#authorspo

[wordsnstuff]

Hello there! Maybe you've answered this kind of question before, but I wanted to ask anyway. How do you know that too much is really too much? I get the idea of making MC suffer for some reasons - because that's what life is like. But how do I make them real and bruised without showing them as victim? Without feeling sorry for themselves?

Developing characters’ past pain to inform current responses to conflict...

A character’s past and present personal conflict is a key part of their development, and furthermore their motivations, behavior, and strengths/weaknesses. Knowing what your character has been through and how that informs their perspective on what they continue to battle is beyond imperative to creating a quality, rounded person to read about. 

As you begin and continue to develop this piece of them, there is a line you must tread upon carefully. Everyone goes through stuff, and in real life one has little to no control over the majority of it, but you as a writer have the luxury of not having to deal with fate as a player. You decide everything that happens to that character, and then you build the rest of their personality which will determine how that informs their actions moving forward. 

You will never put your character through too much if you’re following the character you’ve written faithfully. If you find yourself throwing in struggle after struggle to make them appear more resilient or seasoned, that will reveal how little you know about people’s personalities are shaped by experience. How it feels to actually experience different types and sources of pain, suffering, and trauma. 

Sometimes it’s characteristic of a person’s behavior and perspective to have someone feel truly miserable and sorry for themself when something unfortunate happens to them. These people exist among us in abundance. If you’re doing justice to a cast of characters with diverse experiences, it’s not unlikely you’ll end up writing one of them, whether you personally identify with that response to conflict or not. 

Projecting your personal internal biases or responses onto every character you write, regardless of the character they actually are, is the most efficient way to flush your surrounding character development down the toilet. Don’t write with the response in mind before you develop the conflict itself. People aren’t born with a predisposition toward any method of coping with pain or suffering. Characters shouldn’t be either. Those methods are found through experience, trial and error, and intuition. Give yourself time to draw logical conclusions about what your character has been through, how it shaped them, and how one would use that experience to inform their actions when faced with pain or challenge in the future. 

What did they go through?

What did it make them feel?

What did that feeling make them think/learn?

How did they internalize this (shaping their identity, behavior, coping methods, priorities, relationships, motivations, etc.)

How does that impact the way they will respond to this situation?

How does their response compare/contrast to the people around them?

How does this add nuance to the conflict?

If your character’s determined response to the conflict is imperative to the plot progressing as necessary, then do the work backwards. Do your research, empathize with the character as much as you can, and develop the framework behind the image in your head. At the tail end of this process, you should be able to answer the above questions, no matter which direction you figured them out in.

–

Masterlist

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[writerforfun]

Writing advice: Show don't tell!

I'm coming in with this as a lot, a lot of writers seem to have a little trouble with this. And it's fine it really is, I had to work a lot to understand this myself. It was awful to read my old work when I did learn to describe well.

One of the best ways to improve your writing is to

SHOW DON'T TELL!

It's not easy, despite being such a common part of creative writing. Some find it difficult to start of even explaining it, or implementing it in their tales.

Well, let's see if we can change that!

Let's first look at what it means:

Show don't tell: is the use of excessive descriptive words that produce an image of what you wish to show.

Confusing? Hold up I'll explain. See the main point is to use detailed action and images to show what is going on in the story.

A great example being the famously said on the topic "Don't tell me the moon is shining show me the glint of light on broken glass"

Let's look at some examples:

Telling: When they embraced she could tell he had been smoking and was scared.

Showing: When she wrapped her slim arms around him, the stench of tobacco assaulted her nostrils, filling her nose up with the filthy air. She felt consumed by the substance. Dread rose in her body, completely throwing her in hopelessness.

Telling: It was late fall.

Showing: Red-orange decorated the path in front of him, colouring the road as he walked, crunching under his weight.

Do you understand what I mean?

Here are some effective tips to help you:

1. Use strong details to give a good image. Say your character is blind, don't tell us they are blind show us. Tell the reader they are blind, let them know from the way the character acts, how they feel for things, how do they know someone is in front of them. Show it all!

Maybe she uses a cane to walk or maybe she has a dog to help her, or maybe she has a guide to take her different place. 2. Create the setting Want to show a spooky and eerie setting?

Describe it. Speak about how fog, how thick is it? Temperature, is it cold or hot? How cold or hot is it? Are there cobwebs? Crows crying out in the distance. How is the character responding to it?

How are they feeling in the scene? Showing their impression is quite important as well. You want the reader to feel what the character is feeling and actually have the reader feel it too.

