Angela Ackerman's Blog: Writers Helping Writers, page 16

Character Thesaurus Entry: Uses a False Identity

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets���and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them���all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character. . .

Uses a False Identity

ABOUT THIS SECRET: A character who has made regrettable choices may need to distance themselves from their old life through a false identity. Perhaps they���re wanted by police, they tried to shake down a vengeful enemy, or they���ve adopted an alter ego to hide criminal behavior. This entry will focus on nefarious reasons for living under a false name.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Being Attacked, Being Judged, Being Returned to an Abusive Environment, Being Unsafe, Death, Government, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Persecution

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Being unable to have open, honest, and trusting relationships (lest someone finds out)
Needing to avoid certain places, people, and situations where they might be recognized
Never feeling truly safe or at ease (always looking over their shoulder)
Being restricted to activities that will not require a thorough document check
Having to choose a job for its anonymity rather than an interest or skill

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Changing their appearance
Being skilled at lying and deception
Aligning with the expectations of others
Moving from place to place, being nomadic
Moving far away from where they used to live

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Odd behaviors (a tendency to not touch things, pay only with cash, etc.)
Becoming morally flexible when certain opportunities come up
Being caught in a lie, especially over something that seems silly to lie about
A vice being discovered (such as gambling or drug use) that doesn���t fit who they claim to be
Pointing out things the average person wouldn���t know: See that guy? Stay away from him–he���s a pickpocket.

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Marrying into a family who have members in law enforcement
Witnessing a crime (or being the victim of one) and being questioned by police
Winning a prize unexpectedly, becoming the focus of local attention
Running into someone from their old life

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

The post Character Thesaurus Entry: Uses a False Identity appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

How to Identify Your Writing Business Relationship Type

Try this: Think about your writing or writing business as a partner.

Start by giving it a name. What would you call your writing (if you haven���t started selling yet) or writing business (if you are selling books)?

Mine is ���Dolores,��� because she���s demanding. (If your name is Dolores, my apologies!) During all my waking hours, she’s babbling on about what I need to do for my next book, my author platform, my website, and more. She’s a slave driver and never lets up enough to give me a break.

Once you have a name, it���s time to see what sort of partnership the two of you have.

Do that, and you can better understand what the problems are and what you might need to change so you feel more energized, motivated, and successful.

Let me give you some examples. I based them on well-known movies just for fun.

Five Writer/Writing Business Relationship Types1. Pride and Prejudice: Too Sweetly Perfect!

You are like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, perfectly suited for one another. You have your strengths and your writing business has its strengths, and together you are the perfect combination. You feel motivated, excited, and eager for tomorrow, and if problems arise, you have faith that you’ll solve them together.

Key Characteristics:

Strong partnership that regularly produces great products (books and related writing business items).Thriving relationship that gives both partners energy, motivating each to be at their best.Both sides give back���you to your writing business, and the writing business back to you (via positive feedback, reviews, income, and growth).

Couples Counseling: Keep doing what you���re doing and enjoy the ride! It may also be wise to establish some checkpoints to make sure you both continue to thrive.

2. Titanic: Sweet but Doomed Because One of You Is Dying for the Other

If you have a Titanic relationship, you know it, because one of you is dying. Maybe it���s the writer. Her books are doing well, but she is exhausted, burned out, and ready to quit. Or perhaps it’s the writing business. Subscribers are down, reviews aren���t good, money is near nonexistent, and it feels like a deep dark hole. The iceberg is looming, and the ship is headed right for it.

Key Characteristics:

The partnership is unbalanced���one of you is giving too much and the other is taking too much without giving back.One of you is exhausted and running on fumes while the other keeps demanding: give give give!A sense of doom surrounds you, and you wonder if you are cut out for this writing thing.

Couples Counseling: Step back and assess. Which of you is giving too much? Usually, it���s the writer. You���re slaving away to the point of exhaustion, but your business isn���t giving back. You���re not getting the rewards you hoped for, whether that be money, positive feedback, recognition, or an expanding readership.

If you���d like to earn more money, stop doing anything that is not earning money and regroup. Educate yourself on how to earn money as a writer, then restart your efforts incorporating that learning.

If you���d like to grow your readership, stop everything you���re doing that���s not working. Educate yourself on how to do that, then start again.

