach creating a world for a story, I ask myself, “How real do I want this world to be?”

This is commonly referred to as the writing zone. I spoke about the importance of getting rid of all external and internal distractions, and I suggested that you need to move into your writing zone slowly.

As you do this you’ll find yourself thrust into an imaginary world where your character must react to stimuli and try to overcome obstacles. It only takes about 25 minutes of doing this for you to reach that Beta-state of consciousness.

Creating that world is a simple trick.  We “create” the world by reporting on it, repeatedly using images, sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that excite the mind and make it feel real.  Very often, to create that world requires us to repeat information in different ways.  For example, if I want to create “rain” in my story, I must have my reader see it coming in the distance, smell the taste of moisture in the air, feel the wet drops as they begin to plop down, and so on.  

We develop strong rooting interest and care more about characters who care deeply about something, who are committed to something.  Perhaps they care about their families, or have a powerful love for their country.  Maybe your character loves his horse, or is uncommonly honest or honorable.

In short, a story isn’t just one idea, it’s a conglomeration—basic concepts about characters, how and why they act, and how others react to them.  If you analyze even a short story, one that is only ten pages long, you’ll find that the author makes dozens, maybe even hundreds of choices regarding milieu, character, conflict, theme, and treatment.

Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should look at two things:  Do you like the basic concept? Will the story sell? In short, before you write anything, you need to take an adequate survey of the field.  

Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should decide a number of things:    1) Do you like the

One perennial need is for novelists to write film or gaming tie-ins. If you are a successful writer, the chances are excellent that all kinds

There are a lot of ways to weave your attribution into your dialog. For example, bestseller John Green will often have well-known characters talk without description, just giving a name before the dialog.