dialogue

14 Reasons Why Artists Keep Visual Journals

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14 Reasons Why Artists Keep Visual Journals. April 13th, 2005 By Joan Martine Murphy Keeping a visual journal helps the artist develop a sense of self–discipline.  By drawing in your journal everyday you are developing the habit of creativity.  The drawings can be ever so simple and as time goes by you will have developed … Read more

Write a Novel in 30 Days

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Writing Novels

Free eCourse from SuteU.

By Sara McGrath

Introduction

You can complete a novel of at least 50,000 words within thirty days while receiving the guidance through this course. You’ll learn to write for quantity and quality while you steadily increase your word count, advance your story, and give your characters, plot, and theme the added impact they need to catch the eye of an agent or editor.

 

Lesson 1: You Can Write A Novel in Thirty Days

You can write a novel of at least 50,000 words in thirty days even if you have a day job, a social life, and a toddler. I know this because I have all three. In this first lesson, I’ll discuss being a writer, scheduling your writing time, finding inspiration, and staying motivated. Then we’ll start writing.

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Creative Drawing and Journaling

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Originally posted to SuiteU, part of Suite101. SuiteU is being removed from the site. I wanted to save the ecourses so this resource would not disappear. Drawing 101 By Joan Martine Murphy Introduction Most people would love to be able to draw what they see. Many people find enormous pleasure in the art of self-expression. … Read more

Character Development

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This is originally posted to Suite101 University which has been closed and is due to be demolished soon. I wanted to keep the content I’d like to read again myself.
Character Development

By Linda Orlando
IntroductionWhen I was writing my first book, I went searching for tips and techniques from more experienced writers. I wanted my book to be the best it could be. I even joined a writer’s book club and read as many books about writing as I could. I found books on plot, dialogue, even how to write a novel in thirty days. But I found little information available in the many, many writing books on point-of-view or character development. Point-of-view was covered in several books but only in a very superficial manner, just a basic definition of point-of-view and a hard-and-fast rule on which was best. Most of the books I found about character development were generally written from the perspective of character traits or personality. I even found a book that was set up like a thesaurus. It included descriptive terms for physical features, clothing and accessories.

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So You Think You Can Write

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Assignments | So You Think You Can Write. – The event is over for this year, but the assignments are still up. Day 1 Assignment: The Opening Page Are you up for the challenge? You know you have a great story waiting to bust out. The key is getting started. First things first: a great … Read more

Plain Conversation

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What do you think about fiction written in the dialect of the character? Such as dialogue typed with a Scots brogue. For me it interrupts the flow of the conversation. Also, it seems a bit silly when every character is speaking in some kind of accent. Listen to your own voice as you have a casual conversation, … Read more

Guidelines for Dialogue

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This isn’t an exact guide to writing dialogue, there are always going to be unique situations. But as a guide it is pretty good, I think. Use words and language which your characters would actually use. Give a character his or her own favourite phrases. Their own unique self expression. Please don’t try to mimic … Read more

Slow Down and Start Talking

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Usually, when I sit down to write a first-draft scene, the setting, action, and dialogue have already fermented and congealed into form so that I make the most of my time. But every now and then, even with that prep work, when I get it on the page, something’s off. It feels forced, or trite, … Read more

Character in Victory and Defeat

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Do you agree with the idea that a character can be shown better in defeat than in victory? Think about the last character you wrote about. What was happening to him or her? Were they being defeated or conquering? Would it be easier to show their defeat or victory through dialogue or description? Or would … Read more