AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - FAMOUS LAST WORDS

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - FAMOUS LAST WORDS

We've talked a lot about your characters, which are, as I like to put it, the "life and blood of your story." Without good characters and good character development, your readers will find the journey with your characters less enjoyable. 

Do one of your characters meet an unfortunate end in your story? First, decide whether or not they should die (read the post Should You Kill That Character? for more information), and then decide: what are their last words?

You wouldn't think the last words spoken by your character are important, but they are - to your readers, your characters are important, and they will remember the last words the character says, whether or not you want them to. I still remember the last words spoken by half of the Harry Potter characters, because the death of a character is no piece of cake - it is an important part of the story, one that your readers will remember until the end.

The famous last words of your character may say a lot about who the character is. For instance, if your character is a prankster, their last words could have something to do with a joke. If your character is kind and compassionate, their last words could have to do with "letting the others go free, unharmed." The "famous last words" of your characters speak numbers.

But what about the characters who don't die in the story? What about their famous last words?

An exercise I do all the time is write a one-liner sentance of what each character's last words could be. For example:

Really Intelligent Character: No...it didn't work...
Prankster Character: You're joking, right? This can't be happening--
Fierce Character: You'll never take me alive!
Selfless Character: NO! Don't hurt them!

Doing this helps develop your characters -- even if they never actually die in the end of the story. Writing your character's "famous last words" enables you to learn more about your characters -- even more beyond their actual personality.

(I need your feedback! :D Let me know what you think, and let me know what post you think I should do next! :D Until next time, awesome readers and writers! :D) -Beyond

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - OPENING YOUR BOOK

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE – OPENING YOUR BOOK

The sun was high in the autumn sky; though the air was warm, the wind was crisp, and the clouds that drifted by often covered the bright, beautiful, shining sun. It was truly a beautiful day; the perfect day for anything, with the clouds as white as freshly washed sheets and the leaves drifting off the branches of trees and hastening to the ground below. It was truly, truly, a most remarkable afternoon, and the cold breeze blowing wouldn't have fazed many; the incredibility of the rest of the surroundings outshone the zephyr . . .

Tell me honestly: are you interested about hearing the rest of the weather report, or would you rather I get on with the story?

When readers read a book, they aren't reading the book for the descriptions of the day. They're reading the book because of the plot and the characters, which is why I believe it is never a good idea to begin your book the way I began this post: with a long description of the weather.

"But I like writing about the weather!" Well, your readers won't enjoy reading about the weather if it has nothing to do with the rest of the story.

It's easy to start a book on the state of the weather; I, too, sometimes find myself doing the same thing. Sometimes, it's hard to find another alternative to the opening of the book.

But I've learned from experience as an avid reader that I don't want to hear about the weather when I first open the book. When I first open the book, I want my attention to be grasped; I want to find reason to continue reading. You'll have plenty of time to describe the state of the day later on, but beginning with the weather is never a good place to start.

I was talking to my older brother a few days ago. He, like myself, reads and writes like mad. He told me that one thing he used to do all the time was starting his book with an alarmclock beeping. While there is nothing wrong with using an alarmclock to begin your book, once again, it makes a poor attention grabber.

Consider this:

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, my annoying alarm clock blares, and I smack it with a drowsy, half-asleep arm. My alarm always wakes me up too early; I don't understand why I need to use one at all . . .

And now, compare it with this:

"You hanging on back there, boy?" the man calls to me, and I nod instantly, fearing what would happen if I don't. "Yeah, I'm hanging on!" I call back. Letting go has never once crossed my mind; if I let go, the drop would probably kill me. Who knew dragon riding could be so challenging?

Tell me honestly. I could be totally wrong, but in my opinion, the second opening is more exciting than the first one.

You don't have open your book with an alarm, just like you don't have to open your book with the weather; you can pick an opening to your book that will make readers want to read more.

SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER:

Do you put a lot of important, crucial plot information in a prologue? While there is nothing wrong with prologues, not all readers are interested in reading a prologue; they want to go straight to chapter one, straight to the "action", so to say.

KEY POINT: If you have important plot information that your readers MUST read in order to understand, DO NOT put it in a prologue if you can avoid it; put it in your book as CHAPTER 1, and put your normal Chapter 1 as CHAPTER 2, and so on.

CONSIDER THIS AS WELL: If it sounds boring to you, it will be boring to your readers.

If you read over the opening lines from your book and think, "Man, this is so boring!" then think of how your readers will see it. If you are thouroughly bored with the opening of your book, my advice is this: change it. Bored readers will rarely keep reading.

The openings of your book are crucial, because the opening is, obviously, the first thing your readers will read. A poorly-written opening will disappoint your readers, and if they become bored, they will miss out on the rest of the story you have to tell.

(Once again, everyone, let me know what you think. Give me your opinions, whether you think I'm righ or wrong, or even something I can do for my next post! I'd love to hear from you guys, honestly! :D)

-Beyond

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - CHARACTER CHART

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE – CHARACTER CHART

Your characters are the life and blood of your story. It is important that your characters stay "in character" and that your characters are consistent in manors or speaking.

One thing that helps me is a Character Chart (see below). Whenever I create a new character in one of my stories, I put down their information in a Character Chart, that way, if I have a question about the character's appearance or behavior, all I have to do is look back on the chart and see what I put down when I created the character.

Keeping your characters "in character" is a crucial point in writing – one that is often easy to overlook or fail at without even realizing it. Here is the Character Chart I use, and you can copy it, if you would like to print it out:

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - CHARACTER CHART

Name: ___________________________________________________________

Age: _____________________________________________________________

Hair: _____________________________________________________________

Eyes:  ____________________________________________________________

Gender:  __________________________________________________________

Occupation(?): _____________________________________________________

Parents: ___________________________________________________________

Relationship with Parents: ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Sibling(s): _______________________________________________________

Relationship with Sibling(s): ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Good Personality Trait: ______________________________________________

Bad Personality Trait: ________________________________________________

Greatest Fear: ______________________________________________________

Greatest Weakness: _________________________________________________

Greatest Strength: ___________________________________________________

Allies: ____________________________________________________________

Goal: ____________________________________________________________

Motive(s): _________________________________________________________

Defining Features: __________________________________________________

Disability(?):  _____________________________________________________

Best friend(s): ______________________________________________________

Rivals (or enemies): _________________________________________________

He/She is most proud of: _____________________________________________

He/She is LEAST proud of: __________________________________________

Place of Birth: _____________________________________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________________________________________

Home: ____________________________________________________________

If he/she could change anything about the world, it would be: ________________

__________________________________________________________________

Sense of Humor(?): _________________________________________________

Describe him/her in one word: ________________________________________

Personality Before the Book: __________________________________________

Personality After the Book: ___________________________________________

Romantic Interest: __________________________________________________

Relationship with Romantic Interest: ____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

He/She would be most embarrassed if: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

He/She would be most happy if: ________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What does he/she want to do when they’re older? _________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Greatest memory: __________________________________________________

Worst memory: _____________________________________________________

Does he/she ever get married? __________________________________________

If so, do they have children? What are their names? _________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Notes*: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

*Your notes can be anything: what weapon (if any) your character fights with, their opinions on their hometown, whether or not they wear glasses, what they like to wear, etc.

#authorsgottawrite   

I hope this helps you all as much as it helped me! :) And remember, feel free to use it if you want; just keep in the hashtag, if you can! XD

(Oh, and guys, it would really mean the world to me if you let me know what you think in the comments! You can tell me what you want me to post about next, whether or not my advice helped, and that sort of stuff. :D Thanks! :D)

-Beyond

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - WRITER'S BLOCK

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE – WRITER'S BLOCK

Writer's block – every writer has experienced this at some point, and if you're a writer and haven't yet, your time is coming. Writer's block is one of the most troublesome things any writer will experience while writing their book. Whether you've run out of ideas, or you're writing a boring scene you're not excited about, writer's block is there.

