The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword discussion

So I decide to create this topic for one sole reason: give advice to whomever needs it in the ambient of writing. Post your question and someone else will give you their opinion.

I have a mayor problem when I'm writing. I can't seem t o get my characters to display different characteristics of character, I mean, when I re-read my work and look at the dialogue between characters they all seem to sound the same to me. I just want to know: how do you make them seem more human?

I have a question!!!! What is a cure for writers block?? I suffer through it soo much it kills me.

Hmm...I don't know if this will work, but when you display your characters put a bit of an emphasis on their flaws and exactly what makes them distinct, make the feel more human, more connected to the reader this way... maybe ._.

You can practice by writing scenes just to test out how you want you character to feel, just make up a situation and scene and get to know your character better. This could help you on making thee character feel alive, like a different person then yourself.

Also, you want to look out for how you phrase things, different people phrase things in a different and often disinct sort of way, but if you get in the habit of simply phrasing things the way you would, then there characteristics begin to blend.

I don't know how helpful or accurate this all might be, but yeah... ._.

One of the best ways to create better voices for your characters is to listen to real people talking. One way I do this is I'll go to a place where there a lot of people (like the food court at my university) find a seat, close my eyes and just listen. The content of the conversation is irrelevant. I just want the cadence and the tone of the people speaking. When I pick that up and use it in my writing my writing then dialogue becomes more believable. Another way in which to do this is to simply read your written conversations out loud. Write as you talk basically. If you don't have access to lots of people and reading your work out loud does nothing, start a conversation with family or friends. Use their intonation for your characters.

The best way to get over writer's block? Write. It doesn't have to be good, it just has to be words on the page or screen. After all writer's block is simply not having any ideas you think are good.

Victoria wrote: "So I decide to create this topic for one sole reason: give advice to whomever needs it in the ambient of writing. Post your question and someone else will give you their opinion.

I have a mayor p..."

For dialogue, when you're starting out try and think of someone you know, be it a loved one, co worker, friend, or even a TV character, that would speak like your character and try to imagine what THEY would say in the conversation.

Need a witty friend? Stoic hero? Angsty teenager? Try and make a list of different character types and match them with known characters and draw influence from that. That may help as well.

Victoria wrote: "So I decide to create this topic for one sole reason: give advice to whomever needs it in the ambient of writing. Post your question and someone else will give you their opinion.

I have a mayor p..."

Everyone has little things they say that make them unique. If you give your character enough background, that will naturally come out in your writing. So, for example, one of the characters in my book, Gavin, is the middle child out of four boys. He's slightly insecure, but wants to have more bravado like his brothers. When he is thinking about something, or unsure of how to respond to a comment, he tends to say, "Maybe," out of habit. I came up with that little quirk to set him apart from the other men in the book, as well as connect to his back story.

The better you know your own characters, the more you will hear their voice in your head and be able to interpret that into dialogue. Think of little short stories about their past. What happened in the Christmas of 1999? Or maybe, like in the fantasy world I created, two brothers had a contest to see who could throw rocks further, and the younger one was laughed at because he cared more about accuracy than distance. Little stories like that shape human beings in general, and will therefore shape your characters.

lafon حمزة wrote: "One of the best ways to create better voices for your characters is to listen to real people talking. One way I do this is I'll go to a place where there a lot of people (like the food court at my ..."

Great advice!!!

I agree with everything you said, and especially agree on your advice for writers block. When I feel blocked I just push through it. Everyone has different writing techniques, but what works best for me is to go, go, go, and worry about how crappy it is after. Otherwise, I would spend eternity nitpicking and editing every chapter, and I would never finish a book!

Victoria wrote: "So I decide to create this topic for one sole reason: give advice to whomever needs it in the ambient of writing. Post your question and someone else will give you their opinion.

I have a mayor p..."

Lots of great advice already in here :) but something I found helpful is to build a spread sheet of questions or situations and line up all your important characters (the ones you're trying to distinguish) and answer the questions for them.

