Fiction Writing: The Passionate Journey. Blog of Writing Coach, Emily Hanlon: character development

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

The Power of A Good Critique for the Fiction Writer

Power of a good critique in Fiction Writing

A good critique never leaves you deflated. It always leaves you inspired.

Receiving a critique with curiosity and an open mind and knowing how to critique others writing are two of the most enriching aspects of belonging to a fiction writing workshop. Having your work critiqued in a supportive atmosphere where there is a professional writing coach is a terrific learning experience in many way ways.

Whether you are participating in a writing workshop or working with a private writing coach, a good critique encourages the silencing of your Inner Critic, your willingness to take risks with your writing and releases your creative passion.

A Good Critique Inspired, Never Deflates...

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How to Use a Writing Prompt in Fiction Writing

Some Tips Before You Begin

Any prompt is only a starting point. If your imagination takes you in a direction that has nothing to do with the prompts, go where your imagination takes you.

Do not listen to the voice inside your head that says, “Oh, no! I shouldn’t be writing about this!” or “I’m not doing this right!” There are no “shoulds” or “should nots” in this process. The only thing you can do wrong is to not write.

Always name your characters, even if the name never appears in the story. Why would a character tell you her story if you don’t care enough to learn her name?

Write dialogue. In thirty years of teaching writing, I have never worked with anyone who couldn’t write dialogue – only with people who thought they couldn’t!

Be a risk taker. Don’t think. Write from your passionate core. Risk and passion are the essence of the creative journey and the sweetest nectar for your Inner Writer. Don’t forget to have fun!

The Prompt

Thursday, December 26, 2013

How to Develop Point of View in Fiction Writing

Adding Dramatic Tension Through the technique of Point of View in Fiction Writing

The Problems of the human heart....
William Faulkner wrote: "... the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself... alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the sweat and the agony."

Faulkner has given us a tough assignment, yet it is an assignment at which we must excel as fiction writers. The best way to succeed at this is to leave behind what you believe to be "true" and open yourself to the vast possibility of life experiences outside your own. For it is not true that we can only write what we experience. As writers, we have enormous access to the cosmic imagination where anything is possible -- including the great expanse of human emotions.

Writing an emotionally strong scene...

Friday, December 06, 2013

Words, Structure and the Passion of Fiction Writing

Words and structure are crucial to fiction writing, but a great story demands far more. It is only through the journey into the unknown that you uncover the exciting, passionate characters who will make your stories come alive for both you and your readers.

What do you think??

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

To Open Up Your Story, Play the "What If?" Game

Looking to Jump Start Your Writing? Play the What If Game!

The fastest way to open up a story, unleash the passion of characters and uncover story line is to play the "What If" game.
For example, your character was in a fight, got scared and ran away. That worked pretty well, but you don't know where to go next. Ask yourself, "What if my character doesn't run away? What if she faces down her enemy?" So you try this new "what if", but the passion still isn't there.

What next? A list of What If questions.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Writing, when it comes from dark and difficult places, gives us meaning....

"When you're a writer or an artist, nothing is wasted...

Even the most painful and difficult experience in life can be recycled into material for a project, and it's the artist's job to be awake, aware, and opportunistic. This attitude might sound a bit cold and calculating, but it's not. Quite the opposite.

Art, when it comes from dark and difficult places, gives us a means to fully feel out most powerful human emotions and transform our suffering into something meaningful."

Ruth Ozeki, from an article in Shambala Sun Magazine.

Does this photo evoke a story in you? If so, write it and post it on the blog!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Which Is More Important? Character or Plot?

Which is more important — plot or character? Although this is an often asked question, it's the wrong question for the fiction writer to ponder.

Why? Because both character and plot are vital to storytelling. A better question is: Am I a plot driven writer or a character driven writer?

Explore the series...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Journey of the Plot Driven Writer

We all love a page turner.

The Benefits and Pitfall of the Plot-Driven Writer

Plots are great, no doubt about it. We all love a page turner, and as writers, we love it when we come up with a great plot twist. Murder, mayhem, love found, love lost, love found again, political intrigue, family secrets, science fiction, fantasy... plots go on and on....

It’s also been said that there are only 10 basic plots, and all plots are but variations on one of the ten. I don’t know if that’s true, but there is certainly truth to the statement. This is also the answer to the question: “I have a great plot but what if someone steals it?”

Monday, February 07, 2011

Pitfalls of the Plot Driven Writer

Putting the cart before the horse...

Plot Driven Writers generally need to work on developing flesh and blood characters

As I said in the last posting, the major pitfall of the plot driven writer is thinly developed characters. This pitfall is, however, symptomatic of a greater challenge, one which arises out of the natural inclination of the plot driven writer to begin a story with plot and story arc. To do this, he calls in linear thought and critical thinking, which puts the cart before the horse.

The creative process finds is origins in images and feelings, both of which are decidedly non-linear. The first stage of the process is often quite chaotic. Anything is possible.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Falling In Love: The Great Romance Between Writer and Character

Talking to my dog about drama, love, hate, desire, envy ... what a story!!

Recently, I was considering the question of peace, which doesn't happen often while writing fiction. There's all that drama, love, hate, desire, envy and so on. Peace, with any luck, comes at the end of the novel.

I was considering this aimlessly as I lay with my head on Phoebe's warm flank one cold winter's day. Phoebe, being the sensitive, intuitive creature she is, immediately tuned into my musings and suggested we consider the question of love instead, which she quite rightly observed was a precursor to true peace. As she is an expert in both, I decided to go with her feelings.

"It can't be mushy love, all slurpy with wet noses and such," I reminded her. "Not that I don't love your slurpy, wet nosed kisses, but these are writers I'm writing for. Love, hate, war, peace, birth, death — the human drama — we can't be too obvious."

Monday, January 17, 2011

Pitfalls of the Character Driven Writer: When Your Characters Won't Open Up!

You thought you knew who she or he was, but suddenly they seem like a stranger.
Despite a fascination with the human psyche, a character driven writer can find it difficult to get a character to open up? This is all the more challenging when you start off running with a character and suddenly you feel as if you've slammed into a stone wall. No matter what you do, your character feels one-dimensional. You thought you knew who she or he was, but suddenly they seem like a stranger.

Antidote: The Character Interview
Explore the character from the inside out, not from the outside in. There is a difference, and a very big one between the two.

Interviewing is different from a fill-in-the-blanks questionnaire

Friday, January 14, 2011

Pitfalls of the Character Driven Writer. Posting # 2 in the Series: Plot or Character? Which Is More Important?

When too much chaos is too much!
In the previous posting, I explored the strengths of the character driven writer. Today I am exploring one of the pitfalls many character driven writers face:

You get overwhelmed by the chaos of creativity into which you so easily find yourself.

Antidote: Don't give up.
Understand the power of creative chaos and learn to swim in it.Trust that you will not drown so long as you go with the tide, even if when draws you into whirlpools!

How is this played out with our characters?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Plot or Character in Fiction Writing: Which Is More Important? The Series Begins Here!

Which is more important: plot or character is the wrong question to ask!

I am beginning a series that will continue over several weeks or more that explores the question of which is more important: Plot or Character?

Although it is an often asked question, I think it's the wrong question for the fiction writer to ponder. Both character and plot are vital to storytelling.

A better question to ask is:
Am I a plot driven writer or a character driven writer.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

12 Interviewing Questions for Your Fictional Characters

Why would you open up and talk to someone who is trying to define you without knowing anything about you?
Interviewing your characters is a powerful process that allows you to get out of the way and have your characters speak. We too often try to decide who we think/want our characters to be, think and feel.

Consider this: why would you open up and talk to someone who is trying to define you without knowing anything about you first hand? Interviewing your characters can solve that problem!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Fiction Writing from the Shadowland of the Human Condition

Nothing human is alien to me.”
This quote by the Roman, Seneca is a powerful one for the writer. If we are to find our true voice, we cannot be afraid of the dark side of the human condition; we cannot be afraid of the shadowlands of the human soul.

We all have dark and we all have light within us.
If you’re afraid to write about sex or you’re afraid to write about violence or you’re afraid to write about homosexuality –– if you’re afraid to write about anything, anything at all, then that’s stopping your creativity.

All aspects of the human condition have to be open to us.
You can choose not to write about something, but there’s a big difference between choosing not to write about something and being afraid or actually unable to write about something.

As creative writers we need to explore all the primal passions; only then can we make choices in our writing.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

A Paradox for the Fiction Writer:

We have to become our characters!
Passionate, creative, exciting writing (for both writer and reader) demands that a writer get out of self and become the character who is rising up out of her unconscious.

The paradox:
While your characters are you because they are born of your creativity, none of them are you … at least not the you who you perceive yourself as being.

Writing taps into the deeper, often hidden aspects of self.
This is true even if you are writing a memoir. You must leave the limited bounds of self and become the character waiting to be born. This is writing from the inside out; such writing ignites the emotional life of a writer's characters.

In his acceptance speech for the Pulitzer Prize, William Faulkner said, “... the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself... alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the sweat and the agony.”

Write on!!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

What Does Point of View In Fiction Writing Mean??

Point of View, How it Works and Why It Is so Important to the Fiction Writer

Point-of-view is probably the most important technique we have as fiction writers.
This includes memoir writing. Everything in story arises from point-of-view: most powerfully motivation and, ultimately, story line.

I believe you can have a wonderful story without a complicated plot.
I don't believe you can have an interesting, much less wonderful story if you have all kinds of twists and turns of plot but the characters are skeletal. One of the reasons Stephen King became such a huge success is that he changed the horror genre by writing fascinating, fully developed characters about whom the reader cares. And he has dynamite plots. Now that's a great combo.

In a nutshell, point-of-view says to the reader...

Monday, January 15, 2007

A Question on Interviewing Characters: What if You Come Up With A Psychopath?

Interviewing Characters in Fiction Writing

I received this email this morning and thought it was a very good question in interviewing a particular kind of character:

"One of your interviewing questions for characters is "Describe something really bad you once did..." How would one answer that from a psychopathic personality point of view? Since guilt is not in their make-up. What would be another way to draw this out?"
Diana

My response: Hi Diana,
Interesting question... I think what I would do in interviewing such a person would be to first show interest in his/her activities, crimes... get him/her talking about them, really opening up, and all the time you, as the interviewer, must show sympathy and support. Look for openings that could lead to memories that reveal how the person was treated as a child...

I think the key is for you to be a really good empathiser and, at the same time, read between the lines. As soon as you sense some emotional hurt coming through...

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Using Your Own Life Material for Writing Fiction

Do you think your life is too dull, normal and ordinary to be the makings of a good story.
Not true! Scratch any person and you will find a fascinating story.
One of the main problems with using our own life stories is that we get stuck in the so-called
"Truth". What is truth when it comes to memory? In fact, different people's view of the same situation makes fascinating story telling.

Here's an exercise:

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