For the past few blogs, we have talked about grammar: Adverbs and adjectives, similes and metaphors. Learning all of this is important if you want your writing to be crisp and professional. However, none of this counts if you don’t believe in yourself as a writer. Do you feel discouraged or […]
Learning the Craft: Metaphors and Similes
What is a Simile? In our last blog, we got rid of most of our adverbs. So how do we add descriptive, figurative language to our work? Good writers learn the benefits of using metaphors and similes. What is the difference? A simile is a type of metaphor, but […]
Learning the Craft: Adverbs!
Can we make our writing tighter? Last week we dealt with adjectives. Taking a few pages or a chapter, we removed all the adjectives and adverbs and made a two-column list. The first column contained the adjectives, and the second column had the adverbs we removed from the text. Afterwards, […]
Learning the Craft: Let’s talk adjectives
We’ve gone over our characters and probably have an idea of a story or plot. So why stop now and look at the very words we use? It’s important because we want to get our words, sentences, and paragraphs in good working order before we get too deeply into our […]
Learning the Craft: Storytelling
Why storytelling? Because, throughout known history, humans have always told stories. Let’s face it: writing is all about storytelling. Storytelling has been around since the dawn of time. The Australian aboriginal people painted symbols from stories on cave walls so they could remember the stories told. In the past, before […]
Learning the Craft: The Villain Character
How to create a villain? Take a good look at your hero. What kind of villain would he have? What is your hero trying to accomplish, and what kind of bad guy (or gal) would fight the hero’s desired outcome? Not everyone can be good. And if everyone were always […]
Learning the Craft: The Adversary Character
What is an Adversary Character in Literature? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word adversary is from the Latin adversarius, which means “turned toward” or “antagonistic toward.” All villains are adversaries, but not all adversaries are villains. An adversary is not necessarily evil. He or she is a character who […]
Learning the Craft: The Teacher or Mentor Character
What is a Mentor in Literature? The classic mentor is a wise and learned older person who takes the protagonist under his wing. He or she has usually been in the place or situation the protagonist is now. The Mentor ‘knows the ropes.’ If the main character is in […]
Learning the Craft: The Best Friend Character
How do you create a Best Friend for your protagonist? It depends on what you want from that friend. Do you want the BF to be a reflection of your MC? That would be boring. Or do you want to showcase the qualities of your Main Character by giving his […]
Learning the Craft: Your Protagonist or Main Character
Who is your Protagonist? Your main character changes with whatever genre you write. It can be the hard-drinking detective in a crime mystery or the handsome rogue in your romance. However, this character needs to be your most developed character because he carries the plot. The author needs to fully […]