I use questions like what sort of sense of humor do they have or what type of intelligence, do they collect anything, are they impulsive or deliberate, do they absolutely hate anything etc. (this is 4 questions of around 150) and the most important section is setting up what-if scenarios. Something goes awry or something awkward comes up and you have to answer how each character would respond to the situation.

The spreadsheet makes it easy to pick out any patterns you might be guilty of with character creation and it helps you keep your characters unique. Plus it gives you a reference point for while you're writing - if you can't decide what how your character should respond to something it's easy to just read their section of the spreadsheet.


Now I'm struggling with choosing the perspective of my novel. It's two POVs and it's going to be a steady switch back and forth on the chapter. They're two sisters embroiled in a war in a fantasy novel and I can't decide if I want to put it in first person or not. (it'll be past either way though - not present.)

I really want to, but I'm starting to notice some problems with the scenes I play in my head.

I love the idea of making a small background story for each character. That really is helping me shape the story up and not leering the characters all sound the same. I'll also try to create a few questions and situations my characters are going to go through.

Thank you everyone for the advice!

One advise I find really helpful, is from this book On Writing

The idea, is that you can try starting with an hypotetical situation - "what if" and work your way from there..

What if a hobbit gets hold of a magic ring?
What if you a young boy gets a letter to a school for wizards?
What if all the people in the world froze at once, except yourself?

A really fun way of writing - and it`s a good starting point for any writer..

Hi,
I have advices about writing on my blog http://between-my-lines.blogspot.gr/ where I write my experience on writing. Feel free to search the posts and let me know with a comment about your thoughts.

I find the best way to get some writing inspiration is to try writing when I am in a different than usual place (on the deck, in a hotel room, at a cafe).
Also, people watching helps me alot.

I think that a good way to develop characters is to work on their reflexes and reactions. If a character is not reactive to jumping through a glass window and getting millions of tiny painful cuts, most with glass in them, al over his or her body, then there should be a reason (android, zombie, unable to feel pain, vampire, otherwise undead thing, etc.). If there is not a reason and this character is a totally living thing… You may want to work on this.

Also, yes. Backstories. They are amazing. I have a backstory for my characters that goes back their whole lives: How they met, how they got along, their career choices before the story, how they ended up blind/with a prosthetic arm/dead, their birthday, their last names, their middle names, height, favorite flavor of cake, what instrument they played, if they are a good singer, where they came from, where they lived… The list goes on foreverrrrr

@ Wolfie. i do the same thing, but i don't go that in deph when thinking about my characters..... i probably should though. I'm going to take a page out of your book.....

Yeah… I can be pretty anal sometimes. EVERYTHING MUST FIT.

I just went through a major writer's block stage and so I thought I would share my tips and stuff in case you have writer's block. So here you go.

Sarah's Tips for Curing Writer's Block (some of which I stole from Charlie!)
1. Reread your story as a reader not a writer. It helps you figure out what you are good at and what you need to improve on (Thanks Charlie!)
2. Write something. Anything. If you can't think of anything to write, wrote about that.
3. Try writing the beginning of a story, maybe the first couple of paragraphs. You can use a story starter if you want. It gives you a lot of new ideas for a new story or maybe even ideas for a current one. I found this one very helpful.
4. Learn new words.
5. Journal.
6. Don't fret too much about having writer's block. It will make things a whole lot worse.

Sarah I would add "Do something else" or "go for a walk" or something. I find most of my inspiration comes from beauty so if I go for a walk in the woods or during a snow storm or watch the sunset/sunrise or even visit an art gallery I feel inspiration. Sometimes if I want to get inspired I just set aside a whole day to go into the city and walk around, we have a beautiful harbor and public gardens and nice little cafes and plenty of bums on the street to talk to. It's fantastic and I find it always works. Doing a work out or even house work is another good "something else" to do because it clears your head and the feeling of being productive helps.

