You hear it all the time: prologues are evil. (And writers everywhere commence howling.) Now I’ll grant that “evil” is a slight exaggeration. We might call them “dangerous” instead, except that word is pretty ironic, since one of the chief reasons a prologue is so dangerous is because it allows authors to play it waaaaay yonder […]
February 3, 2015 by 30 Comments BackstoryGive Me 3 Minutes and I’ll Give You a Better (and Darker) Backstory
This week’s video shows you how to approach a dark character backstory fearlessly—and make your story all the better for it. Video Transcript: Here’s something sad I’ve noticed about many writers—myself included: we talk a good talk about character backstory, but we don’t always back that up with a good walk. Mostly, what I mean […]
January 7, 2015 by 48 Comments BackstoryThe Only Rule About Backstory That Matters
This week’s video learn how to write backstory that matters to your story and entrances readers with its possibilities. Video Transcript: I get a lot of questions about backstory: How much should you include? Where should you put in your book? When should you put it? And these are all really good questions. Backstory is […]
August 27, 2014 by 3 Comments CharactersJohn Ford on Creating Marvelous Characters With Minimum Effort
This week’s video shows how a little subtext can make vivid characters out of your entire cast. Video Transcript: A few weeks ago, we talked about how we do not want ciphers in our stories. We want fully fleshed-out, rounded, dimensional characters—people who feel real enough that maybe we could see them in the coffee […]
August 25, 2014 by 2 Comments BackstoryHow to Use Backstory to Keep Readers Reading
Today, I’m guest posting over on Elizabeth Spann Craig’s blog, with the post “How to Use Backstory to Keep Readers Reading.” Here’s an excerpt: Backstory is a weapon. And just like any weapon, it can end up doing more harm than good to those who wield it without proper experience and care. But in the hands of […]
July 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment Plotting Your NovelKeeping Secrets: How to Make Your Book Un-Put-Down-able
Did you know there’s only one (count it: one!) reason readers read? This reason manifests in many different ways. One reader might call it a search for knowledge. Another might call it a desire to be swept away to unfamiliar worlds. Others might say they’re after adrenaline or maybe romance. But what those reasons all […]
March 2, 2014 by 168 Comments CharactersCreating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 4: Your Character’s Ghost
What is your character’s ghost, and how does it affect his character arc? Once you’ve figured out the Lie Your Character Believes, as well as Thing He Wants and the Thing He Needs, the next question you need to ask yourself is: Why does the character believe the Lie in the first place? To find […]
February 19, 2014 by 62 Comments CharactersWhy Every Antagonist Needs a Humanizing Moment
When it comes to writing our antagonists, we face a tricky balancing act: we want them to be bad, but we also want them to be three-dimensional, faceted human beings. In short, we want to create villains who aren’t all bad. We want to write characters with a smidgen of reliability, for whom readers can […]
October 9, 2013 by 54 Comments CharactersImprove Your Characters Instantly: Just Add a Backstory Ghost
When you’re exploring how to improve your characters and digging up ways to get readers to invest in them, you probably start with the usual list—which includes important things, such as a relatable motive, a winning personality, and an engaging narrative voice. One other thing you can add to your characters to instantly make them […]
July 3, 2013 by 22 Comments BackstoryIs Your Novel’s Backstory Big Enough?
With all the superhero movies these days, we are seeing a lot of origin stories. And I gotta say: I love that. I love origin stories, not just because they’re a fun glimpse into the beginning stages of a familiar character, but mostly because they’re stories with psychological ramifications. They’re stories about becoming, about making choices. […]