The point is to clearly identify the issue so you can direct more of your time and energy toward those things that will bring you the rewards you crave.

3. Alien: You Started Out Curious but Now You Want to Run and Hide

Things were great in the beginning. You were writing and building your business and feeling wonderful. But then you submitted your book and were rejected, or you published your book to poor sales or lackluster reviews. You thought this partnership was going to be great, but now you���re having a hard time looking (Dolores) in the eye.

Key Characteristics:

The partnership is on a tenuous footing. Things haven’t gone like you wanted them to and you’re thinking of getting out.You feel overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to figure out how to kill the monster that���s tearing everything up.You���ve read books and taken workshops, but self-doubt is consuming you. You���re not sure you���ll get out of this alive.

Couples Counseling: Take a deep breath and realize that every partnership goes through dark times. Failure is part of the deal. Try to relax, take a break, then try again. Few succeed their first time out���be compassionate with yourself, reconnect with ���why��� you���re writing, and believe in your talent and ability to improve.

4. Harry Potter: You Can Do Magic but There’s an Unknown Problem That Will Not Be Named

You love the writing, and people love your writing! Those who read your stories have nothing but wonderful things to say, and you know this is where you’re meant to be. Why then, aren’t your stories selling? Why can’t you grow your subscriber list? What demon is in the shadows obstructing your hero’s journey?

Key Characteristics:

Some parts of the partnership feel magical���they keep you motivated and excited.But something is still not working right and you���re not sure what.Because you���re lacking some true markers of success (lots of readers, high sales numbers), you question whether you���re just deluding yourself that writing can create a viable future for you.

Couples Counseling: If you���re doing everything you should be doing���updating your website, creating an attractive freebie for your subscribers, getting yourself out there on social media and podcast interviews���and you���re still not reaching the goals you���ve set for yourself, reach out to a mentor. A fresh set of eyes can often see more clearly what needs to change to root out this unnamed demon!

5. ET: Everything Was Exciting but Then the Alien Went Home and Now You���re Bored

You got that three-book deal, or your series of romance novels are selling well. The reader feedback is good, the money is coming in, and the two of you are on your way! But there���s one big problem: you���re bored. What you���re doing no longer excites you. Your creativity waddled onto the spaceship and left. Your writing business partner wants you to keep it up because, um, success! But you don���t know if you can muster the motivation.

Key Characteristics:

By all indications, the business is going well, but the writer is not excited about it anymore.The writer may feel guilt or remorse for her feelings���she should be happy for the success she���s experiencing.The writer is starting to see writing and everything related to it as a chore.

Couples Counseling: It���s time to go looking for another alien���or at least a way to make writing fun again. If you���re locked into a publishing contract, maybe you can work on something new on the side. If the business tasks are dragging you down, perhaps you could hire an assistant. No matter what, you have to find a way to infuse excitement back into this partnership or it���s likely to eventually dissolve.

What Story Describes Your Relationship?

I hope these examples gave you some ideas for how you might describe your writing business relationship. I���ve found that using your imagination to look at it creatively can often reveal new insights about how to do things better. The more fun you can have with it, the more ideas will come to mind.

Note: Colleen offers coaching on breaking through stuck spots and balancing writing with life. Get your FREE report: The Secret to Powerful Writing: Embracing Your Shadows.

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Meet Our Resident Writing Coaches

I love being the Writers Helping Writers Blog Wizard���and am honored to work closely with the Resident Writing Coaches. They���re all talented, generous authors who share their wisdom to help take your writing to the next level. I’ve learned so much from them, and have a feeling you have, too!

This is the 9th year of our popular Resident Writing Coach program where we feature writing experts through a series of four blog posts scattered throughout the year. We bring in a mix of expertise, so you benefit from different voices and perspectives from all over the world.

Each year we have some new coaches and some returning, so let me first say goodbye to the wonderful Sue Coletta and September C. Fawkes. We hope you’ll both join us again in the future and greatly appreciate all you have shared with us.

I���m excited to welcome back an amazing Resident Writing Coach. Please give a warm welcome to���

Christina Delay is an award-winning author of psychological suspense, as well as mythological-based fantasy written under the pen name Kris Faryn. A wanderer by heart, Christina���s latest adventure has led her and her family to the southwest of France. When not planning their next quest, Christina can be found writing in her garden, hosting writing retreats, sneaking in a nap, or convincing her patooties to call her Empress. If you love books about complex characters who never know when to quit, with a good bit of will-they or won���t-they tension, check out her books.