Do they feel calm or do they feel scared? How? Describe it in the best way possible.

3. Use dialogue.

Dialogue is the best way to show a character's personality rather than telling about it. Showing their interactions with others, with objects through dialogues is a really useful way of showing their personality, we can understand what they value, their relationships with others.

Say you have a character who gets annoyed easily. Someone might do something or interrupt them while doing something important and they might just yell out in frustration or huff and walk away.

Show that interaction with words and dialogues.

4. Use themes.

If you wish to know more about themes let me know.

For now, I'll give a little context on how to use it here.

The language and details you use show the theme of your story. It provides the theme in a really subtle way but it's there. A reader may not pick it up at first but over time it becomes clear. It also creates that overall thread throughout your entire book.

Takes this as an example:

From this, we can sense the theme is focused heavily on loneliness and craving for human connection. This is really prevalent throughout the entire book but it's done through showing not telling. So if the author was simply telling it you would just simply read it as the character was not lonely at all and she just needed a friend. Like a direct path to her thoughts but that's not what we want. Because at the end of the day, it's not interesting is it?

5.Don't label emotions Don't show emotions, especially if you're not sure whether you are showing or telling, look for actual emotional words. This is called emotive language. When you use words envoke strong emotions but describing those emotions.

Words such as happy, angry or sad are examples of telling. They tell the reader how the character feels not show.

Telling: John was depressed that day and he wanted to cry.

Show: John didn't feel well. Hos heart felt heavy, under great strain. He didn't feel joyful or motivated or enthusiastic. Instead, all he could feel was the suffocating hold of depression. The great urge to push open his eyes and let them rain. He truly wanted to cry.

Sometimes you need to ask yourself "How does this feel?" and then write how it feels.

So, when should you use TELL?

While summary narratives don't work well in stories, telling is needed at times. A great example is in the Novella Court of Frost and Starlight. Where a character spoke of her sexuality and it took 6 PAGES.

I'm not kidding, and those 6 PAGES were all on her sexuality.

Telling in this case would have been so much better.

Don't use show if there’s no value to the plot/tension/conflict/character arc by showing some mundane but necessary information, telling is preferable.

For instance, say you have to get your character to an important meeting and back before the real action happens. Maybe he has to get clearance from his superiors before he can lead a secret raid.

Rather than investing several pages showing every aspect of the trip from packing, dressing, getting a cab to the airport, going through security, boarding the plane, arriving at his destination—you quickly tell that this way:

Three days later, after a trip to Washington to get the operation sanctioned by his superiors, Casey packed his weapons and camo clothes and set out to recruit his crew.

Then you immediately return to showing mode, describing his visits to trusted compatriots and getting them on board.

Here is an other example:

Sorry, for the long post and thank you for reading.

#writersociety #writerscommunity #show don't tell #writing advice #writing help #writing tips #writing characters #writing resources #writeblr #writers #writing on tumblr #writers block #writers blog #writing life #writing #authorblr #authorspo #writing reference #motivation #inspiration #creative writing

[wordsnstuff]

Hi! I've been trying to plan for a novel, and I've come to a huge setback where I don't know how to fill in "gaps" in the storyline so that the pacing doesn't seem to rushed or too slow. Do you have any tips about how to pace a plot? Thank you!!

Pacing a plot…

As I’ve said in the past, pacing issues can usually be solved by examining the story’s subplots. Your subplots should be functioning as formative tools to the main plot line. Tracing their progression to find areas where you can utilize events to speed up, slow down, or reveal key information which balances the story is imperative to moving the story forward in a way that feels intentional and effective. 

When you’re planning individual scenes, focusing on tone can help with pace more than you may assume. Eliciting certain feelings in the reader can make events seem faster or slower than they are actually moving in the timeline. The more exciting or intense a scene is in tone, the more the reader will think has occurred in a potentially short amount of in-universe time. 

Pacing issues can also come about due to a lack of elaboration in key scenes or developmental moments. The story can feel rushed if important details seem to fall through the cracks, or too slow if you’re emphasizing insignificant description or explanation. Reviewing the scenes you’ve got and how they connect can reveal where you are lacking elaboration or where you can make cuts. 

Here are a few resources you may find helpful…

Pacing Appropriately

Coming Up With Scene Ideas

Expanding Scenes

Tackling Subplots

A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing

Ways To Fit Character Development Into your Story

–

Masterlist

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[wordsnstuff]

Seems like the silliest question ever but every idea I have seems so unoriginal. Do you tips or exercises to get the creativity going?

