Nail Your Novel Instant Fix: 100 Tips For Fascinating Characters

by Roz Morris

Troubleshooting your fictional characters? Inventing a new person for your novel? This on-the-go checklist will help you hit the ground running. More than 100 master tips from an expert editor, fiction ghostwriter and writing coach whose sales exceed 4 million copies. 'Nail Your Novel is like a personal session with a writing mentor.' What makes a reader fall in love with your book? Whether you write a story-based genre or literary fiction, it’s the characters. So how do you create fictional people who’ll keep readers hooked? How do you make them plausible, chilling, imperfect, lovable, intriguing, tormented or misunderstood? What if their lives are totally unlike your own? How do you write the opposite sex, historical characters, enigmatic characters who give little away? Villains? This book is a super-zipped digest of tips for creating irresistible characters, extracted from the tutorials in Writing Characters to Keep Readers Captivated (Nail Your Novel 2). Use them as a handy checklist to create and deepen your fictional people, a guide for self-editing, or a prompt for discussion in your writing group.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

14 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2015

About the author

What do I read? Fiction that cares about characters AND plot. Although I'm a sucker for beautiful language, I like a story too, dammit. I'm a slow reader because I'm easily trapped by lovely sentences and ideas, and when I enjoy a book I'm reluctant to leave its world behind.
I live in London with my writer husband, and our house is mostly decorated with bookshelves - so much so that different rooms are devoted to different categories, like a shop. My study, where I'm writing this now, is the fiction room - and when I look up from my keyboard it's a pleasure to see the spines of novels that have been important to me.

I'm a journalist, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach, and I'm also coming out from behind the ghosting curtain with novels of my own.

I've got eight books in circulation (books that I can admit to, that is!) Four are about writing - the Nail Your Novel series. I also have three nailed novels. My Memories of a Future Life is a contemporary reincarnation story with a twist that asks as many questions as it answers. Lifeform Three is a science fiction fable in the tradition of Ray Bradbury. Ever Rest is an exploration of how we live after we lose the most important person in our world. And I have a book of true travel tales, Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction.
Ever Rest will be published on 3 June 2021.

Sign up for my newsletter https://tinyurl.com/rozmorriswriter

Reviews

[Dannii Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of one-hundred one sentence tips for guidance in the construction of character. Given the limited length and the structure, I did not anticipate this providing much depth. However, I did leave this with some new snippets of wisdom, even if the majority of the contents were already known to me. This can also be used as a great basic checklist to refer back to, to ensure fully-fleshed and authentic character creation.

[Felix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disorganized and basic as heck, and I hope I never have to read about the Gender Genie again. The whole concept behind the Gender Genie disturbs me.

A few of the tips are good, though I seriously doubt that there are 100 tips in here.

[Leticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book is packed with interesting writing tips. I recommend it also for revision as a helpful character checklist.

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't very helpful. Also, there were a few things in the romance section that made me stop reading.

[Meryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay as a list to remind writers about the basics of character development, but would be no good for someone trying to learn how to develop characters.

[Jacalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

brief overview but good nuggets

This is not going to solve your problems, but there’s some really great nuggets of wisdom in this very brief overview of character development. It’s an excellent read if you are stuck on a character to maybe prod you past some writers block.

[Nada Sobhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nail Your Novel Instant Fix: 100 Tips for Fascinating Characters by Roz Morris is a short book of bite-sized general writing tips for a variety of genres.

I pretty much bookmarked every page, because each one had valuable information.

Seasoned authors, if there is such a thing, might feel that the book is pretty basic or for novice writers, but for me, I think every book that handles writing help is a valuable addition.

One of the things I liked about the book was Roz's interactive, down to earth writing style. I felt like she was sitting there with me giving me bits and pieces of writing help.

"Use background detail with care. Too little and the characters float in a void. Too much, and the reader doesn't know what to look at."

Nail Your Novel Instant Fix: 100 Tips for Fascinating Characters can be used and reused as a checklist before starting a book, novella or piece or after finishing the first or second draft. It acts as a reminder to the author of what they might need to add or edit in their story.

"Characters don't have to be likeable. But they must make us curious."

Now for the above quote, I've been making up mental notes as I read books. Likeable is one thing, but in some books I've read, the main character – at least – was irritating, boring and/or annoying. With that in mind, I could not like the book. Twice I didn't finish the book, and a few other times I gave negative reviews because of that. It's an idea worth remembering but authors must take care of.