Writer's block comes in different forms: you can want to write but don't know what to write, or you want to take a break from writing, because you don't know what else to do. You could run out of ideas, be bored with your story for a time, and never come back to it. Either way, writer's block is both annoying and upsetting, especially when you want to write.

It's not always possible to leap over the dreaded writer's block, but I'm going to give you guys a few tips on how to plow through it.

Tip 1: Listen to music

I know it sounds strange – you're not supposed to be listening to music, you're supposed to be writing! - but something that has always (oddly) helped me was listening to music, and imagining my characters doing something that goes with the music. Maybe you can listen to classical violin music and imagine your characters dancing; maybe you can listen to rock music and imagine your characters fighting. When you sit down to write, listen to more music if it doesn't distract you.

Tip 2: Write a Scene Irrelevant to the Story

Write a short story about your characters doing something they would never normally do in the story – if you have a viking character, write a short story of them learning how to use a computer. If you have a medieval character, write about them shopping in the mall. If you have a character set during the 40^th century, write about their experience on an old-fashioned cruise ship. Write about your characters doing a Disney movie marathon. This works. It's crazy, probably, but it works.

Tip 3: Take a Break

I know, right? That was probably the LAST thing you wanted to hear, but yes. Sometimes I've found that just taking a short break from my story helps me sort out my characters and my plot. It doesn't have to be a long break: maybe just a day or so, but I've found it makes all the difference.

Tip 4: If You're Forcing Yourself to Write, WAIT!

Something I've tried to do once was force myself to write. I don't want to write, I've been struggling with writer's block – well, BOO-HOO for me! I'm going to write anyway! DON'T DO THIS. Sometimes it works, but generally, trying to write when you have no inspiration to write will make your writing sound forced or boring. If you want to write but have writer's block, don't force yourself to write – try one of the other tips above.

The "Dreaded Writer's Block" is something all writers come across at some point when they write, but don't worry – if you feel alive in your story and truly want to write, most writer's block is only temporary.

(Oh, guys, I forgot to mention in my earlier posts, but if you could all let me know what you think about all I am saying, tell me whether or not you think I'm right, it would help me a lot! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say, and whether or not my advice has helped you at all. :D THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING INCREDIBLE! :D) 

-Beyond

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - SHOULD YOU KILL THAT CHARACTER?

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE – SHOULD YOU KILL THAT CHARACTER?

"NO!!! I LIKED THAT CHARACTER! WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DIE?"

Have you ever thought something like that while reading a book? The death of a character, no matter who they are, can impact the story more than you realize. Reading about the death of a character you liked is tricky, but it's almost harder to write about the death of a character.

If you've ever considered killing one of your characters, or if you have killed one of your characters, I want you to ask yourself this question: Should I have killed them?

The death of a character is a "big deal." It might not be for us as the creators of our characters, but it is for our readers, who have been journeying alongside your protagonist and others. If you plan on killing a character, there are a few things to consider.

Number 1: What will killing this character accomplish?

Author: "DIE, CHARACTER!"

Author (five minutes later): "Great! The character's dead! Now what should I do...?"

There should always be a reason for killing your character. Always. If the death of a character influences another character to do something that drives forward the plot, the death has reason. Let's say it's the protagonist's brother who dies, and the protagonist acts irrationally due to it. This is understandable, and in this case, the death isn't pointless.

Number 2: Does the character exist for the sole purpose of dying?

If you're killing a character just for the sake of killing a character, my advice is this: STOP! If you write a character into your story, and their only purpose is to die without reason, then the question changes altogether, and it becomes: Should this character be in the story in the first place?

