When Should Your Characters Address Each Other by Name?
While using names is funny in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, it’s not as funny in your novel.
Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes: Which Is Right For Your Story?
Every Wednesday, two of my good Denver girlfriends and I get together for a girls night with food, beer, and an activity. Last week, our activity of choice was watching Disney’s Hercules on my couch. Clearly Disney took some creative liberties (they’re a family company, after all, and Greek mythology is not all that family-friendly), but it sure is entertaining to see Hercules try to prove himself as a “true hero”. And that got me thinking: wouldn’t it be fun to examine all the sides and angles of heroes and villains?
We’re dipping our toes into the waters with a comparison of heroes and anti-heroes.
The 7 Basic Plots: Bonus Plots!
So we went through Christopher Booker’s seven basic plots, and maybe you’re feeling a little sad. What’s left? That surely can’t be all!
You’re in luck. It’s not.
How Long Should a Scene Be?
I recently read a novel that bugged me. It took me about a hundred pages to realize why.
Many of the scenes were no longer than a few paragraphs. They felt rushed and not fully imagined by the author. Worse, most of the shortest scenes were flashbacks which added to the jumpy, disconnected feel to the story.
How long should scenes be in a novel or memoir?
Three Tips for Naming Characters
The scene’s clear in your head. The characters are running around creating drama, making their own lives difficult but yours easier with every passing word. Until you realize you don’t know the name of that brown-eyed beauty and her Prince Charming lacks an identity of his own.
Three Ways to Make Your Protagonist More Realistic (and More Lovable)
The sign of a great character is when you can’t believe the character isn’t real. Your protagonist should most certainly be just this realistic, especially since she’s the star of the show!
The surprising truth is that if you make a character realistic, she’ll also be more lovable. People relate to characters with depth and humanity more than an alien robot with no emotion.
Here are three ways to make your protagonist more realistic…
