by Susan Lovett | May 7, 2019 | Fiction |
This is the final blog in a short series about developing a character arc. The first blog defined the character arc and its importance. The second discussed how to begin developing that arc. This final blog offers concrete steps to take to create a fully developed character:
Writing a character is like giving birth to a fully grown person. You are in charge of making them from how they look, walk, speak, act and everything else that comprises a person. Here are some tips to bring them to life:
by Susan Lovett | Apr 30, 2019 | Fiction |
Characters need to be a fully realized, complex people with virtues and flaws. They need convictions and fears, hopes and worries, and skills to help and hurt their progress. Most importantly, they need to change. This is the crux of character development. But how do you do that?
by Susan Lovett | Apr 23, 2019 | Fiction |
When we read a story, we want to get pulled into the lives of the characters on the page, to connect and engage. We want to struggle with them. Fall in love. Experience everything they do. We want to see them change. That’s how their journey becomes ours.
It doesn’t matter how amazing a setting or world is if there is no character for us to identify with or rail against. It’s the characters who pull us into and through the story. Characters who prevail and share their triumphs and failures with us. Ideally, these characters change somewhere between the beginning and the end.
The course of a character’s story is called a character arc.
by Susan Lovett | Apr 16, 2019 | Story |
Story is everything. It’s the prime initiative. The raison d’être. Nothing should subjugate it. Nothing be held higher or given more attention. Sounds simple, right? Not so much.
I recently read a story that had amazing detail, setting, and concept, but the author spent so much time pushing her agenda she lost the thread of the story. It was lost among the message. It didn’t help that she presented her story in a fractured timeline, destroying any chance for tension. The characters were subservient to the setting. The setting used mostly as evidence in proving her cause. It was a missed opportunity. The book could have been great. It had all the elements, but needed editing and a strong hand.
There are steps you can take to ensure your story remains at the forefront. The biggest is to understand the big ways you can go off track. Here are some things have a tendency to take over:
by Susan Lovett | Apr 9, 2019 | For Writers |
Several years ago a friend graduated from FLETC (the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center). Naturally, I gave her a refresher course in case she forgot her training, namely all the films I could find that included Secret Service agents. Guarding Tess. In the Line of Fire. Dave. Imagine my surprise when she said none of them were accurate.
The fact is Hollywood gets most things wrong in this world, but no more so than when they portray the life of a writer.
by Susan Lovett | Apr 2, 2019 | Fiction |
Studying acting is a great way to learn how to create characters as a writer. In my last blog, I wrote about what I’ve learned from acting. In this blog, I am going to delve into the Stanislavski System of acting.
Constantin Stanislavski is recognized as the father of modern theater. He created a system of acting that dug deeper into the emotions of the actor and the work. He created a series of seven questions to help actors approach a character. I have listed those questions below with tips for how writers might use these questions to create better characters.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 26, 2019 | Fiction |
In many ways, I learned more about writing from my music and drama classes than I did from my writing classes. I learned about rhythm, cadence and flow from music. How to build tension and action to a crescendo in the work and then how to release it for a satisfying ending. Those are the building blocks of music theory. I learned how to explore character, motivation and emotion in my acting classes. All of those are valuable lessons for a writer.
My writing classes taught me the craft, but music and acting taught me how to add depth and bring those mechanics to life.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 19, 2019 | Writing |
Every writer has heard the advice to write what you know, and it is good advice to a point. It’s impossible to write about things you don’t understand. But the problem with this advice is that writers can learn. We can research and pick up the facts. We can break down a problem and find experts to explain the mechanics of how things work. Heck, we can even watch documentaries to see how things came about and how to videos to see it in action. What we cannot do is know how those situations feel without understanding the emotions associated with it. We can’t find the story behind things if we can’t empathize with it.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 12, 2019 | Mindset, Writing |
Writing is hard. Words don’t flow out easily and land on the page as genius. They need to be selected, ordered, rearranged, swapped, lined up and perfected. Most times they are not cooperative companions though. They are like the unruly child who doesn’t recognize the word “no” even when yelled and accompanied with hands held face out.
There is a reason so many talk about writing instead of doing it. The trick to making it as a writer is not quitting when it gets tough.
by Susan Lovett | Mar 5, 2019 | Mindset |
Being a writer for hire opens a world of opportunity. There are many places that need good writers. I’ve written about it before. But within those vast opportunities, there is a clear divide between technical and non-technical writing. Choosing between them is a tough decision. Should you follow the emotion or the facts? The story or the money?
by Susan Lovett | Feb 26, 2019 | For Writers |
Last week, I covered some great reasons to pursue writing as a career. But there are as many bad reasons to write.
Here are some of the wrong reasons to go down this path:
by Susan Lovett | Feb 19, 2019 | For Writers |
After offering a series debunking popular myths about writers and writing (insert links), it’s time to look at why you want to write because what motivates you to sit down and write will determine your success and career.
There are so many people who talk about becoming a writer. They share ideas and talk about writing, but only a few actually do it. Even fewer finish. The ones who do succeed are those who write for the right reason.
Not all reasons are equal. Here is my breakdown of some of the right reasons to write. In my next blog, I will cover some of the “wrong” reasons.
