Introduction
This two-parter is the final topic where we will cover structural and planning topics before we dive into crafting the writing—the prose—to actually put words on the page in a way that grabs readers and propels them to continue reading.
Keep in mind you can do all this advance (if you prefer working that way) or you can write your story (or part of it) and then use this to check your work. That’s an individual thing.
But just like in architecture, the engineering has to be planned properly and the exterior needs to be designed before you call in the interior decorator.
For a quick summary of what we’ve covered thus far as we approach the three-month mark — halfway through this series:
The first decision is to choose the camera lens (or lenses) to present your story: narrator, voice, point-of-view, perspective.
Develop the plot, structure, and narrative arc the story will follow.
Create the scenes (events and occurrences) for your story and organize them into your narrative arc.
Today, we discuss developing your characters—your actors on the stage—into believable, compelling, three-dimensional characters.
Your characters might seem real in your mind. But they have to come to life for your readers.
Your characters might be actual people if you’re writing nonfiction. You are a character if you’re writing a memoir, and you’re most likely real.
But that’s not the same as crafting realistic characters on the page that readers can relate to and connect with.
How do you get to know your characters so well that their full personalities will shine through to readers?
Every writer may have a different approach to this. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll cover some approaches you might find helpful. Matters not whether you use one of these, some combination (like I do), or come up with your own creative process for fleshing out your peoples.
Here are the processes we’ll cover today and next week:
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