That is a good idea.

I usualy can't think clearly unless I'm moving. Sometimes I get up and pace in huge circles. I'll pace all around my house, in circles around a group of people, in the halls of my school…  Actually, if I'm sitting and have to stay there, I have the really annoying habit of tapping. I will tap my fingers to whatever song is stuck in my head. I feel sorry for anyone having to spend time near me. Unless I'm in a spinny chair. Then I'll just spin forever and annoy my family members foreveeeeeerrr
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Amber wrote: "Hm, the only thing I would add to the wonderful advice above for character voice is to consider the mood your character is in and why. One character can be silent and sullen one day, giving only on..."

Indeed. [<- Wolfie Seal of Approval]

Once you've nailed down a personality, congratulations. Your character is still a cardboard cutout, they just have a facial expression. Now they need more than one facial expression.


Really, moods go with reactions— Moods are really, really big reactions and they affect other people.

I tend to tap my pencil. It is quite annoying I'm told.

Oh my goodness I can hardly sit still for 30 seconds! It is impossible.

Ok so.... I need advice on character dialects.... Not quite sure how to do that.....

What is your question, exactly?

To @Victoria

Make the characters seem human by making them human. Human=flawed, imperfect. Make them seem real by the misstep in the dance, the fall, the little mistakes of being mean or having a bad attitude or having a quick tongue. Make them have weaknesses. They are human. This will make your readers feel connections and love towards your characters.

Example:
She irritably scratched out her answers to the mathematics problem. "Homework!" She exclaimed under her breath. "What a bother!!!"
"Sissy!" Her little sister came up beside her, tiny hands climbing onto her legs and little adoring eyes looking up.
"Go away! Can't you see I'm busy?" She screamed, pushing away her little sister. She fell to the floor with a thump, and rose, in tears, and crawled away.
She continued her math work. Finally she realized her mistake.
Putting her papers away, she went to the doorway of her sister's room. Red-eyed the girl sat on the floor, combing her doll's long hair.
Sneaking in, she sat on the floor by her little sister and helped her to shape the doll's hair into a beautiful braid. She saw her little sister's eyes twinkle and knew that she was forgiven.


That Wasn't a very good example, but my point is that that's what makes good characters.

Hope I helped!!! :D and good luck!

How do you write a chapter without involving so many "I"s while there is action that first person is doing? How can I descirbe it?

Well, you could try to describe things other the main character. I have story that's written in first person, and she's meant to be conceited, so I meant to have a lot of "I"s.

Well my question is how exactly do you write out a dialect? Oooor should I just do words like "y'all" and that type of stuff, and put "she said in her choppy Irish accent"...

Using a dialect is kinda like going, "the way you speak is weird." So, just typing it out normally, and adding that they have an accent works.

Uh huh. Ya alright. Thanks Ill work it out :)

Glad I could be of some help :)

Advice for a newbie? I used to write in highschool but it was just creative writing stuff, and little poems here and there. Nothing special. Then I was in a fog for years and years and couldn't write. And now I would like to start agian. I have tons of ideas. I just don't know how to get started. I end up getting caught up in little things like grammar, and if my story will be written correctly. I read alot of reviews were people just rant about how the author storyline didn't make sense, or other things. And it's like wow harsh.
I also have always wanted to write a memior about my life. It has been crazy. But There are some things keeping me from it. It's painful to write. Plus if my family ever reads it they will be pissed. Also so much of my life has been "inappropriate" and now that I am a christian. I just have a hard time balancing the two. Does that make sense?

It definitely makes sense. I'm not an expert at writing, but sometimes (in my own experience) you just have to plunge "write" in (bad pun, I know :D). :)

Tiffany: First, *a lot.

Second, commas.

Third, outline the crap out of your story and then you can start writing.

Thanks. I haven't done an outline in a longtime. I think i might have forgotten how to do one.

