Dear Aspiring Writer,
This is a collection of links from my blog that could aid you in the process of writing your first novel. If you're looking for specific help on certain scenes or characters, check out the lists on my Writing About page.
For help on publishing and marketing, please see my Publishing 101 page.
Enjoy!
Character Development:
Bring Characters to Life You will find a neat little project that you can do, as well as reminders of things you will have to consider while creating your characters.
Characters Make a Book When you’re creating your characters, especially your main character, you will have to think beyond their appearances. This blog will help you to create three-dimensional characters.
Protagonist VS. Antagonist The tips in this post will help you to develop a protagonist that your readers can root for and an antagonist that your readers can despise.
More on Character Development This post talks about the evolution of characters and where they come from.
How to Create Heroines of Steel provides a list of things to consider to help you make a fierce heroine.
Body Language - Character ER explains how to use body language to heighten the emotional impact and make a character real.
Tattoos, Birth Marks and Scars - Character ER is about how these flaws (or art) can enhance a character's appearance and attribute to their personality.
Diet and Food - Character ER is about including your character's diet.
Let Your Characters Get Mad! - Character ER is about the importance of showing intense emotion and provides a few things to remember when it comes to anger.
Is Your Character Naked? - Character ER is about why describing clothes every once in a while is a good thing to do.
Flaws, Fear, and Weakness - Character ER is about getting to know our characters inside and out.
Allergies and Health Issues - Character ER is about connecting with real people and common issues we all face with out health.
Habits and Quirks - Character ER is about giving your characters habits and quirks to make them memorable.
Your Character's Pain - Character ER is about giving your characters pain, whether mental, physical, or emotional. Pain makes them real and relatable.
Hobbies - Character ER talks about the importance of giving your characters a hobby.
Your Character's Occupation - Character ER provides lists of jobs for you to consider for your characters.
Astrology for Character Development discusses using astrology (sun, rising, and moon signs) to get to know your characters more.
Diverse Characters:
How to . . . with Tips:
Elements of a Novel:
Get Ready, Set, TONE! is about creating a successful setting and tone for the story you are writing. This post was a lot of fun for me to write because I got to write a short little teaser to illustrate how to use setting and tone to make a story stand out.
Creating Mood In the beginning of this post, I included a special sneak peek into the first book of my series. I also talk about “A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer, an excellent example of mood.
Write With Gaga is about writing style. What is writing style? How can you create one? This post answers both those questions.
Unnecessary Writing Avoid writing what readers skip.
Writing Good Prose How can you write good prose? This post will tell you!
Show AND Tell is about the importance of balancing showing and telling.
Use the Sixth Sense on top of the other five senses.
Stages of a Novel:
Writing Tips:
Writing Rules:
Editing:
Publishing + Marketing:
Other:
XOXO
Chrys Fey
Merry Christmas, Chrys!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, Kelly! :D
DeleteWhew! That's a whole post of amazing sauce! I'm going to have to come back and gather it all up, one flavor at a time. Merry Christmas, Chrys!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That's awesome! I hope they offer you something new and interesting. :)
DeleteMerry Christmas, Crystal!
Fantastic, Krys! I'm working on my first novel and it's so different from non-fiction. I will book mark this page for reference when I'm writing. I'm having champagne and orange juice right now lol. Not likely to work on my book at the moment. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI hope the posts are helpful to you, Lisa! Champagne and orange juice sounds divine. Enjoy!
DeleteMerry Christmas to you too! :D
Chrys, you are undeniably inspiring and thank you so much for all of the helpful advice you have given to us. I can always count on your blog whenever I need a boost in my writing ventures or simple questions to be answered when it comes to just about ANYTHING there is to know about writing. You are truly one to follow here. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and continue to have an even better New Year! Wishing you great success with Hurricane Crimes!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the praise you gave to my blog, Gina! That means a lot to me, because I really do try my hardest to write good posts and to bring the best (and most interesting) information I can to aspiring writers. :)
DeleteGreat resources! I will be happily exploring these in the coming weeks as I go about revising my novel. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteGreat! I really hope they help you, Deborah. :D
DeleteThat's great stuff, bookmarked this page. Will read it carefully later >:)
ReplyDeleteCold As Heaven
Awesome! Thank you. :)
DeleteThank you :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Ubik! :)
DeleteWow! What a great collection of tips, Chrys! I wish I'd seen this before starting my first novel, The Dark Razor. But I'm still writing and have "Favorited" your site. Now, back to the Joust!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found this helpful, Donrazor. Honestly, I wish I had this before I started writing too. :)
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