Getting the creative juices flowing...

I do! I have plenty of pep-talks and resources for this sort of thing, so I’ve organized them here by method (prompts/playlists/advice/inspiration/etc)

Articles

Coming Up With Scene Ideas

Coming Up With “Original” Ideas

How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story

How To Motivate Yourself To Write

Reasons To Improve Your Lifestyle

Tips & Advice for Aspiring Authors, Writers, and Poets

Healthy Forms of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Writing Through Mental Health Struggles

Why “Burnout” Is Oay - The Creative Cycle

How To Actually Get Writing Done

Playlists

Things To Listen To When You’re Working

Classical & Instrumental

Ambient

Sad Scenes

Chase Scenes

Epic Scenes

Fight Scenes

Angst Scenes

Fun Montage Scenes

Climax Scenes

Calm Scenes

Resolution Scenes

Romantic Scenes

Action Scenes

Science Fiction

Our Day Will Come

Contemporary Poetry

MORE

Prompts, Prompt Lists, & Writing Challenges

Dark Quotes & Prompts

Challenges For Different Types of Writers | Part II

Angst Prompts

31 Days of Prompts : January 2018 Writing Challenge

20 Sentence Story Prompt

Dramatic Prompts

Suspenseful Prompts

Sad Prompts

Romantic Prompts

31 Days of Horror : October 2019 Writing Challenge

31 Days of Fantasy - December 2020 Writing Challenge

Fake Relationship Alternate Universe Prompts

Assassin Alternate Universe Prompts

Soulmates Alternate Universe Prompts

Advice & Pep-Talks

Restarting Your Writing Passion

On Hating Your Old Stuff

Depression As An Inhibitor

Dear Writers Who Are Hesitant To Start Writing

“All First Drafts Are Crap” -- My Thoughts

Getting Back To Writing After A Long Hiatus

Wanting To Finish A Story You’ve Fallen Out of Love With

Getting Motivated To Write

Getting Burnt Out Near The Finish Line

–

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[wordsnstuff]

Hey there, new follower here. I found you through your amazing story planning template. I have a more general question: where ever I read about planning a story it's always also a part about the antagonist. I'm currently working on three stories and neither of them has a real antagonist. There is conflict within the characters themselves may it be through mental illnesses or a drive to break out of a set social norm. How would you recommend writing stories without a physical antagonist? Is there a way to visualize those abstract concepts (as in a person that represents them). Thank you, I already love your blog, amazing writing advices!

Writing stories without a physical antagonist...

In most stories, the antagonist is a tool which the writer can manipulate to create interesting conflict for the protagonist. The conflict itself can be manipulated in the same way, but many writers like to employ an antagonist because it's a well established way to create a challenge that can be entertaining and communicate a message. When you're planning a story, it's important to recognize that a conflict as a life and an arc of its own.

The antagonist v. protagonist model is only the human v. human model of storytelling, which is only one of a million possible combinations of conflict between forces. However, it's natural to want to simplify this (in the planning stages), which is why you often find this model integrated into templates/worksheets/guides etc. Antagonist can be considered here an umbrella term for the opposing force, or the core challenge that the main character(s) is facing. You can neutralize the term "antagonist" and largely utilize the human v. human model in the same fashion.

You need to understand an ambiguous, de-personified oppositional force as complexly as you would craft a true antagonist, and following in the same footsteps is a good way to start.

Here are some questions, adjacent to the "who, what, when, where, and why" model that you need to be able to answer about your oppositional force:

Identify the source of conflict (exposition)

Antagonist: Who is this person? What are their core values/defining characteristics?

Challenge: What is the challenge? How does it appear to the protagonist, the other characters, and the reader (and what is the difference between all three perspectives)

Identify what will resolve the conflict (motivation)

Antagonist: What are they searching for through this conflict and what will it take for them to allow a resolution?

Challenge: Where is the deficiency that is causing the conflict and what is needed to reach satisfaction or normality?

Identify why the conflict is happening now (urgency)

Antagonist: Why have they decided to attack at this moment? When did their journey begin?

Challenge: When did this conflict begin and why does the protagonist need to act now?

Identify the relevant spaces in relation to the conflict (limitations)

Antagonist: Where does the antagonist preside and where can they not follow?

Challenge: Where is the protagonist vulnerable to the challenge and where are they safe?

