Writing a Page-Turning Novel: The Captivating Protagonist
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.
Characters
Going Back for the Cat
I read a recent horror novel in which the hero, having bought a creepy old house, receives a scrapbook from the previous owner loaded with photos and clues to its history. Our hero spies something disturbing in one of the photos, and his reaction? He throws the whole scrapbook in the fire. This exposed the story’s … [Read more…]
A 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…]
Character Motivation to Drive Your Plot
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…]
One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.*
by Alex Bledsoe I once taught a class for young writers in which a student read from the prologue to her fantasy epic. Her black-clad, black-haired villain strode the black hallways of his black castle until he reached his black throne, where he mulled over his black thoughts and made his black plans. I was … [Read more…]
