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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

Characters

Unpronounceable Character Names in Fantasy and Science Fiction

February 16, 2011 by Alex Bledsoe Leave a Comment
unpronounceable character names in science fiction and fantasy novels

One of the cliches of science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing is the tradition of unpronounceable character names.  You know the kind I mean: a string of consonants and, instead of vowels, various punctuation marks.  Examples are Lord K’lghn, Gy-v’nly from the planet Y’jhtrg, and the awful Q’vintg from beyond the black depths (okay, I made … [Read more…]

Posted in: By Genre, Characters, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Writing Craft Tagged: Fantasy, horror, naming characters, Science Fiction

Video: Joyce Carol Oates, Writing Realistic Characters

February 13, 2011 by HowToWriteShop Leave a Comment
videos on writing

Joyce Carol Oates talks about characters in her books and the difficulty of writing realistic characters, including animal characters. She suggests sticking with writing dialogue between two people for two hours. She also talks about Rebecca from The Gravedigger’s Daughter and how Oates envisioned her as an early version of her own grandmother.  

Posted in: Characters Tagged: characters, video

Writing a Page-Turning Novel: The Captivating Protagonist

February 9, 2011 by Kathy Steffen 1 Comment
writing a protagonist creating protagonists

So how do you create a captivating lead character and cause your reader to fall in love with your protagonist? Here are some writing tips.

Posted in: Characters, Writing Craft Tagged: pacing, protagonists

A Scrooge Character Analysis

December 22, 2010 by Lori Devoti 9 Comments
Scrooge character analysis

There are few characters more associated with Christmas than Ebenezer Scrooge. You have to wonder if when Charles Dickens created the penny-pinching misanthrope, he had any idea of the longevity Scrooge would enjoy, or that of all of Dickens’ novels A Christmas Carol would be the one most well known….and thanks to who? Scrooge. Which … [Read more…]

Posted in: Characters Tagged: characters, nine steps for character, scrooge

Character Motivation to Drive Your Plot

December 13, 2010 by Kathy Steffen 2 Comments
character motivation goals

Character motivation gives your character the power to drive his story, but a properly motivated character will also take your writing far beyond plot. Character Motivation, the Why Do you ever watch a movie and scream in frustration at the screen, thinking why are you doing that? You idiotic character, that makes no sense! The … [Read more…]

Posted in: Characters, Plotting, Writing Craft Tagged: character development, character motivation
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