Identify the 'why' (stakes)

Antagonist: Why is the antagonist targeting this particular protagonist? Why does the protagonist have to fight them?

Challenge: Why must the protagonist overcome this challenge? What is the origin of the challenging force, and why is it affecting this protagonist?

I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions feel free to reach out x

[linked here is the story-planning template the asker was referring to]

–

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[wordsnstuff]

I'm currently coming to the end of the outline of my novel but i have no idea how to finish the story, i know what the resolution would be for the plot but I don't know how to come to it/how to realise it, should i just start to write and see when the time comes?(srry for my broken english, btw i love your account :) )

Designing the ending...

When coming to the end of your story, there are a few things you should focus on having accomplished:

Concluding the arcs of your developing characters

Resolving the major conflict with care for tone and pace

Tying up loose ends that you may have introduced to further the conflict which require explanation in order to have a clear and impactful resolution

Creating a zenith for your principle symbols, motifs, and themes (this is more particular to those who write on the literary side)

(If story is part of a continuing series) establishing which arcs and conflicts will be elaborated upon in future installments

With these goals in mind, it should be a fairly straightforward process to produce the final points of your plot. 

A word of advice from me is to ask yourself “how would this happen?” rather than “how should I write this?”. This small adjustment in mindset often produces ideas more authentic to your story and characters than you would find by approaching it like a puzzle or a math problem. 

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[wordsnstuff]

This can sound dumb, but I have this issue of getting sleepy whenever I start writing. Like I can't keep myself awake whether it's night or day. Do you have any advices for that?

Sustaining energy to write...

I am quite familiar with this feeling. I find that I tend to slip into the headspace when writing that I do when I've watched a movie in the theater, like I'm so immersed that I begin to kind of slip away. It can be very exhausting to maintain physical energy when you're so focused or creatively engaged, and writing is quite a stationary act.

I've gotten into the habit of forcing myself to take enforced breaks. They don't have to be long, but I need to remove myself from wherever I'm writing and wake myself up, so to speak. Snap out of it to a slight extent.

I know a lot of writers swear by taking breaks to go on walks or exercise or walk their dogs, and these things do work. For me, all it usually takes to recalibrate is making a cup of tea or tidying up my space for 5 minutes. If this doesn't work, maybe move to a different spot to write?

I prefer to write in a very comfortable spot, but I recognize that it's very difficult to maintain stamina when you're so physically relaxed. When I need to get a good amount of work done, I'll usually turn down the heat in my space, wear an actual outfit, prepare a cold drink, and make sure my room is brightly lit. It's still comfortable, but in a less sedative way.

I hope this helps, and if you need more suggestions, always feel free to ask.

x Kate

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Masterlist

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[wordsnstuff]

Hi, so I've finished a short story, a first draft you could say, but there are still some kinks in it that I want to iron out. What is stopping me is that it seems just such a huge job, I wouldn't know where to start. And so I keep making excuses. (Chances are I'll use this as an escuse as well, that I'll wait until I hear your answer.) Any tips on where to start?

Procrastination & The Editing Stage...

Procrastination is typically a symptom of anxiety and perfectionism. Before you ask how you solve the problem, you should figure out why you’re having it in the first place. This is an immensely helpful practice in the long run. Ask yourself why you’re so anxious to start examining your own work and test various possible exercises that could soothe this anxiety long enough to get started. 

Editing is understandably very intimidating. It’s daunting to have to sit down and actively look for flaws (or as I like to say, room for improvement) in your own work. Writing is a practice in vulnerability sometimes editing can feel like critiquing your own emotions. In order to edit well, you have to detach from your own connection to the content and view it objectively. If you’re having trouble with this, I recommend putting literal distance between yourself and the writing. 

Let it sit physically and mentally away from you for a few months and then come back to it with fresh eyes and preferably a second project in the foreground of your writing time. This will allow you to see it as a story rather than a part of you, and therefore you will find it easier to criticize. 

