I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand times before that not only must your characters live and breathe like real people, but your setting has to, as well. Your setting should have a personality just like your protagonist if you want your story world to leap off the page.
But how do you do that?
Getting published. It’s a goal almost every writer shares. But how do you get your story from slush pile to publication?
If you read the writing of the average MFA student, you’ll find perfectly composed, uniquely styled, completely boring stories. What’s the deal? Some of the best, most highly trained writers in the world are producing work few people outside academia wants to read.
Of course, I don’t mean to single out MFA programs. Too many writers—and I at times include myself in this group—are writing navel gazing stories that are perfectly written but lacking everything the average reader looks for in a story.
How do you write fresh, beautiful, experimental stories that are also interesting to read?
Do you love to hear a good secret? The revelation of your character’s inner world makes your story more riveting, more relatable, more real. What is the skeleton in your character’s closet? The explanation for her covert behaviors, paranoia or paralyzing worry? Humanize your character by giving him a surprising revelation.
You know you’re not supposed to just tell the reader your character’s history in the first chapter. But when do you tell him? And how do you weave the back story into your novel? Here are some ideas.
Close Third-Person is important tool to have in your kit. This is a chance for the reader to become intimate with the characters. And if done correctly, you can enter the natural vernacular seamlessly.