Just do what works for you. A big brainstorm might be nice.

KC wrote: "I have a question!!!! What is a cure for writers block?? I suffer through it soo much it kills me."


Whiskey. Definitely whiskey.

How does everyone outline their stories?

I don't really outline mine, but in considering it.

Hmmmmmmmmmm one minute

Use these questions and everything else I got this from an article, it helped me alot

"Who will be your main character? Write some information about him or her. (It's possible to have more than one main character, but this will make your novel more complicated to write. If you plan to have several main characters, write information about each of them.)
Normally, your novel will be about an important problem that your main character has to solve, or an important goal that he or she wants to achieve. What is this problem or goal? Write it down. Why is it the most important thing in the world to your character right now? (If it isn't that important to your character, look for another problem or goal to be of your story. If your character doesn't care a lot that he or she resolves the problem, your readers won't either.).
What terrible difficulties are there between the character and his/her goal or the solution to his/her problem? (If it's too easy for your character to get out of trouble or get what he/she wants, then there will be less of a story). Make a list.
Where and when (in general) will your story take place? In Miami in the early 1980's? On the planet Fiz in the year 2044?
In general, what type of novel are you writing? Is it mainly comedy? Drama? A thriller? Read more about types of novels here.
What are the main events that will move your character toward (or away from) solving the novel's central problem or achieving the central goal? Make a list.
3) For each of the main events in the list you've just made, imagine a scene or scenes. For each scene, briefly write the answers to these questions.

What characters are in the scene?
Who is the viewpoint character/s (the character through whose eyes the readers will see the scene)?
Where does the scene happen?
What happens?
What does the scene accomplish in the novel? Does it move the character forward toward his/her oobjective or further away from it?
Every scene should have a purpose. It should either move the character forward or backward toward or away from his/her goal or solving the novel's central problem (novels are more exciting if you play with the reader’s emotions by moving the character back and forth a bit), or else it should deepen the reader's understanding of the characters or situation in the novel. If the scene doesn't fulfil one of these two purposes, consider getting rid of it.

4) Write a summary in 1-2 sentences of your novel's main idea. You can imagine that you're writing the blurb for the book jacket. This summary should include a character or characters and an important problem or goal. If you find that you can't pin your novel down to just 1-2 sentences, then your idea probably isn't focused enough yet, and you should keep working on it.

Examples:

Boy learns he is actually a wizard and is sent to a wizarding school, where he has to battle the most evil dark wizard of all time.
Detective has to solve a series of brutal murders in a convent.
Woman discovers that her husband has a second family and has to choose whether to leave him.
5) Look at the scenes you've planned so far. Are they in the right order? What other scenes are needed to tell the story of your character's battle with the problem or his/her work toward the goal? Fill in the missing pieces. Take out any scenes that don't belong. Put everything into the best order for telling the story. This is your novel outline! Use it to help you, but don't hesitate to keep changing and improving it as you write. The story might take you in unexpected directions, so stay open to surprises!"

Woah :O Thanks!

Lol no problem :D

When I have an idea that I'm excited about, I rush my writing to an extreme. I guess I just want to put all of my ideas out there as fast as I can, just to have them be known. How can I slow down and actually write well?

Try just making a note of your ideas and then writing down a plot for your novel(s). It might be more helpfull if you have a structure for your writing.

How do you choose a name for your main character that doesn't sound stupid.

try thinking of where you want your character to be from(Example: Character is from Romania needed last name and is a girl. thought and found Nodescu.)

Lady Poppy wrote: "When I have an idea that I'm excited about, I rush my writing to an extreme. I guess I just want to put all of my ideas out there as fast as I can, just to have them be known. How can I slow down a..."

I do the exact same thing! What I do is try to think out the general gist of what I want to happen, go on a writing rampage, then go back and edit after. It's not supposed to be perfect, and sometimes it's easier just to get words and ideas down and polish them up later.