I have a few posts and tips that touch on the subject of procrastination and approaching work you’re intimidated by that expand upon the topic:

Stop Getting Too Attached When Writing

Healthy Forms of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Writing Through Mental Health Struggles

 Dear Writers Who Are Hesitant To Start Writing

“All First Drafts Are Crap” -- My Thoughts

Getting Back To Writing After A Long Hiatus

Why “Burnout” Is Oay - The Creative Cycle

Wanting To Finish A Story You’ve Fallen Out of Love With

How To Use Beta-Reader Feedback

How To Actually Get Writing Done

Writing On A Schedule

Coming Back To A Story After A Break

Coming Back To A Story You’ve Grown Since

How To Prevent Getting Stuck

Sticking To A Story (Working on Multiple Projects)

Writing Your Way Through The Plot Fog

Get Back Into The Stride of Writing

When you are finally ready to start editing, perhaps a few of these resources may be helpful to you:

Step-By-Step : Editing Your Own Writing

Improving Flow In Writing

Constructive Criticism : How To Give & Receive

How To Make A Scene More Heartfelt

How To Perfect The Tone

Editing & Proofreading Cheat Sheet

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

What To Change Draft-By-Draft

Dialogue Punctuation

Finding And Fixing Plot Holes

On Underwriting

Denoting Flashbacks

Ultimate Guide To Symbolism

Expanding Scenes

Naming Stories

Tips on Descriptions

Tips on Balancing Development

Tips on Connecting Chapters

Tips On Dialogue

Using Vocabulary

Balancing Detail & Development

Showing Vs Telling

Writing The Middle of Your Story

–

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[wordsnstuff]

Hi! Your writing tips are beyond helpful, your blog is a testament to writing🙏 I'm currently writing a story and I was wondering if you had any tips on describing scenery for the mood you want to project? Say you character is looking out a window at a forest or fields etc. as the scene playing on. I have both aspergers and dyslexia so this aspect of writing I find quite challenging. I can never seem to get the idea in my head projected onto word and have it feel right.

Description & Tone...

I’ve decided to approach this by tackling 3 distinctive tones and the different methods you can use to evoke them through description.

Suspense

extreme detail

extreme vagueness

evocative word choice

Comedy

careful timing

short, succinct details

benign violations

Melancholy

slow pace

long or specific word choice

Helpful Resources

A Writer’s Thesaurus

Words To Describe…

How To Develop A Distinct Voice In Your Writing

Tips On Dialogue

Showing VS Telling in First Person POV

Using Vocabulary

Writing Intense Scenes

How To Better Your Vocabulary & Description

Step-By-Step : Editing Your Own Writing

Improving Flow In Writing

How To “Show Don’t Tell” More

What To Cut Out of Your Story

Constructive Criticism : How To Give & Receive

How To Make A Scene More Heartfelt

How To Perfect The Tone

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Describing Emotion

–

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[wordsnstuff]

How do you introduce an antagonist into a story? I'm stuck. They are important to the plot.

Introducing the antagonist…

The antagonist should be introduced in a memorable way that is useful to the story. However, first appearances and introductions can be different thing, and introducing them as a character versus introducing them as the antagonist can be two separate events entirely.

When you’re introducing the antagonist, you should keep in mind what the reader knows, and what they have yet to learn. Sure, maybe they know this person is the main character’s roommate, and they’re finding out that this roommate has helped their significant other cheat on them, but they don’t know that the roommate has held a grudge since high school which informed the decision to help them cheat. The antagonist’s introduction should be a strategic disclosure of key information. 

The introduction should also be memorable enough to evoke its own details in future scenes regarding the character. Perhaps what they say or do in their introduction should come up later. Their introduction should act as a bookend to their arc throughout the novel, so keep the ending in mind as you write their beginning. You must also be mindful that this is probably the first (or a new first) impression of that character on the reader, so you want to set the tone for their presence in the story and offer some preliminary character development for the reader to build on as the plot progresses. 

Here are some other resources you may find helpful:

Resources For Describing Characters

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Making Characters Unpredictable

Writing Good Villains

Giving Characters Distinct Voices in Dialogue

Gradually Revealing Character’s Past

Tips on Introducing Characters

Creating Villains

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

Tackling Subplots

Tips On Dialogue

Writing Intense Scenes

Tips on Writing Flashbacks

Describing emotion through action

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

Foreshadowing The Villain

–

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[wordsnstuff]

Hello! How do I describe someone who's feeling betrayed? My narrator's friend feels betrayed by their brother and I'm not quite sure how to describe his body language to convey that. Saying 'he looked betrayed' sounds a tad too simple. Any suggestions?

Describing emotion through action…

There are several physical indicators of emotion that you can use in your writing to convey a character’s emotion and the overall tone of a scene. I have a few resources surrounding this that you may find useful. 

