Category: All Posts
Three Easy Steps to Writing Vivid Characters
Have you ever read a book where the characters were so real, you found yourself thinking about them long after the book was over? What is it that made them so memorable? Why do some characters stick in our brains for years, becoming our close friends, when others barely come to life even as we read?
Free Download: A Character Questionnaire
In my article “7 Steps to Plotting Your Novel”, I talked about creating character sheets. Filling out character sheets can be a really effective way to know your characters inside and out before you write. It is also a valuable first step in making your characters memorable, well-rounded, consistent and alive to your reader. I find that the easiest way to do a character sheet is to fill out a pre-made questionnaire.
And then God intervened … Blog news
I mentioned in “I need to be honest with you” how this blog might not be continuing past November 30th. If you haven’t read that newsletter, the basic summary is this: I had intended to pack up the whole website by August 30th 2020 after two years of, well, not much, but at that time God intervened and I extended the website three months.
7 Steps to Plotting Your Novel
These steps were originally in the blog post, “Plotting: Is it better to be a Planner or a Pantser?” I moved them here to make it easy to use as a reference and to shorten the other post. There is a bit more to say about planning, and I recommend you still read the post above if you haven’t already.
*BOOKS* Planners vs pantsers: How I discovered an amazing third option.
You might have already come across this debate: Is it better to plan your novel or to wing it? Once upon a time I held a firm opinion in one direction, but then something surprising happened. And it led to a whole new way of seeing things – a different solution that I had never heard of before.
*BOOKS* One of the Most Important Pieces of Advice I was Given
Before we get into any other piece of advice, we need to start with the most important thing I have to tell you. It is not just the most important piece of writing-related advice I ever received, it also led to some of the most important lessons God ever taught me, a decade after I first put the advice into practice. If you read nothing else, I hope you read this.
I need to be be honest with you … Blog news
I want to be honest with you and tell you that this blog might have a very short lifespan.
Since starting this website two years ago, there has been very little interest in it or in the books. That’s okay. I’ve been content to let the website do what it wants to do. But it does leave me with decisions about how long I want to continue it for. Perhaps I’ll tell you the story so you understand what’s going on behind the scenes…
About this blog – START HERE
Hey writer, dreamer, reader, artist and fellow lonely traveller.
Are you like me and love to go behind the scenes of a writer’s books or writing life?
Do you love to find out the stories behind a piece of art?
Are you looking for writing tips and tricks for your own novels?