You can find Christina on Facebook, Instagram, her Website, and Amazon.

You can find Christina’s posts here.

I’m also excited to introduce a new Resident Writing Coach with post topics I can’t wait to share with all of you. Please welcome…

Jenny Hansen provides brand storytelling, LinkedIn coaching, and copywriting for accountants and financial services firms by day. By night, she writes humor, memoir, women���s fiction, and short stories. After 20+ years as a corporate trainer, she���s delighted to sit down while she works. 

As a co-founder of Writers In the Storm, Jenny has been sharing loads of love and how-to with writers since 2010. WITS, as it is affectionately known, has been named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer���s Digest off and on since 2014. They post each week on writing craft, inspiration, and the up-and-down rollercoaster of this writing life.

Jenny is hard at work revising a memoir on her recent journey with cancer. Some have characterized her writing style as ���get busy laughing, or get busy crying.���

You can find her online at Writers In the Storm, Facebook or Instagram.

In addition to our new coaches, we���re thrilled to have these returning masterminds���

Lucy V. Hay is a script editor, author and blogger who helps writers. She���s been the script editor and advisor on numerous UK features and shorts & has also been a script reader for 20 years, providing coverage for indie prodcos, investors, screen agencies, producers, directors and individual writers. She���s also an author, publishing as both LV Hay and Lizzie Fry.  Lizzie���s latest, a serial killer thriller titled The Good Mother is out now with Joffe Books, with her sixth thriller out in 2024. Lucy���s site at www.bang2write.com has appeared in Top 100 round-ups for Writer���s Digest & The Write Life, as well as a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot���s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK (ninth in the world.). She is also the author of the bestselling non-fiction book, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays: From TV Pilot To Feature Film (Creative Essentials), which she updated for the streaming age for its tenth anniversary in 2023. 

You can find Lucy���s posts here.

Marissa Graff has been a freelance editor and reader for literary agent Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary Agency for over five years. In conjunction with Angelella Editorial, she offers developmental editing, author coaching, and more. She specializes in middle-grade and young-adult fiction but also works with adult fiction.

Marissa feels if she���s done her job well, a client should probably never need her help again because she���s given them a crash-course MFA via deep editorial support and/or coaching. Connect with Marissa on her Website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

You can find Marissa���s posts here.

Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, writing coach, and speaker with over 20 years in the creative writing industry. Her newest novel, The Curse of King Midas, is forthcoming in 2024, and has already been recognized as a top-ten finalist for the Claymore Award. Her novel The Beached Ones came out in 2022 with CamCat Books, while Loreena���s Gift, was a Foreword Reviews��� INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, among others.

Colleen has written three books to help writers succeed. Your Writing Matters is the most recent, and was a bronze medal winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards (2022). Writer Get Noticed! was a gold-medal winner in the Reader���s Favorite Book Awards and a first-place winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards (2019). Overwhelmed Writer Rescue was named Book by Book Publicity���s Best Writing/Publishing Book in 2018. You can find free chapters of these books here.

Colleen offers personalized coaching plans tailored to meet your needs. If you���d like to work on-one-one with an experienced writing coach, check out her flexible and affordable options.

Colleen frequently serves as a workshop leader and motivational speaker, where she helps attendees remove mental and emotional blocks and tap into their unique creative powers. Find her at Writing and Wellness, Author Website, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Goodreads, BookBub and Instagram.

You can find Colleen���s posts here.

Jami Gold, after muttering writing advice in tongues, decided to become a writer and put her talent for making up stuff to good use, such as by winning the 2015 National Readers��� Choice Award in Paranormal Romance for her novel Ironclad Devotion.

To help others reach their creative potential as well, she���s developed a massive collection of resources for writers. Explore her site to find worksheets���including the popular Romance Beat Sheet with 80,000+ downloads���workshops, and over 1000 posts on her blog about the craft, business, and life of writing. Her site has been named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer���s Digest.

Find Jami at her website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, and Instagram.

You can find Jami���s posts here.

