This month’s authors’ Round Robin is all about character, and the inspiration for the topic comes from author Connie Vines. Jane Eyre, James Bond, Harry Potter, Fagin, Bridget Jones and Anne of Green Gables – human beings are always interested in the story of other human beings, and we remember the characters in a story…… Continue reading Making Readers Care: 9 Tips on Crafting Compelling Characters
It’s time for another of our authors’ Round Robins, and this month the topic is… How do you develop a character who is different in personality from all the other characters you have developed, or from yourself? If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ll know I’m a big fan of Georgette Heyer and…… Continue reading How do you develop realistic characters who are different from yourself?
It’s time for this month’s authors’ Round Robin, and author Robin Courtright has set us another excellent topic… How do you self-edit your books before submitting or publishing? When I wrote my first novel I knew very little about the editing process. In my naivety, I thought editing involved checking for spelling mistakes and picking…… Continue reading 7 tips for self-editing your book
A belated happy New Year – and apologies for the gap in blog posts for a whole month. First there was Christmas, then a virus and then moving house. I’m really glad to be back on track, and ready for the first authors’ Round Robin of the year! And this month the topic is ……… Continue reading Developing secondary characters, and some classic secondary characters from film and literature
Some books contain unforgettable characters. Those that spring to mind for me straightaway are Cormoran Strike in the Robert Galbraith novels, Lila and Lenu in My Brilliant Friend, Anne of Green Gables, Miss Jean Brodie, Scarlett O’Hara, D’Artagnan and the three Musketeers. The characters in these books are almost like real people to me. I have…… Continue reading How to Develop Characters That Live and Breathe #writing
As a writer I’d just love to start my book with a first chapter called something like: “Backstory – read it here”. That would be a brilliant cop out. I could just list all my characters and their lives, something like this: Sarah, the heroine, is a circus clown. Her dad left her when she…… Continue reading Writing tips: How to add backstory without the dreaded info dump
Helena Fairfax 