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Notes, tutorials, exercises, thoughts, workshops and resources about writing or storytelling art
Writing tips, exercises, tools, resources, books, tutorials, techniques and all kind of resources for writers.
A character arc is the transformation a character goes through from the beginning to the end of the story, the stages he (or she) goes through, and the psychological or emotional growth this process entails.
For you to understand it better, I’ll show you how you can create your own character arcs.
While surfing the net some time ago, I came across a list of tips titled “33 Ways to Stay Creative.” I found it very inspiring and decided to adapt the original to the world of writing. In addition, I added a brief explanation to each of the points on the list. As a result, I have the following 23 tips to becoming a more creative writer. I hope you enjoy them.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed in thinking there are hundreds of things that must be done. However, if we write them down in a list (differentiating between tasks and micro-tasks), we realize it’s not such a big deal. In fact, they can be finished one at a time and crossed off our to-do list. This leaves the brain better organized, we feel more relaxed, and we can make space for creativity.
Time is one of our major shortcomings. We always seem to be running from one place to the other as if we were the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, “I’m late! I’m late!” This constant hurry also affects us when it comes to writing. Typically, our daily chores, work, family, social relationships, studies, etc. leave us with very little spare time to write; in addition, we have a tendency to postpone our writing sessions and leave them for the end of the day.
The problem is we’re usually very tired by the end of the day. As a result, we don’t offer any resistance to the excuses our brains come up with for not writing. Writers are very good at rescheduling our writing sessions. There’s often something very important that needs to be done at the very moment of writing, or perhaps we feel very tired and think we’ll produce nothing of value ... nonsense! All we achieve is another day without writing anything.
Don’t fool yourself. If you want to be a writer, you have to write every day – no excuses. Here are some tips for how can do it, no matter how many obligations you have.
The flashpoint or inciting event of a story is its first turning point and has the function of bringing chaos where there was order.
It is the point of no return and the trigger that gives rise to conflict and action. All in all, it is the event that provides the writer with a story to tell. Here are some flashpoint examples:
At first sight, it seems the difference between a novel and a tale lies in the length of the story. While a novel tells a story that goes on for pages and pages, a tale presents the facts in a much more condensed way.
It’s said that in order to define a story as a tale, it should be less than 20,000 words long. But there is no bottom line; there are stories of less than 1,000 words in length.
Is it really possible to tell a story in less than 1,000 words? Of course it is! Just take into account that the mechanics of a tale are different from those of a novel, so let’s analyze them.
As I have often acknowledged, I’m crazy about notebooks. Small, large, ring-bound, hardcover, with graph paper, or with blank paper ... it doesn’t matter! It’s a real pleasure to write in them, and no matter how many notebooks I have, I always find a good reason to use them all.
In this entry, I’d like to explain how notebooks can carry out many functions other than story writing. They can be used to boost your creativity whenever you are hungry for ideas and inspiration.
Even though notebooks can be in digital format these days, sometimes it is more advisable to let your pen glide over actual paper so tangibility can play a helpful role when you are seeking the muse. Anyway, let’s set aside the format issue and take a look at the different types of notebooks you can create.
It’s obvious that any writer should have a place to jot down ideas. If possible, choose a small pad you can carry around easily. I usually keep it in my bag and put it on my bedside table at night. You never know where or when you’ll be hit by a great idea, but you already know what happens if you don’t write it down!
For many of you, it’s possible that one of the most difficult parts of the writing process is coming up with a title for your story. This is also a challenge for me.
Consequently, I often research the subject of titles and pay attention to the titles I like best in an attempt to figure out why they are so catchy. I know I’m still far from mastering the subject, but I have already identified a number of keys to writing a good title, and you may also find them useful!
The Uruguayan writer and poet Mario Benedetti said, “The title is an important part of the story; it lights it up.” A good title must light up the text it precedes without revealing its mysteries; it has to be suggestive, intriguing, and attractive. As if this isn’t enough, it must also match the style of the story. But how are we supposed to do all this?
If we listened to a real conversation and tried to put it into words, we would soon realize that the resulting dialogue fails on a narrative level. Real conversations are full of interruptions, unfinished sentences, and inconsistencies.
The key to writing effective dialogue is to keep the authenticity of a real conversation but not at the expense of fluency and clarity. But how is that put into practice?
Dialogues are a very useful tool in any story. Not only do they give voice to the characters, but they are also helpful at many other levels.
Before talking about that, I want to share an excerpt of a dialogue from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I have selected this example because its dialogues are dynamic, lively, and very funny indeed:
“No conflict, no story” was one of the key principles of my first writing lessons. Since then, I’ve heard it and read it again and again. But what does conflict in a story mean?
According to the dictionary, a conflict is a problem, a confrontation, or a fight. Does it mean that in order to tell a good story our characters must face each other in a pitched battle? Not at all. Although conflict in literature can be represented by combat (there are thousands of stories about battles and wars), it’s a whole lot more than that. It’s what drives the plot, what makes us empathize with the characters, and what compels us to keep reading because we want to know how it will be resolved. Conflict gives life and depth to the story.
Now that we have agreed on the importance of conflict, let’s dig a little deeper into the subject. This section is about the types of conflict we can find Later on, I’ll provide the second part about how to include them naturally in your story.
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