I'd love to pick up the full-length books under the Nail Your Novel titles in the future.

"Dystopias aren't about worlds. They're about characters under special pressure." – This was news for me, simply because I often focused on worlds in dystopian novels, which I don't consider reading often.

I also liked the parts on "Show Don't Tell" and "Make Your Fictional People Individuals".

"Give your antagonists good characteristics too. A fatal flow is usually a strength misused."

Overall, I'd give the brief Nail Your Novel Instant Fix: 100 Tips for Fascinating Characters five stars. It added information to me, it helped me and it's definitely a book I can recheck over and over. Definitely worth reading.


Note: I read Nail Your Novel Instant Fix: 100 Tips for Fascinating Characters, the short introductory book. There are three other books with Nail Your Novel in the title, each tackles an aspect of writing in more detail. I downloaded it the bite-sized version which is currently free via Amazon.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short summary of her longer work by the same name.
I just heard an editor say on a podcast of writing excuses that if the characters were good, she would follow them anywhere. How often have you been the same way? We even forgive bad behaviour in characters we love.

If the character has to think about their appearance and this is used to describe them to the reader, find a good reason.

Great misfit characters are not just different on the outside; in fact they may look average. Find out how they are peculiar in their soul.

Consider the different faces your main character might present to the world. (Kindle Locations 47-49).

Each entry is like the example above: a quick one or two sentence grab of the tip. It’s more of a reminder than an instruction book.
Roz Morris is a ghost writer, professional editor and writing coach. I have also seen her in video interviews. She has a lot of great advice on her blog.
https://rozmorris.wordpress.com/
Go check it out!
4 stars

[Miriam · Rating 1 out of 5]

All of these pieces of information should be no-brainers for long-time writers. I'm sad to say I learned nothing new from this book. If I'm generous, I can say this was a fair enough refresher course, as it's always good to be reminded of the basics of decent character development. If you've been writing for 10+ years, though, as I have, this isn't the book for you. Neither, however, was it written for us. This might be a decent resource for someone just starting out. It fails there, too, I'd reckon, as I'd recommend a more in-depth book for a newcomer. Basically, this book is well-intentioned, essentially correct, but falls short of almost every mark.

[Harrison Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handy little collection of tips on writing authentic characters. This is probably best used as a kind of checklist to refer to as you are mapping out characters and writing character-heavy scenes. The author clearly has a lot of valuable experience, and even writers who have been practising for years should check this guidebook out, as there are tips here that so many people miss and forget. I only wish this was longer and perhaps a tad more detailed. It's not exactly a book, but it's an informative, well-thought-out list.

[Obliterature (The Bibliophile) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, but useful.

I chose this rating because this was the shortest writing book I've ever read. I was reading this morning and I got to the part that said "Thanks for reading" or whatever it was it said.
Great price. You can't compete with "free."
I recommend this for someone who is considering writing a novel and is trying to look up a few tips.
I don't like how authors promote themselves in the same chapter. It sucks, and I wish well-meaning authors would stop. They should instead state their purpose in an introduction, not wait until the end of page 10 out of 11.

[Trihaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lives up to its 'instant fix' title as it is indeed very short! There is nothing in there that should surprise you if you have read a few books, but it's always good to be reminder of some of these points. This is good for a quick reference without needing to search through tons of reference books to find what you should consider and keep in mind while you write. It is also a good introduction to this author and it definitely made me curious to check out her other works to explore her ideas in greater detail.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that, had this book been a paid item, I would have been very disappointed indeed. It was only about 20 pages on my eReader, and was a literal *list* of 100 tips. No details or suggestions for accomplishment, just "do this thing."

As someone with more than one or two books under my belt, I found it a little too simplistic. For the brand-new author working on their first publication, it might be slightly more useful.

[Nunyah Biznuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just An Excerpt

Save yourself money and buy the actual book that this pithy little document is extracted from. Whilst there are good ideas and suggestions in here, the manner in which they've been extracted makes this document disjointed to read. It's too grab bag in style for my tastes, sorry.

[D.G. Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this short but handy guide is a condensed version and excerpt from a bigger book. Nonetheless, it has great tips on how to craft good character descriptions. I look forward to reading more from Morris' Nail Your Novel series.

