Tuesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

10 COMMON FICTION PROBLEMS AND HOW TO FIX THEM

By: Jack Smith

When you write and revise your fiction, you deal with a host of problems.  With some novels, it’s hard to decide on the right point of view.  With others, it’s a struggle to work out the plot.  Sometimes it’s a matter of getting the language down just right.  Of course it’s one thing to spot a problem, another to fix it.  Consider the following ten rather typical problems most fiction writers face—and some possible fixes.

1. A dull character

Perhaps in the abstract one can sympathize or empathize with your character’s ambitions, needs, desires, plight, etc., but when it comes down to the writing itself, the character is flat-out dull, vacuous—bearing nothing distinctly human.   If this is the case, you need to individualize your character by including:

• something interesting about this character’s physical appearance
• an interesting, suggestive name
• some personality quirks or oddities
• some contradictions or inner conflicts
• some unique, defining traits

If you do these things, or some of them, your character will come alive on the page and won’t be merely a textbook case.

2. Lack of character motivation

. . .

Read the full article HERE!  

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

1. 10 Common Fiction Problems and How to Fix Them - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/HySMh
2. Your Publisher Is Your New Best Friend. Not! - Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/HyYGJ
3. How to write a novel to an outline and still be creative | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/HyYPQ
4. Self-Editing Redux: Spot Checking - Writeonsisters.com http://ow.ly/HyZ2N
5. Insecure Writer's Support Group: Ethical Reviewing for Authors http://ow.ly/HyZM1
6. 5 Tips To Make Direct-Sale Events A Rousing Success | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/Hz07i
7. How To Market A 99 Cent Ebook Sale On The Cheap | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/Hz0j9
8. Martha Alderson aka Plot Whisperer: Goals for You and for Your Characters http://ow.ly/Hz0vs
9. 3 Big Reasons Why I Use LinkedIn http://ow.ly/Hz0EN
10. Fiction University: 5 Marketing Ways to Revive Your Series http://ow.ly/Hz2US
11. Content - Content Marketers, Quit Selling Like It's 2004 [Infographic]: MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/Hz3eZ
12. Mythcreants » Six Emotional Motives for Your Characters http://ow.ly/Hz4Ee
13. How E-Books Have Changed the Print Marketplace: Digital Book World, Day 3 | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/Hz4QL
14. Writer Unboxed » A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting the Research Interview http://ow.ly/Hz52Z
15. How to Get Over Your Technophobic Tendencies and Start Blogging http://ow.ly/Hz6hu
16. Karen Woodward: Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction http://ow.ly/Hz8Dl
17. My Top 7 Tips For Authors Who Want to Evolve into Book Publishers — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/Hz7Xq
18. Anne R. Allen's Blog: Why You Don't Need a Literary Agent (but You Might Want One) http://ow.ly/Hz9JZ
19. 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Intellectual Property Law http://ow.ly/HzhI0
20. Emerging Author? Distance Yourself from The Pack - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/HzZhk

Happy writing and running, Kathy