Lisa Poisso works with new and emerging querying and self-publishing writers. A classically trained dancer, her approach to writing is likewise grounded in structure, form, and technique as doorways to freedom of movement on the page. She���s an energetic proponent of one-on-one feedback to accelerate the learning curve of writing fiction. Her Accelerator coaching fast-tracks authors through structure and technique while nurturing the potential of their early drafts.

Lisa is a degreed journalist and a veteran of decades of award-winning work in magazine editing and journalism, content writing, and corporate communications. Her coaching and editorial studio is staffed by an industrious team of #45mphcouchpotato greyhounds. Visit her Linktree for help with your early steps as a writer, join the Clarity for Writers community at Substack, and download a free Manuscript Prep guide. Connect with Lisa at LisaPoisso.com and on Instagram, Facebook, and X/Twitter.

You can find Lisa���s posts here.

Suzy Vadori is the award-winning author of The Fountain Series and is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary Agency. She is a certified Book Coach with Author Accelerator and the founder of the Wicked Good Fiction Bootcamp. Suzy breaks down concepts in writing into practical steps, so that writers with big dreams can get the story exploding in their minds onto their pages in a way that readers will LOVE.

In addition to her online courses, Suzy offers 1:1 Developmental Editing and Book Coaching services, and gives practical tips for writers at all stages on her vlog.

Find Suzy on her website, YouTube, Facebook, Free Inspired Writing Facebook Group, Instagram, and Tiktok.

You can find Suzy���s posts here.

Michelle Barker is an award-winning author, editor, and writing teacher who lives in Vancouver, BC. Her newest book, coauthored with David Griffin Brown, is Immersion and Emotion: The Two Pillars of Storytelling.  Her novel My Long List of Impossible Things, came out in 2020 with Annick Press. She is the author of The House of One Thousand Eyes, which was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year and won numerous awards including the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. She���s also the author of the historical picture book, A Year of Borrowed Men, as well as the fantasy novel, The Beggar King, and a chapbook, Old Growth, Clear-Cut: Poems of Haida Gwaii. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have appeared in literary reviews around the world.

Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and has been a senior editor at The Darling Axe since its inception. She loves working closely with writers to hone their manuscripts and discuss the craft. You can find Michelle on Twitter and GoodReads.

You can find Michelle���s posts here.

Tips

If you want to browse past Resident Writing Coach posts, click here.

Love a post? Click on the name up top to see all the posts from that person.

Check out all the Resident Writing Coach bios! You���ll find:

Editing and coaching servicesFree support through online groupsHelpful resources

Don���t forget to follow them on social media for even more tips and updates!

Here���s to another year of amazing posts. Please give a warm welcome our Resident Writing Coaches.

Pssst���when you comment on their posts, they reply to you! So please share your thoughts and ask questions throughout the year. Angela, Becca and I love working with the coaches. They���re an incredible asset to the Writers Helping Writers blog.

If there���s a topic you���d like help with, please add it in the comments so hopefully one of our Resident Writing Coaches will post about it.

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Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: No Longer Loving a Partner

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets���and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them���all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Because everyone has secrets. What’s your character hiding?

No Longer Loving a Partner

ABOUT THIS SECRET: Breaking up is hard to do���especially when the lack of feeling in a long-term relationship is one-sided. Many would rather suffer in silence in a romantic relationship than hurt the other person, break up, or buck cultural pressures. And when peripheral people, like children, would also be affected…there are many reasons a character might choose to keep their ho-hum feelings under wraps.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Becoming What One Hates, Being Judged, Being Separated from Loved Ones, Change, Conflict, Humiliation, Isolation, Letting Others Down, Losing Financial Security, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Being dissatisfied in one of the most important relationships they could have
Being unable to pursue true love with someone else
Not enjoying sex or other forms of intimacy in the relationship
The character becoming insecure because they think something is wrong with them
Dishonesty with the partner making dishonesty with others more natural, generating conflict in other relationships

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Continuing to profess emotions they don���t feel
Being overly attentive to the partner
Refusing to even look at or talk to other people the character might be attracted to
Speaking about the partner in glowing, exemplary terms

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Losing track of the lies they���ve told and getting caught in deception
Making excuses to avoid physical intimacy
Working long hours
Staying busy with activities the partner isn���t involved in
Signs of emotional involvement with someone else

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Having to attend couples therapy
Having to plan for and celebrate an important marriage anniversary
Meeting someone the character wants to pursue a relationship with
Growing resentment and dissatisfaction
The partner becoming needy or clingy, needing extra affirmation and attention from the character

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the��One Stop for Writers��THESAURUS database.

Intrigued? Swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

The post Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: No Longer Loving a Partner appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

7 Tips for Finding Perfect Character Names

How much time do we spend thinking up character names?

Too much.

That name will represent the character we love, so the pressure���s on to get it right. And no one wants to get halfway through a manuscript and realize they have to make a change. Find and replace on that scale, with something that important? No thank you.

Resources abound on the common problems we see with character names (impossible pronunciations, contrived spellings, too many similar-sounding names), so I don���t need to cover that ground. Instead, I���d like to provide some tricks for finding a name that���s perfect for your character.

1. Don���t Reinvent the Wheel

Sometimes, a simple name is best. One that���s invisible to the reader and doesn���t call attention to itself. In this case, don���t go through mental gymnastics to come up with something new when there are thousands of names that already exist. Here are some resources for finding those.

Baby Name BooksEncyclopediasObituaries. Agatha Christie liked these.Your Own Family TreeMaps and Atlases. Paris, Jordan, Brooklyn, Asia���get inspired by names of other places.Graveyards. If it was good enough for Rowling���. This can be helpful if you���re writing a period piece and want to find a popular name, you want to avoid something that���s too common, or you���re looking for inspiration.Name generators. I like , which lets you search up fantasy and medieval names, as well as those based on certain languages.

These are helpful for brainstorming real names. But if you���d like a moniker with more gravitas that fits your character and story, keep the following tips in mind.

2. Know the Character���s Role

The more important a character is to the story, the more memorable or purposeful their name can be. The opposite is true for background characters, because a peripheral character with an interesting or attention-grabbing name could pull the reader���s attention where you don���t want it and make them think there���s more going on back there than there really is. For those characters, consider a more common name, just a first name, or no name at all.

3. Choose Something that Characterizes

Think about what a character���s name could reveal about them. The obvious tells point to a character���s race, religion, gender, or the time they live in. In some cultures, it could identify their profession.

Also, consider what the character does with their name. Do they shorten it or use it in its entirety in the most pretentious way (Charles Emerson Winchester the Third, anyone)? Do they use a nickname that says something about their preferences, ideals, or attitude? If the character came up with it themselves, it often will say something about them.

4. Explore the Root Meaning

One way to subtly characterize is to choose a name with deeper meaning.

Beorn, the shape-shifting warrior in The Hobbit, comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning warrior/chieftain and an Old Norse word for bear.Kreacher���sniveling house elf to the Regulus family in Harry Potter���comes from the German word kriecher: to creep, crawl, grovel, cringe, or fawn upon.Shrek is Yiddish for fright.And then there���s Percy Wetmore, The Green Mile���s bullying, cowardly antagonist who���s such a wuss he ends up peeing his pants in fear.

is a great tool that provides the etymology and history of many names. Even if readers don’t know the underlying meaning, a name with significance will often work because of the way it sounds or the connotations it evokes. And that brings us to the next tip:

5. Utilize Sound Devices

Did you know that explosive consonants have a jarring and unsettling effect to the hearer? These sounds (p, b, d, g, k, ch-, sh-) can work well for a villain���s name���Gordon Gekko, Krampus, Count Dracula, and the like. On the flip side, harmonious/soft consonants (l, m, n, r, th, wh, soft f, soft v) may be good for peaceful or nurturing characters, such as Luna Lovegood or Melanie Wilkes (Gone with the Wind). There are obvious exceptions, but the sound of a name is a good place to start when you���re trying to figure out the right handle for a character.

6. Evoke a Desired Response

To build on the last point, devise a memorable name by making the whole thing alliterative, musical, lilting, quirky, unnerving, or unsettling���whatever you���re going for. Inigo Montoya, Sam Spade, Boo Radley, Scheherazade, and Ponyboy Curtis are good examples. What do you want your character���s name to bring to the reader���s mind? Create an overall sound that fits.

7. Tie it to the Story���s Theme

What message do you want to convey, and how does the character relate to it? One of the themes of Watership Down circles leadership. Hazel must lead his band of reluctant rabbits to a new home, but he has no special skills; he���s not fast like Dandelion or strong like Bigwig. He���s just a regular guy. The rabbits in this story are all named after plants, so you���d expect the leader to have a grand, inspiring name, but Hazel, in lupine, simply means ���tree.��� His name reflects the story���s thematic message, that leadership doesn���t require flash and charisma; it often just means being willing to do what must be done.

There are so many tips for coming up with the perfect name for a character. But as always, the name needs to fit both them and the story. If readers are pulled out of the narrative because they���re enamored with (or confused by) them, we���ve led them astray. So have fun digging into those names, but remember that they���re just one part of the bigger picture.

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Five Pitfalls to Avoid When Developing Your Antagonist

By Savannah Cordova

It���s been said that every good story needs a villain. While that villain doesn���t have to be another character ��� it can be something more abstract, like a supernatural force or even fate itself ��� this ���person-to-person��� conflict is often what���s most compelling for readers.

But just because you���ve landed on this form of conflict for your story, doesn���t mean everything will naturally fall into place; far from it! An antagonist in this sense must be just as carefully developed as your protagonist, and it���s crucial to avoid the classic traps that people fall into when creating villains.

Here are five pitfalls to avoid when developing your antagonist, with illustrative examples to help you along the way.

1. Making Them Completely Unsympathetic

You���ve probably heard this one, but it bears repeating: if your villain has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, their journey ��� and their relationship to the protagonist ��� won���t be terribly exciting. Readers might be glad to see them get their just desserts, but they���re unlikely to get invested, and won���t remember much from your story beyond its generic ���good vs evil��� arc.

This doesn���t mean readers must have equal amounts of sympathy for your hero and your villain; it does, however, mean that the latter needs some grounding, realistic traits and goals. Think about their core motivations in your story. Why are they opposed to your protagonist in the first place, and how does that tie into their personality?

A low-stakes example: say you���ve established that your protagonist is a schoolteacher, and their nemesis is a grouchy school principal who thwarts the teacher���s ideas and initiatives at every turn��� but why? Maybe the principal has been burned by bureaucracy and is disillusioned with the system; maybe they���re trying to prevent the teacher from getting promoted and leaving the school; maybe they���re jealous of the teacher���s good ideas and work ethic, etc.

Remember, these motivations don���t have to be flattering, but they do have to have to be comprehensible. Even if the reader wouldn���t take the same actions as your antagonist, they should be able to grasp their reasons for doing so ��� basically, a good antagonist doesn���t require total reader empathy, but they do require some sympathy and understanding.

2. Failing to Consider Their Backstory

In conjunction with that first point, don���t just stop at your antagonist���s immediate motivations re: your protagonist! If you really want to develop a worthy opponent, you must consider their entire backstory: their childhood and formative experiences, their turn to the ���dark side��� (whatever that means in your story), and other aspects of their life beyond the page.

Indeed, unlike the sympathetic elements to include in your story, your antagonist���s backstory may not be fully revealed to readers. If you���re familiar with the ���iceberg theory��� of fiction, that���s the technique to employ here; the details you divulge should only be the tip of an ���iceberg��� of backstory. The rest remains beneath the surface, largely unseen, but adding meaningful subtext to the details you do mention ��� and ready to be deployed in future books if needed.

Think about one of the most famous villains of all time, Voldemort from Harry Potter. One reason why he���s so effective as a character is because we know just enough about him to see him as a legitimate threat��� but plenty about him also remains mysterious and frightening.

Over the course of the books, we learn more about Voldemort���s family trauma, orphaned childhood, and fundamental misconceptions about things like love, power, and immortality. Through this process, we see how his backstory has subtly informed his character all along. And when he and Harry have their final confrontation in Book 7, we���re invested in the outcome partly because we know both characters intimately now, not just Harry alone.

3. Barely Letting Them Interact with Your Protagonist

Speaking of final confrontations, another surprisingly common mistake with antagonists is to not ever let them encounter the protagonist until the very end ��� if they interact at all!

Some authors might think this creates a sense of mystery and narrative suspense. But while this tactic might work well for a short story, it starts to feel tedious and flat-out strange in a novel. A few times I���ve gotten well past the halfway point in a book and thought: ���Okay, but when are these two going to meet?���

One popular novel I read a few years ago (I won���t mention the title) was particularly guilty of this, with chapters that alternated POVs between the protagonist and the antagonist. The villain kept trying to meddle with the hero in roundabout ways, but the hero didn���t really understand what was going on, so it was frustrating to keep going back and forth. The two never metuntil a climactic battle at the end of the book��� at which point the story had already lost a lot of steam.

So don���t take this approach to your own villain���s arc. Instead, try doing the opposite ��� that is, intertwining your protagonist and antagonist���s paths as early as possible. Another novel from a few years ago (which I will name), Vicious by V.E. Schwab, does a brilliant job of this: the two main characters, Victor and Eli, are college roommates and friends before they turn enemies, and their established relationship and history makes their dynamic all the richer.

4. Having Them Do Stereotypical ���Villainous��� Things

This is another one that seems obvious to avoid, but comes up surprisingly often! It���s unfortunately true that even once you���ve rounded out your antagonist with backstory and strong motivations, you can still find them slipping into stereotypical actions. These include: delivering evil monologues at the protagonist, laughing the quintessential ���mua-ha-ha��� laugh, shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die, etc.

You may be more susceptible to this issue if you write fantasy, horror, or any sort of ���epic��� fiction in which the hero and villain have an archetypical relationship. But just because your genre can occasionally get trope-y, doesn���t mean you���re doomed! Really, the best way to combat this pitfall is just to stay aware of it. Try to remain meticulous as you write your villain���s scenes ��� and when the time comes to edit, do so with fresh eyes and a staunch intolerance for clich��s.

Alternatively, depending on what kind of fiction you���re writing, you could try subverting or lampshading certain stereotypes��� but you need to have a lot of confidence in your satire in order for this to land! As a result, I���d generally advise to simply steer clear.

5. Creating Multiple Antagonists Who Are Very Similar

Finally, this piece of advice is for those writing a series, particularly if you have the same protagonist from book to book (which, to be fair, not all series have).

Basically, if you remove or kill off a villain in one book, don���t bring back a nearly identical villain in the sequel ��� not just in terms of looks (though best to avoid that as well!), but in terms of key motivations and personality. It might feel natural to have similar antagonists ��� especially if your protagonist is defined by a worldview that their enemies always oppose ��� but remember that the majority of a villain���s character details should be unique to them.

This is what makes villains in media like the Batman comics so vivid and memorable: though Batman���s enemies are united in their criminality, they all have different motives for their crimes, different modi operandi, and certainly different personalities (just think about the Joker vs the Penguin, for example). If you happen to be writing a series of books or even stories, you should strive for the same degree of differentiation.

With that, I do wish you the best of luck in creating your own iconic antagonists. If you avoid these all-too-common pitfalls, you���ll be well on your way to character dynamic success!

Savannah Cordova is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors and publishers with the world���s best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. You can read more of her professional work on Litreactor and the Reedsy blog.

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Introducing���the Character Secret Thesaurus

Every character has secrets they don���t want other people to know. Some are benign (something they like that others don���t, what they really think about a co-worker, that box of Thin Mints they polished off last night). They���re interesting, but whether these secrets come to light or not, they won���t impact their life.

But all secrets aren���t created equal. Some are powerful enough to threaten what the character holds dear: their reputation, closest relationships, the ability to achieve their dreams, and even their values and identity. Whether the threat is real or only perceived, the character will go to great lengths to keep the secret hidden���sometimes causing more harm trying to bury it than if it was discovered. In many cases, the secret will need to come out, or the character will at least have to see it with clarity and deal with it on a personal level to find peace.

It’s these formative, emotionally charged, and potentially costly secrets that can wreak havoc in a character���s life, changing who they are and determining the course of their story. They should figure, on some level, into every story, which is why Angela and I decided to create The Character Secret Thesaurus.

Whatever your character is hiding, there are certain things you���ll need to know as the author so you can write it convincingly. Here���s a breakdown of what we���ll cover for each secret in this thesaurus.

A Variety of Brainstorming Options. There are sooo many secrets a character could have. We’ve narrowed the list for you and focused on the ones we think could be most helpful from a variety of categories, including family and relationship secrets, past criminal acts, health issues, hidden identity, dark secrets, and more.

