Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

A QUICK TIP FOR GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS—AND YOUR PLOT

By: Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I've been eyeballs-deep in novel planning lately, and I've been focusing on all the things a writer does before they sit down to actually write. One of the workshops I sat in on at RWA a few weeks ago was on character building, led by romance author Susan Elizabeth Philips. I've attended her workshops before and she's always been entertaining and informative.

She gave a tip (and did an exercise) that I've seen before:

List the contents of your character's purse.

This has never worked for me since my characters don't usually have purses, and she added the phrase "or their backpack or pockets" to it. That broadened it some, and I realized that ultimately, what she was saying was: 

What does your character feel is important enough to carry around with them?

It's a slightly different way of looking at this character-building tip, but I've learned that a subtle shift in how you consider something is often all it takes to turn a "not for me" tip into something that clicks and becomes incredibly helpful. 

Then she took it a step further, and this is the part I really found helpful. 

What items give a sense of the plot?

Any item could be in a purse, pocket, or bag. People carry useless stuff all the time, and they carry stuff that could be found in anyone's bag. But if you think about what's unique to that character, and how that item gives a sense of the plot, conflict, or even theme, then you've discovered something about your character you probably didn't know before. 

To read the rest of the post, click here.

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again: 

1. Adverbs and Hyphens http://ow.ly/t2nLe Daily Writing Tips
2. Anne R. Allen's Blog: Writer’s Toolbox #5: Must-Have Research Tools Beyond Google and Wikipedia http://ow.ly/t2q0O
3. My Process for Approaching Large Revisions | Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/t2OjA
4. The Other Side of the Story: A Quick Tip for Getting to Know Your Characters--And Your Plot http://ow.ly/t2OtX
5. How to Find the Right International Markets for Your Book | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/t2OHA
6. 18 Ways to Improve Your Facebook News Feed Performance Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/t2OXj
7. What Drives a Story: Plot or Characters? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/t3dxO
8. BookMarketingBuzzBlog: Beware The False Prophets Of Book Publishing http://ow.ly/t3dHU
9. Will Audiobooks Change Writing Styles? | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/t3dMv
10. Getting Both Ends of Your Novel Right (Thank You, Mr. Chekhov!) | Word Café http://ow.ly/t3dUN
11. Are You Breaking Your Promises on Pinterest? | Jimmie Lanley http://ow.ly/t3e3Y
12. Trust: Do We Believe Your Social Media & Content? - Heidi Cohen http://ow.ly/t3e89

Happy writing and running, Kathy