Writer Wednesday: Becomingawriterblog.com

I found this site the other day, and felt its streamlined, straight-forward style refreshing.  The author, Angela Greenfield, offers posts on so many writing topics, including prompts.

She covers such topics for fiction writing as character development, inspiration, and dialogue, but also includes a category for non-fiction as well.

I think she needs to add more in the way of posts, of course, but the site is easy to navigate and get where you want to go.

Technorati Tags: wednesday writer,author,blog,character,inspiration

Writing beyond your comfort zone

Comfort zones are comfy. They wrap us into familiarity and safety. However, you may find as a writer, you need to explore outside that comfort zone, to delve into the darker side of our selves, or even explore the unknown.

Try these;

- Write in another genre. Jumping into a new genre of writing strengthens the writing muscle, but also allows you to explore the unknown. You learn about new styles, but also new writing rules. For instance, science fiction follows different rules and expectations than romance or fantasy.

- Write a character that is nothing like you. Pick qualities that you feel are opposite or even conflicting to your own qualities. You can learn about motivation and write outside that comfort zone. Trying to make a character the protagonist give you a challenge as well.

- Don’t skip the parts you normally skip. I tend to avoid the gruesome scenes, or fight scenes. To write outside my comfort zone, I would expand my repertoire to include these less-than-likeable scenes.

- Push your limits. Write scenes that make you scared, angry, or uneasy. This will translate to your readers. Its about provoking feelings, to get the reader emotionally invested in the story.

See where these type of exercises can lead you, and don’t stay within your comfort zone. Be daring! Get out there and write some awesomeness!

Technorati Tags: comfort zone,writing,fictions,character,tips

The fun in tropes

A trope=

trope n.

1. A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor.

2. A word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies.

I found tvtropes.com, which offers every known trope in books, movies, video games, and more. You can look up by specific media, or specific trope. Such concepts as Villain Decay or Wimpification best illustrate how so much we find in story telling has been done before. This doesn’t negate their entertainment value, however.

Their site states “Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means “stereotyped and trite.” In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.”

If anything, tropes offer a writer a means in which to show universal symbolism we find in stories such as the Action Girl, Beware the Nice Ones, and Sociopathic Hero are just a few of the tons of tropes out there.

I love how its organized as well. You can look up by specific book, movie, comic, etc or look up by specific tropes such as hero, villain, sidekick, or any other trope that comes to mind.

Many of the articles cross link and references other tropes. You can be lost in there for hours, so be sure you have snacks or coffee/tea on hand.

Technorati Tags: character,plot,story,novel,literature,writer,tropes,cliche,metaphor,stereotype,plot device

Writing from an opposite POV

“Write what you know” is one of the foremost writing tips you find out there. Naturally, its easier to write from your own point of view (POV), creating a character that shares your religion, political beliefs, and even the attitude. However, this can lead to redundancies to your characters. Every story ends up mirroring your personality rather than offering readers a fresh character with fresh stories.

Are you writing the same main character over and over? To shake things up, consider giving your character the opposite set of beliefs. This offers exploration to ‘the other side’, and perhaps even better understand issues. It leads to questioning our own biases, on how we perceive those who do not agree with our view.

A good example is the main character in The Vampire Diaries. I read that as a teen, and couldn’t stand the main character. She reminded me too much of the girls who picked on me in school. Now, as an adult, I find it interesting as to what leads a person to behave in such a way?

What weakness do they work from, to bully others, or feel an inflated ego? Exploring the psychology of school bullies, or nerds, or whatever type character you do not relate to, opens up a world of potential character depth.

Consider the qualities you posses, and pass on to the characters of your stories. Are you able to provide unique personality to him/her? Do side characters become 3-dimensional or do they fall into a stereotype to fill in the blanks, or offset the main character?

I’ve found my own characters that unnerved me, or took a life of their own and took the story in different directions. I played with one story where the main protagonist ended up switching personalities with his nemesis, thereby becoming an ‘a-hole’ as one reviewer put it. It left me exploring more of the antagonist and how he struggles with a new found conscience.

It was tremendously fun to write the changes in characters.

What do you think; do you ‘head-hop’ and shift personalities, or do you find characters end up being shades of your self? Post in comments.

Technorati Tags: novel,character,character development,fiction,fanfiction,psychology,writing

Characters- making them great

I remember once asking my writer’s group what they felt made a great book. I wondered myself; considering a book is made of many parts. Plot, conflict, theme, character, resolution, a writer’s Voice, scenes, chapters, and everything in between.

The consensus was character. For fiction this is certainly true. A good story tells the story of a character you follow along with their trials and tribulations; a character you can root for, to care about, to be involved with they appear three dimensional.

I suppose this is why people frown on the ‘Mary Sue’ type story, where the author writes herself (or him in the case of a Mary Stu) into a story. They are the author’s fantasy fulfilled through romance, or other genres. Such characters are often unrealistic, being ‘too good to be true’.

I think a great character includes;

- Flaws. Often these flaws hold the character back from their goals becoming the inner conflict of the story. Indiana Jones’ fear of snakes offered him courage when he needed to save himself from a snake pit. We rooted for him, and he overcame his fear.

- Realistic looks. Beauty is subjective. Characters that are drop-dead gorgeous don’t offer the same struggles as us plain folk. Beauty can also come from inside, shining through with charisma or a good heart. Be careful writing ‘beautiful’ characters. Let them be relatable to your readers.

- They rise above things. Great characters are heroes. They might not start out as a hero, but they do the right thing, or try to. Even an anti-hero offers the reader something of humanity, or reasons to their motivations.

- They are unique. Many writers may find they are writing the same character but giving new names, places, and changing a few elements about them. Overall, however, each character should be unique as a real person.

What do you think? What makes a great character? What are your favorite characters? What made them stand out? Post in comments.

Prompt: Use the picture below to create a character. Jot down a bio that includes background, the flaws and admirable qualities, and give them some conflicts they need to face and overcome.

Technorati Tags: writer,character,authors,fictions,story

The alternatives to NaNoWriMo

I’ve mentioned before my experiences with the National Writing Month. This year, I will pass on the grueling ordeal and opt to explore alternatives to writing goals.

Some authors/writers who write on a different path;

Unofficial NaNoWriMo- Sharing her writing goals for the month and created a Facebook page for anyone who wishes to do the same.

MiniWriMo- 250 words a day seems reasonable, but also allows for works-in-progress, daily writing exercises, short stories, or even journals.

GloManiFesto stands for Global Manifesto Writing Month where you write ‘a public declaration of intentions, opinions,objectives, or motives, as one issued by agovernment, sovereign, or organization.’

My 500 Words: An Alternative to NaNoWriMo- Keeping a reasonable word count per day.

As you can see, there are many ideas floating around out there to make November a productive month.

Feel free to post your own thoughts, ideas, comments, or goals for November Novel Writing Month.

Technorati Tags: nanowrimo,writing,authors,novels,publishing,plot,character,conflict