Pointless characters are pointless; deaths for no reason have no meaning.

Number 3: How does the character die?

Everyone likes a noble death – dying in battle is much more heroic than not looking both ways before crossing the street and getting hit by a car as a result. If your character must die, make his/her death mean something – make his/her death result in someone's life being saved, or the plot being driven onward.

Death is a part of life, and I believe it should be part of stories likewise, whether it's a family tragedy in the beginning of your story, or a death of another character later on. But the death must influence your plot, or else, why go through the trouble to kill the character at all?

-Beyond  

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - THE ANTAGONIST

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE – THE ANTAGONIST

The most important character besides your protagonist is your antagonist – your antagonist must pose as a threat to your character, or else, your antagonist isn't an antagonist at all. Your antagonist is as crucuial a part to your story as the protagonist; without a worthy opponent for the protagonist, your protagonist's goal is often questioned.

There is something you must remember about writing an antagonist – it doesn't always have to be a tall, intimidating, burly being who could crush your protagonist if he wanted to. Your antagonist could be a virus your protagonist must struggle against; your antagonist could be the nextdoor neighbor who strives to take your protagonist's belongings, such as land or a pet; but regardless of the form your antagonist takes, remember this: your antagonist must pose a threat to your protagonist.

Like the protagonist, your antagonist must have purpose other than to put your protagonist in peril; they must have goals and motives behind their actions, or they make poor opponents.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD AVOID:

Protagonist: "Why are you so evil?"

Antagonist: "Because...well...because I just am! Bwahahahahaha!"

Protagonist: "But that doesn't make any sense!"

Antagonist: "OF COURSE IT DOES! DIE, SCUM! DIE!"

Protagonist: "Nooooooo!"

Consider your antagonist – make sure they aren't cruel just for the purpose of being cruel.

Try this: write a scene (in or out of your story) where the protagonist and the antagonist have a battle of motives – have your protagonist explain his/her reasons behind her actions, and then, have the antagonist do the same. But here's the catch: make your antagonist's reasons convincing. Your antagonist should have motives and goals like your protagonist – while the protagonist often brings the readers to their sides quickly, try writing a scene where your readers wonder, "Is the antagonist right?"

If your antagonist doesn't have a motive behind his/her cruelty, why give the protagonist a motive to fight back?

SOMETHING TO TRY TO TEST YOUR ANTAGONIST:

Protagonist: "Why are you so evil?"

Antagonist: "Because people like you made me this way! People like you, noble and selfless, took my family, my friends, my home...how can you call me evil? HOW?"

Protagonist: "Those 'people like me' who took your family and friends did it out of self-defense! They did it to protect themselves!"

Antagonist: "And how do you know that? Who told you that? Friends of yours who want you to believe they were right all along? Family of yours who want you to believe a lie? What if your friends and family you're so nobly trying to avenge were the ones who attacked me first? What if my family and friends killed in self-defense, too? What if they were protecting themselves?"

When I was reading the Harry Potter books recently, I found that whenever Voldemort came into the scene, I felt frantic; I actually felt worry, wondering, "Will the characters survive? What will happen? What's Vodemort going to do?" It made me want to read on as fast as I could. That is something else you can strive for in your antagonists: make them scary, but not cliche: give them a unique trait that makes them scary, even to your brave protagonist.

Why stop at a "bone-chilling, deep laugh" and "burly, tall, muscular figure" when you can make your antagonist cunning and sneaky? When you can make them strategic and intelligent to the point where they pose a real threat to your protagonist? There's nothing wrong with having a tall, strong antagonist with a deep laugh – all I'm saying is, there is so much more you can do with your antagonist than just that.

Antagonists are as important as your protagonist – like your protagonist, they have to have structure, purpose, and even personality – even if the personality is being homicidial, violent, or cruel. Make sure your antagonist has a motive and a reason for being there, and doesn't just exist for plot's sake.

-Beyond