How To Write A Story
Your Protagonist is the main character of your story and it’s them who you follow on their story journey. A well written friend for your Protagonist can enhance both your character and the story itself. I’ll be exploring different examples of well written story friendships and how you can recreate that effect in your own writing.
Unresolved sexual tension means the chemistry between two characters that shows they are attracted to one another, but they don’t act on. They might choose not to act on it because of a friendship, loyalties to others, or because they work together.
Your characters will all have different qualities. You need to give your characters distinct personalities to ensure they are clean and interesting. If all your characters blur into one, they will be boring. You need to give some characters positive traits, and others need to be more negative. However, there are going to be certain qualities that are useful in both the Protagonist and Antagonist of your story. I’ll be exploring the use of perseverance as a character trait.
When you arc a character, you take them from one mental state to another, and you let your audience in on that journey. This could be from weak to strong, angry to happy, or enemies to lovers. It allows your characters to grow and change through your story which makes them more interesting and relatable. In this post, I’ll be looking specifically at how to write a redemption arc.
A vulnerability is a weakness or fear that impacts your personality and behaviour. Character vulnerabilities can be used in a number of ways. I’ll explore how to write them and different ways to use them in your story.
Urban fantasy is a genre where fantasy creations, such as witches and monsters, exist within our normal mundane world. Sometimes these magical creatures are known about, such as in The Nevers, and other times they’re kept hidden, such as in Harry Potter. When you’re writing urban fantasy, it’s likely that your fantasy characters will need a private space within their urban community. This often takes the form of magical schools or other training facilities. I’ll explore things you need to consider when creating that environment.
Your characters need to represent a real to life experience of being around people. Characters that read as artificial will stop your audience from connecting with them. If they can’t connect with them, they’ll care less about the story they’re on and be less willing to finish your book or film. A really good way of making sure your characters feel real to your readers is to give the personality quirks.
Planning your story well can make the writing process easier. You won’t wander off on side adventures or get muddled as you build to the climax because you’ve already decided where you’re going. A story plan can make sure you go in with characters already developed and ready to move, and plot twists ready to construct. However, even the most carefully built story plan can become more of a burden than an aid. I’ll be exploring reasons why you should be willing to follow your story as it develops, rather than stick rigidly to a pre prepared story plan.
Characterisation is one of the most important keys to hooking your audience. If your characters are flat or don’t feel real, your story will feel flat and unreal. I’ll be writing about how to use emotional bruises to shape characters in a way that keeps them feeling real and captivating for your audience.
If you’ve been exploring different kinds of writing advice, you’ll no doubt have come across the advice to write drunk and edit sober. It’s given regularly, and often in a pretty little meme with a curly font. But, in honesty, is it ever useful?