Using Vocabulary

Showing VS Telling in First Person POV

Expanding Your Vocabulary

Balancing Detail & Development

When To Use “Felt”

Showing Vs Telling

ow To Better Your Vocabulary & Description

How To “Show Don’t Tell” More

How To Perfect The Tone

Tips on Descriptions

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Describing Emotion

–

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[wordsnstuff]

Hi ! So, my main character is almost always with 4 to 5 other people and that creates a struggle when it comes to : dialogues. I need to clarify who's talking but without writing "said xxx" every two sentences or adding their names everywhere. Any tips ?

Clarity in complex dialogue...

My main advice on this is to add a dialogue tag when the conversation’s main participants switch. For instance, there will be a few sentences shared between two characters, and then one will add something, and that’s where you tag. You can also specify in the description that while the characters are all together, two or three specific people are talking if that is the case.

Try to make the stage business in your scenes with a lot of characters more interesting. Give your characters things to do, and use those as a way to pivot focus from one character to another.

Here are some other resources you may find helpful:

Giving Characters Stage Business

Vocabulary & Description

Dialogue Punctuation

A Writer’s Thesaurus

How To Develop A Distinct Voice In Your Writing

Tips On Dialogue

Writing Arguments

General Dialogue Advice

–

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[wordsnstuff]

Hi! My new WIP has a lot of angry scenes and I’m struggling to ramp up enough relevant emotion. Do you have a playlist for being mad at the world?

Angry Playlist Collection…

I’ve compiled a list of my playlists that suit the tone/genre you may be looking for:

Chaos Killed The Dinosaurs

Badassery

Rebellious Teenagers

Speeding To A Stop

Moody Day

Enzo (Character Playlist)

Chase Scenes

Epic Scenes

Fight Scenes

Angst Scenes

Villains

White Paint on Concrete

Action Scenes

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[wordsnstuff]

Hi! I'm new to writing and the writing tips on your blog have been really helpful. I know the "lack of character motivations" problem has been addressed a lot. But is there anything such as "too many motivations"? If it exists, how do I know if my characters have too many motivations? Thank you!

Making character motivations clear...

There’s a difference between the reason behind a character’s actions and what motivates them. Knowing this distinction is key to developing a motivation that is both compelling and reasonable. Motivations can be negative or positive, but they’re more complex than a simple justification for a character’s actions. 

Motivation is what drives a character to trudge on, day in and day out. Everything else is based around it, and as much as we as writers would like to say a character’s motivation can be summed up in a word like “revenge” or “redemption”, it’s got to be more complicated than that. Motivation is made of history, experience, desire and whatever your character feels they need.

I believe that the process of working out what motivates your character can be accomplished by answering the following questions as thoroughly as you can, in order to understand and effectively write them:

What do they want?

What do they think they need?

What do they actually need?

What are they willing to do to get it?

What’s in their way?

Who is willing to help them?

Who is willing to work against them?

What are the pros and cons of them achieving their goal?

What makes them want to achieve it in the first place?

How can the origin of their motivation be their downfall?

This is taken from my post: 20 Questions to Ask Yourself When Creating A Character

But, in the dilemma of working out how to convey this clearly to the reader, you must try to keep their core motivation at the center of everything they do. It may not be the forefront of every scene, but it should always remain in the frame somewhere. This will ensure that no matter what, the motivation always shines through the textual/contextual justification and rationalization they present in front of it. 

I also have some resources that you may find useful:

Tips on Character Motivations

Guide to Character Development

Resources For Creating Characters

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

How To Analyze A Character

Tips on Introducing Characters

Keeping Characters Consistent

Tips on Character Consistency

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[wordsnstuff]

Im always having a struggle in what to write in my first sentence of a new chapter any advice or tips 🤔

Starting new chapters...

As you do with the beginning of the story, each new chapter should begin in the middle of relevant action. Every time you start a new chapter, you want to draw the reader in and immediately start the build up for the climax of the chapter. Deliver the necessary exposition for the main events of the chapter to make sense, and then as smoothly as possible, begin to build upon that foundation. Also, keep in mind that the start of each chapter should be written knowing the overall purpose of the chapter and what it adds to the overarching plot.

Here are some other resources you may find helpful:

Tips on Connecting Chapters

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

Novel Planning 101

Planning A Scene

Outlining By Chapter

Tips On Starting A Scene

How To Start A Novel

Planning A Scene In A Story

Effective Ways Of Planning Chapters

Coming Up With Scene Ideas

How To Engage The Reader

Writing The First Chapter

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[wordsnstuff]

Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.

John Green | Ko-Fi | Patreon

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