C is for Characters

Characters are one of the most important things in a story. Without your characters, your reader has no one to root for.

You've got to make your reader care about your character. They don't have to like them, as in, want to be their best friend or anything. They've just got to be interested in them, and they've got to care what happens to them.

In order to start creating a character, you've got to know their role in the story.

The Protagonist
The protagonist is the lead character. They are the character your story will focus on. You can have more than one, but usually it is easier to have one particular character leading the story. This character will need to be pretty well rounded to be believable.

Major Characters
The major characters, like the protagonist, have a lot of 'screen time' in the story. They also need to be well developed, as they often have their own subplots. Major characters are characters like the protagonist's friend, or the antagonist (the villain of the story).

Minor Characters
Minor characters, believe it or not, have minor role in the story (le gasp). They tend to be characters like the shopkeeper your protagonist buys bread from in chapter two, or the mailman who brings your protagonist an unusual letter. These characters don't need to be that developed. For your minor characters to add interest to your story, give them one or two character traits, eg, impatient, suspicious, playful, depending on their specific role.


There are several ways to develop a character. Here are three.

1. Writers who like to plan hugely before even starting often use a character profile template to develop their characters, because it literally tells you everything you could ever know about your character. Here's an example.

2. Another way is getting a basic idea of your character, then writing and developing the character as you write.

3. The method I use is a mixture of both.
My version of a character template goes a little like this
Character's name:
Role in the story:
Primary goal (what they wish to achieve, like rescuing their kidnapped friend):
Underlying goals (such as emotional goals, what kind of person they want to be):
Motivation for these goals:
Family and friends:
Basic backstory:

So, not quite as detailed as the first method, but not as vague as just writing an hoping they develop properly.

However, the method that works for you is completely down to your preferred writing style. Do whatever suits you best. You may have a way of creating a character of your own.

Thanks for reading! D is for Dialogue won't be posted tomorrow, but I'll get it out the day after (I have a busy weekend coming up :) )

B is for Beginning

...and not bumnugget as some will lead you believe *coughcoughMaresNestcoughcough*

Moving on.

Beginnings are pretty important to a reader. If the beginning catches their interesting, they're more likely to read on.
The first things you have to know before you can start is:
Who your major characters and protagonist are.
What you want to happen in the first scene, and, loosely, in the rest of the story.

What usually starts a story is a catalyst. A catalyst is an event which causes something to change. It's also known as The Inciting Incident (now that sounds dramatic).

The catalyst doesn't have to happen right at the beginning. Usually, we see the status quo, the way things are before the story starts, first. That way, what happens afterwards has more of an impact. Then the catalyst happens (which could be anything from starting a new school to someone being kidnapped), and that status quo changes, because the catalyst has affected the characters in some way.

Let's put that into steps:
1. Status quo
2. Something happens
3. The characters react to it
That last bit is important. The event has to affect your characters, even indirectly, or it's not a catalyst.

Now that you know the basic structure, now it's time to start putting sentences on the page.
If you're stuck on what to actually write, I find the best way is to make your protagonist do something. Something that is relevant to their current situation, perhaps tells you a little about their character, and possibly foreshadows the catalyst.

Eg, Jessica watched the rain glumly.

Now you can think about where Jessica is (in school, at home, outside in the park?) and why she's glum about the rain. If you know what your idea is, you can lead on from there.

I hope you found this post helpful :) Come back tomorrow for a post on C is for Characters!

A is for Alphabet

I've decided to start an alphabet blogging challenge. This blog has been rather inactive recently, and with a prompt, I might actually blog more frequently instead of just staring at a blank page.
The challenge is going to be themed on writing, because I like writing, and also because I could not come up with 26 words for the Sims (I did try, honest).

Don't fear! I'm not giving up on the Sims entirely! I'll still post about it. I'll just post about writing too :)

Anyway, the first word is Alphabet, because this is the alphabet challenge and the word begins with A and I'm not that imaginative.

I'll start properly tomorrow, with the letter B for Beginning.
How apt.

Cookies, llamas, and layouts

Why hello there :) Anyone still looking at this poor neglected blog deserves a cookie. And a llama.



I'm trying out the new blogger layout. It's not as colourful as it was, which is sad, but I'll get over it. Adaption, people, is a humans most important trait! Along with kindness and generosity and things like that of course.

Now I'm going to try to think of ways to uphold a simming blog while having next to no time to play Sims.
Well, you know what they say: If you have no time, make time.
Or words to that effect, anyway :)

For me?

A gift? :D

Thank you to the Mare's Nest for the gifts, and the Happy Birthday post ^_^ I feel very loved :)

It's someone's birthday today...

What a coincidence, it's mine too :3

A Milestone

Just a little post to say I reached 20,000 in my novel! Woo! :D
Only 60,000 to go...