To some people, writing comes easy. You just sit down in front of your keyboard and it just seems to write itself.

For others, though, it might be difficult to ever even make it a line or two before drawing a blank and then abandoning the work. There's no reason for that! When you read a book or a short story, it always seems to flow naturally from line to line, paragraph to paragraph, and chapter to chapter, but that's not how it goes. Someone doesn't just sit down one day and go "You know what? I'm gonna write me a book! Yeah, it'll be done in a little bit..."

It might take you 20 minutes or an hour, just to get one stupid paragraph finished! It could take you a whole night just to flesh out one character's dialogue! Here's a little bit of advice to get folks started, those of you who might be having trouble trying to figure out the finer points (ha!)

Character Development:

This is, hands down, THE most important part of a written work or movie. This, folks, is why we love Michelle: She doesn't NEED to be fleshed out or developed. Why? Because we know her--or we think we do. We've seen all of her movies, we've read her bio, seen her in person even; but when you make up a character, regardless of how well you know them, remember that your readers don't. You have to make your characters click with the readers, or no matter how good the story is, people won't care about them. How do you go about doing that?

1) The character should be someone who people can relate to. Not everyone has to relate to them, but there has to be human characteristics there... and by human, think a flaw, a quirk, something like that. How does your character relate to everyday situations; how about unusual situations? Do they sort of yawn and walk on by when they see someone hit by a car; do they go absolutely bonkers when someone doesn't say "thank you" for holding a door open for them? When you can relate to your character, see if others can do the same.

2) Do you know your character? What I mean by that, is have you ever thought of yourself in that character's place? Would you react the way they did? The easiest way (for me) to get to know your character, is to sit somewhere alone and think about them, let them talk to you. YOU don't write your story; you let THEM do it. What works for me is sitting on my front porch and smoking a cigarette (if you don't smoke, DON'T start! Nasty habit). I sit out there at night and collect my thoughts, gathering everything I need to flesh out my character... then I let them play. I envision the situation I want them in, seeing how their personalities interact with the world around them. I've completly altered the premise of stories due to this. You realize that your character doesn't want to perform the way you want them to; you can't force them to, either. You have to change it.

Plot:

Second only to character development is the plot, or plot line, of your work. When I think about where my work is going, I think like this: Who's in it? What are they going to do? How are they gonna do it? Why did they do it? When does it take place/end? Where did it take place?

1) Who's in it? If you're reading this, it's likely that Michelle will be in it. Who else? Once you figure out who your characters are, you have one of the toughest battles behind you.

2) What are they going to do? What's the plot? Is this just a normal day with normal people in it, or is this a Resident Evil, end of the world, I shot her five times and she didn't go down, kind of work? This is where you figure in your storyline. Think about it for a little before you get to work.

3) How are they gonna do it? If this is just a normal situation, then things are going to go just like any old day, likely with a few variations to the theme; but if something extraordinary is supposed to happen, try to do a little research on subjects pertaining to the issue, just to get a feel for things. Don't get all anal about the topic and try to over-explain things, but figure out the best way for your characters to get things done in ways that they would agree with.

4) Why did they do it? If it's a movie, we can show a cut-scene to the dude's face as he narrows his eyes when his girl asks if he's cheating on her. We know that sucker is lying through his teeth just by that look; you can't do that in a book. In a written work, explanations become a little more difficult, and we have to delve deeper than simple facial expressions and gestures to carry a point. Explaining your character's actions is also a part of character development; this is where we show whether or not our characters are two-faced or genuine.

5) Where does it take place? This, for me, comes last. The story is what counts, not where it takes place. There are some instances where the place IS the story (read any book by Steven King that features Derry, Maine. Did you notice that the town is one of the main characters?). Most of the time, though, your own hometown can be the jump-off point to the story, either that or some other place you've been and enjoyed yourself. If you're forced into using a place where you've never been, do a Google search for the town! It's the easiest way to learn ANYTHING online. You could even make up your own place, using creative license, which is one of the best inventions of authors!


The most important part of writing, the one thing that EVERY writer must understand and agree to accept, is that not everyone will like what you write. Some people WILL hate it. Deal. Write for yourself first, and if you are happy with what you've written, go with it. That's not to say repond to every criticism with "Screw you," because then you'll never learn. When you find someone who dislikes what you've written, consider yourself lucky! Not many people are actually willing to sit down and take the time to explain why they didn't enjoy the story as much as they should have. Examine what they say; reread that part of your work and try to see the issue through their eyes. Writers invariably learn more through their mistakes and missteps than they do through their successes.

If someone hates what you've written, try to find out why. It might be something that other people have missed, or given you a free pass on; it could be something that they're just being an ass about, in which case congratulations: You've just gotten your first hater. Everyone who writes for public consumption will eventually have a hater or 12; I've written for a number of online forums, written a published novel, and written for fun with my friends for years. I have my own harem of haters, and they are an ENDLESS source of amusement :lol: You'll learn to love them after a while, after you get past the indignation. The best way to deal with them is to ignore them and move on. They won't convince anyone to hate your stuff, they'll only come out looking stupid for their comments when people actually read what you've written. Haters, I've found, are usually people who read a few lines of something you've written and immediately dislike it. They rarely finish the work, and they will likely be your loudest detractors. Deal. Ignore them; they don't go away, but if enough other people like what you've written, and they all speak up for your stuff, the haters will all be left looking like tools.

OK, that's a little bit to get you started. Other authors, chime in! Let's get more folks writing!

I still advise to check out those links I posted about OFC's and OMC's. That is a tough one to get right.

Vxn

There's some good stuff at that website. It's incredibly difficult to layout a character that would NOT be considered a Mary Sue. I ran the main character of my working novel through there and scored in the 50s.

Your are AWESOME!!! :lol: