Character Development & Plot |
These fall in the order that you thought them in. If you developed the idea for a character first then expand on that and revolve the plot around that. If you thought of a plot first then develop your character to fit into that plot. What am I talking about? Let's say you've thought of a poor orphaned child with tan skin and brown hair with green eyes. He's bony but he can run fast. The boy will be around ten years old. He's a bully and the younger kids are scared of him. Okay, now what? Well the child is orphaned but he does need someone to look after him since he is still just a kid. So let's say he's living with a woman that has some kids of her own. The boy is scared and to mask his fear of being alone he treats others rudely and scares them so that he can feel like he still has some control. Okay, that's a start. Now add the point of the story. The moral. His life lesson. Maybe he learns that he's not really as alone as he thinks he is. Maybe he just needs to learn to trust those around him. Now how can we make him trust others? Maybe someone does something nice for him. Maybe he gets into a lot of trouble and the others help him out of it. Something like that. Or if you've thought of a plot first, like for example boy meets girl. Then you just need to fill in the blanks. Where did they meet? They had a class together. What brought them together? Group project. What's the boy like? What's the girl like? How come they get along? |
How To Start Your Story |
| I know it's hard to decide where to start but as mentioned in the Physical Appearance section, I find a setting is the best place. It not only tells the reader where you are and what you're doing, it also gives the reader a sense of feel for what the character is like. For example, with my "character sitting alone in a coffee shop staring out the window and watching the rain drizzle while thinking" scenario, you may get the feel that this character is a bit lonely, maybe unhappy about something, maybe wanting to take life slowly. You might already assume this character often visits the coffee shop and they might like drinking coffee. All that information in one small opening. If your story is based in the read world then it's a bit easier since you know what this world looks like. It doesn't have to be too much harder in a made up world though. Introduce the world slowly. No one will remember it all at once. And if you make the starting a history lesson it'll get boring. So my best advice is to start with setting. And that can be a quote. A quote can tell the writer what kind of a person the character is with and what the character is like based on dialogue. Make every word count. It's difficult. Not everything your character says will matter but it's a start. Get your character's voice out. How they talk. Are they formal? Casual? Rough? Polite? That can help the reader get a feel for their personality and background. |
Physical Appearance |
I know a beautiful character is hard to resist especially if your story is one regarding romance but no one, I repeat, say it with me, no one is perfect. It's redundant. You've heard it before. But only because it's true. Giving your character flaws makes them more human and relate-able. Maybe they suffer from a skin condition like albinism or maybe they have vitiligo. Acne. Scars. An uneven tan. Anything. Of course you could just skip the appearance as a whole. Unless appearance is crucial it doesn't really matter much in the story. And a big tip is to not do a character dump. Please please please don't drop a full physical description in the beginning of your story. It signals a new writer. Try to work the appearance into your story somehow over the course of the writing, not all at once. For example, instead of starting the story with "Hi, my name is Sylvia. I have light brown hair and sky blue eyes..." try starting it with the setting. Where is the character? Why? What's going on? Is the character sitting alone in a coffee shop staring out the window and watching the rain drizzle while thinking? Or are they running away because someone or something is following them? Mediocre qualities like appearances can be added later, or not at all. Think about the books you've read. How often did you see a character dump? Did the author dictate the character's exact appearance or rather highlight special appearance parts? For example, in The Book Thief, Mama was said to be a plump and stern lady but her exact appearance wasn't poured down on the reader. The most striking thing about your character is in my opinion the best thing to focus on. The Book Thief's Papa was emphasized as being tall with silver eyes. That's what I remember most about him since that's the part the writer stressed the most. Max had swampy eyes and feathery hair. But all these traits were slowly worked into the story. Markus Zusak didn't tell the readers what Papa, Mama or Max looked like as soon as they were introduced. The characters were allowed to settle into the story, to take a seat, before their looks were noticed. Most of the appearance was covered by common sense. Max was poor and often starving. Fittingly you'd imagine him to be thin and later you'd find out you were right. If your character is an athlete then you don't need to stress their physique because the reader can guess they're fit. If your character has special features like wings or something then do make a point to mention that. But think first of all the different ways that might be perceived. Would people think it's beautiful and cool or scary and freaky? How would your character be treated and how would they feel? How would how they're treated affect who they are? How they think? Physical appearance can lead to many other things. For one it can help you develop a personality for your character. |
Spelling & Grammer |
| No one likes to go back and edit. I know the feel. But it is important. One thing that makes me leave a story is if I can't follow the sentences smoothly. When the words are spelled right and the grammar is all in place the story is a million times better and more likely to be read. I'd recommend having someone else look over it. I've read by mistakes and had others catch them. Since it's your story it's natural to skim the text since you know what the point of the sentence is without reading each and every word. If you can't have a person review it then use an online grammar checker. But do edit the work to the best of your abilities. I can understand that English isn't the easiest of languages to learn and master and I'm not asking you to get a university masters in English, I'm just asking you to put it through some form of checking so you post your story at its best. |
Your World & Setting The Standard |
| A lot of stories take place in real world locations but some can take place in a modified version of this world or in a world of the writer's own imagination. For example, Lord of the Rings takes place in a medieval earth setting but with elves and dwarfs and a dragon. Different stories have different standards. If the story is realistic and it's going to be free of superpowers or anything of the sort then you don't really need to worry about this part, but with rising popularity for the grouping of people by characteristics (Divergent, Twilight) many authors have to consider what sets people apart. In Divergent for example the characters were divided by personality traits. In Twilight the humans, vampires and werewolves were the categories. If your story is going to have people with powers or abilities you'll need to consider how many people have these gifts or if everyone has them. This sets a standard. For example, in X-men there are lots of mutants but the majority population is human. So being a mutant is a special thing. Meanwhile, in other stories it may be normal to have special abilities or special features (like wings). There are different levels of rarities for these talents. In something like Avatar: The Last Airbender, there could only be one person in the world with the ability to use all the elements. This was the rarest gift. On a lower level there were some people who could use only one element but there were a lot more of them then there was the avatar. So they had a special gift but they weren't the rarest. And then there were plenty more normal people with no elemental control. I like this example because it shows all the layers. To normal people the ones that controlled one element were rare and to the one-element-wielders the avatar was rare. Think about your world. Does everyone have a talent or is it rare? |