[Evan Hancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Much

Wasn't much to read, or very in depth advice. There was nothing here that I haven't heard before. Just not enough

[Lucas Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few pieces of gold

True, this is an abridged version of a longer book, but still it is very short. Still, there are some nuggets in there, so well worth it.

[Samantha Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful

A concise and useful prompt for any writer. Good, potted advice from someone who knows what they're talking about. Read

[B.A. A. Mealer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short

Good tips. Some are useful, others should be will known to even beginning writers. I found it a rehash of multiple other books, but in shortened form.

[Frank Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

At a mere 2500 words this is a very brief book, but it was a delight to read. It’s a book about writing. In particular, a collection of suggestions and things to consider when creating and writing characters. That in itself is not unusual, I have several books in my collection which would match that description. What stands out with this book is that it is not afraid of brevity. Almost all of the one hundred “tips” is just one sentence, and a few others are two. There are no waffly and repetitive “explanations” or examples from books, by this author or anyone else. There are no lengthy and patronising diatribes on writing theory or psychology. Just straight to the meat.

Admittedly, there is a short section at the end where the author introduces herself and encourages readers to consider her other books, but that’s fair exchange for such a useful, free book as this.

The tips are gathered into a small number of sections to help in finding something when you are stuck:

* Make your fictional people individuals
* Villains and antagonists: what goes wrong with wrong ’uns
* Relationships, romances and significant others: handle with care
* Supporting characters and walk-ons: know their place
* Dialogue: more than a transcript of speech
* Character design: games to try
* Top novice mistakes with characters

All of these sections had at least one entry that made me go “hmmm…” and reconsider something about one of my works in progress.

This was a very quick first-time read, but it certainly made me think, and I am sure I will come back to it many times. And it certainly did its job as a “reader magnet”. I am now very positively disposed to the author and I’m even thinking about buying some of her other books.

[Susan Swiderski · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say? It was FREE... and that's about what it was worth to me. It's extremely short and contains nothing more than pithy suggestions with no substance, examples, or ideas regarding application. It's mostly a list of intuitive stuff, but no ah-HAs.

Still, since it is so short, there's no reason why other writers shouldn't give it a look-see. Some might even find a nugget in the author's words of wisdom that will provide a needed spark.

[Bruce Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Try

This short book of tips to develop characters was just right for my needs. I'm beginning my first novel, and the tips helped me to better concentrate on developing realistic characters. I noticed on my Kindle version that many sections were underlined by other readers. I'm fact, perhaps more than in other books I have read. That indicates to me that Ms. Morris is right on track with her advice.

[Ronel Janse van Vuuren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great gem to quickly look if your characters are fascinating enough – and how to fix the problem.

I’ll keep this on-hand for when I’m editing, especially when I look at my characters.

This book is perfect if you just want to quickly brush up on your character skills without having to do exercises and whatnot – if you want more, check out the other Nail Your Novel books.

[Ed Ashford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very long at all, can pretty much sit down and finish this in less than an hour. Plus, it was pretty much just a laundry list of every other piece of characterization advice I've heard before. Not really overly useful, unless I suppose you've never heard of any of this before. But none of the point go into enough detail if you haven't heard these tips before, anyway.

[Sarah Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystallized experience

There are a lot of gems here, whether you are starting out or are an experienced writer. A lot of it is things that you didn't know you knew, but some of it is truly the kind of thing to make you slap your forehead and think, "Man, I wish I had realized that earlier."

[T.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful to keep handy

I read this in about fifteen minutes and it had lots of useful character tips. Worth having by your side when writing in case you are worried your character is ‘flat’

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book had some interesting, albeit basic, information it could have been more useful if it contained more content. However, for the number of pages, it is a useful quick refresher for writers who are trying to determine why a character doesn’t create the desired impact on the reader.

[Michael D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid reference book

There's nothing at his book that I already didn't know, but with that being said, it's a reference guide that will give reminders, refreshers, or a boost when you start to lose your way.

[Peggy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tips!

Roz's character writing tips are right on point. This is a quick guide and reminder for all writers. She give you tips that you might not think about as you create your characters or even when you are in the process of writing your novels. Good luck!

[Sue Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a useful checklist than an actual book. But for a freebie, who’s complaining?