Wednesday, September 02, 2020

Characterization 4 Fiction Writers

On one of my favorite eloops, we're sharing creative writing tips, and perhaps my own thoughts my help someone? I hope. ☺

 

The balance of characters is essential, who plays what part in the whole piece.

 

Here is how an over balance can be used by the creative writer: in the film The Unforgiven, Burt Lancaster and Aubrey Hepburn star. In movies, Hepburn is often matched with much stronger older men. This emphasizes their strength, a comparison, and perhaps makes her look more feminine/fragile.

 

But in The Unforgiven, a part that Lancaster plays much stronger male lead, and Hepburn a quieter co-star, a nice turnaround or twist, would be the development of Hepburn, into a much stronger component.

 

Character turnarounds, or flaws that either get larger and more compelling, or show themselves as a strength, is one of the best techniques or TWISTS a creative fiction writer can use.

 

To me an outline of the character, their motivation, their weaknesses, also defines what clothing they would wear, upscale/casual Etc. And that includes jewelry. Their background, is another element, but just as important. What drives characters, what is their turning points, etc. is the most interesting element of writing to me.

 

The character mix also frames the leading characters, the protagonists/antagonists. The minor characters, revolving in and out of this story, weaving if you will, shows they are opinion of the leading characters.

 

An animal can also be a minor character, framing any of the characters. What is the animal’s reaction to the specific character?

 

Another character element, is what touches that character applies to what object. For instance, does his finger outline her photograph? Is that a treasuring movement? Or if he sees himself in the mirror, what does he see? This is much like Michael Jackson's The Man in the Mirror song.

 

There are many resources, for understanding characterization, including horoscope signs.

 

Three things stand out to me, as a fiction writer, that is the theme of the story, the mood, and the character mix. And anyone of these can change during the writing. And sometimes you just have to go with it....

 

 

Friday, May 22, 2020

Retooling for Writers

Amid all this Sheltering, I'm trying to catch up from the past really filled 2-3 years--Not Easy.

I've been Indy (a "hybrid" as I also have Publishers) for about 8-9 years and the path has been a hard one from the start--compared to the ease of today. I learned programming, not easy, to format books, However, now the ease using Vellum for formatting, etc., and other tools has also thickened the competition for buyers.

Back to Vellum: I cannot recommend this formatting software enough. With one .docx, you can spin out all sorts of book formats, complete with links, bios, basic ad work. However, at this time, I believe Vellum is only available in Mac format. BTW, I use an iMac and an iPad, and the crossover between the two comes just short of miracles. For instance, if in rough draft, I write something in either the iPad or the iMac, I can Save and pick it up on the other machine, whichever is convenient at the time. Over anything though, I recommend an iPad, which comes complete/free with Pages (word processor) and Numbers (spreadsheets, data keeping, etc.) and other programs.

With a large number of books (an inventory if you will), I am republishing as an Indy, some of my early books, reverted from the Publishers. The Bride Says No, now .99, a romantic comedy, is my latest updated cover, etc. Please note the meme, which is changed as needed. These are so handy, used for Twitter, Facebook and other places. !Also please note that I left the links visible. This is to show one way of marketing. Donna Fasano has been great to share her tips, as have other authors.

Now. Once you have a "meme" like this, you can edit, adapt it in many ways.


Now! #99cents
She knows the heartbreak of being jilted. When her sister dumps a grumpy rancher, Clementine just has to help…
>>The Bride Says No @CaitLondon
#romanticcomedy #humor #nook #iBook #kobo


Right now, I am retooling my early projects, and frankly seeing that I have to add easier modes. There are two sides to being an author: First=Writing/Editing/etc. Second=Ad work, a must. Currently, I am looking at FiveRR.com for helpers. Whatever you do in seeking assistants, query, query, query.  That's my very best advice.

As for covers, I did this one with Adobe Elements, which I recommend. It comes with a number of backgrounds, graphics, etc. which you might otherwise have to purchase. I did buy the entire program, rather than a subscription.

I hope that helps you. Until next time--