Articles , Writing Tips

Tips to create realistic characters

Creating multi-faceted characters that leap off the page is both a matter of practice and a matter of awareness of how the character might appear to the reader. Regarding character creation, most people’s advice consists of “make sure to give your character flaws” so that they appear more human. But what does this actually mean? And which flaws work the best to humanize them? Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get started in choosing personality traits for your characters that will make them three dimensional and fully realistic and relatable to the reader. Read up on...
Articles , Writing Tips

Can a character be too interesting?

In baking, everything must be in perfect balance for the recipe to work. The ingredients should be measured and precise, and even a slight miscalculation might throw the dessert off. And even though it’s possible to add unusual spices to a recipe, such as cayenne pepper, this should be undertaken with care. An extra pinch of cayenne may mean the difference between a dessert worthy of winning a baking competition and the one that ends up in the trash. Writing a novel is the same. When creating a story, all its elements -plot, characters, prose, etc.- need to be in...
Articles , Writing Tips

How to plot your novel: 9 Best Outlining Methods

For most authors, writing an outline is a crucial part of their novel writing process. Aside from guiding them along the plot itself, an outline can help with the pacing of the story, its character evolutions and even with keeping the author on track with their writing. But while most novelists will outline their novel, the way they do this may vary greatly. Some will spend very little time on their outline, while others will spend months and even years preparing theirs. What is a novel outline? A novel outline is the basis for a novel. It may contain information...
Articles , Writing Tips

Self-motivation: How to keep writing when things get hard

Time for a moment of harsh truth. Writing is difficult. It is time consuming, frustrating and even painful at times. It’s a long, solitary activity that, when done properly, requires that the author pours a part of themselves onto the page for the scrutiny of others. It also takes a long time to see any returns on that effort. For many, success is not guaranteed even after all the work that they have put into their project. This is the reason that so many authors quit before finishing a single project. Only an estimated 3% of aspiring novelists ever make...