So for this revision round, I have sixteen scenes left --- where everything starts to converge together and pushing toward the end --- which in the draft form is still cloudy (but that's for another post). One thing I've been noticing with my characters --- the antagonist Kendra is just really all shades of bad, which is boring and one-dimensional. I've made notes on the manuscript where I need to go back and fix that. All-bad villians are no fun. I need to find something to make her more … [Read more...]
Character Development
December 17, 2009 Read Comments
A lot of writers do character sketches. Some writers do interviews with their characters. Some even do whole biographies from birth to current novel time for character development. One thing that I do consistently that sort of helps me figure out a character in the very beginning is to do a Myers-Brigg assessment of the character (check out my post Multiple Personalities). This helps me build a foundation. For most of my novel projects, I've tried to do sketches and biographies, but I … [Read more...]
Revision Update: Cutting Characters
October 28, 2009 Read Comments
I'm on Day 5 of my 25 scenes in 25 days. But I've also cut a scene. So much for my catchy phrase. I'm thinking it will be replaced but not sure. It may have to wait until the next revision round. I also cut a character. Alexis was a character in my draft who was supposed to help Grace, my protagonist, but she was only in one scene in Act 1 and didn't really do anything else---didn't even make another appearance until Act 3. So even though I do like this character, I decided Alexis would have … [Read more...]
Seeds of a Writer
September 16, 2009 Read Comments
I was over reading R.L. LaFevers blog post, Quirks and Foibles, and I thought it was interesting what she believes can contribute to the seeds of a writer: "It seems to me that the best writers, the ones whose books really stay with me, are connoisseurs of human nature. Being proficient at craft, or excelling at it, is good, but not enough, nor is a crackerjack plot. I relish learning things about the human condition and people." This may be true for me as well. Ever since I can … [Read more...]