Fears Driving the Secret. We hide things because we���re afraid���afraid of being punished, people thinking badly of us, losing control or autonomy, and a host of other things. But while the secret may generate problems for your character, it���s only a symptom of a deeper root cause. Figure out what they fear the most, and you���ll know what���s driving their behavior in the story.

How the Secret Limits Them. Every secret will require deception to keep others from discerning the truth���even when it���s being kept for a good reason. Characters will be dishonest with their words and their actions. They���ll lie to themselves to keep from seeing the whole picture about their secret or the harm it���s causing. These are the consequences of keeping the truth hidden, and when readers see them unfolding, they���ll empathize with the character, wanting better for them. If the character will have to eventually disclose their secret to achieve fulfillment, recognizing these limitations will also help them get there.

Behaviors That Will Help Hide the Secret. How will you character keep the truth under wraps? What behaviors will they practice? What habits will they develop? How will they alter their own way of thinking so it���s easier to keep their secret? Some of this will be deliberate, and some of it will occur on the subconscious level. All of it is necessary for you to know so you can show (not tell) the character���s drive to protect the secret and why it���s so important to them.

Tendencies That Will Raise Suspicions. The longer a secret goes on, the more deception a character must engage in, and the harder it will be to uphold the facade. Despite their best efforts, glimpses of the truth will be revealed through things they say, looks they give, and activities or people they shy away from. These moments can establish the progression toward an inevitable reveal. At the very least, they���ll up the stakes and generate conflict that will make the character���s job more difficult.

Situations That Will Make the Secret Harder to Keep. If the story requires the secret to be revealed, you���ll need to create opportunities for that to happen. These scenarios can also help the character realize, bit by bit, that a secret isn���t worth keeping and needs to be let go.

Results of the Secret Going Public. If the character desperately needs to keep something private, what happens if they fail? High stakes are important for readers because they reveal why the character is working so hard to hide the truth. But the revelation of a secret can have positive results, too, becoming a blessing in disguise. We���ll explore the good and the bad so you���ll know all the options for the secret your character is keeping.

Bottom line: secrets are universal. A character who has an important, high-stakes secret will become more authentic to readers, building empathy and relatability. Their attempts to hide the truth will play into both character arc and story development, making this an important storytelling element. Our hope for this thesaurus is that it will provide insight and guidance for incorporating secrets into your story on many levels.

Look for the first entry next Saturday, the 28th!

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Phenomenal First Pages Contest

Hey, wonderful
writerly people!

It���s time for Phenomenal First Pages, our monthly critique contest. So, if you need a bit of help with your first page, today’s the day to enter for a chance to win professional feedback!

Entering is easy. All you need to do is leave your contact information on this entry form (or click the graphic below). If you are a winner, we’ll notify you and explain how to send us your first page.

Contest DetailsThis is a 24-hour contest, so enter ASAP.Make sure your contact information on the entry form is correct. Three winners will be drawn. We will email you if you win and let you know how to submit your first page. Please have your first page ready in case your name is selected. Format it with 1-inch margins, double-spaced, and 12pt Times New Roman font. All genres are welcome except erotica.Sign Up for Notifications!

If you���d like to be notified about our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest, subscribe to blog notifications in this sidebar. 

Good luck, everyone. We can’t wait to see who wins!

PS: To amp up your first page, grab our  First Pages checklist from One Stop for Writers. For more help with story opening elements, visit this Mother Lode of First Page Resources.

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Should Your Novel Have a Prologue?

All About Prologues

Every word counts in a story and first impressions matter. Traditionally, a prologue is an introductory chapter that sets the scene, tone and genre of your novel. But should you write one? The million-dollar question! Believe it or not, using a prologue can be quite controversial in the social media age.

So, let’s put prologues under the microscope, so you can make an informed choice on whether YOU should use one … let’s go!

What Is A Prologue?

Put simply, a prologue is an introductory chapter that lays the groundwork of what’s to come. Their purpose is to hook the reader and make them want to turn the pages. Prologues are usually shorter than the average chapter, but they don’t have to be. Prologues can be controversial because both writers and readers can have strong feelings about whether they are necessary … or not.

You may have seen online discussions in which authors say they believe prologues provide important context and intrigue. Others might reject prologues, saying they can be too cryptic. You may even have heard that readers claim to skip prologues altogether.

So, with all this in mind, let’s explore the pros and cons of writing a prologue. Ready? Let’s go!

Prologue PROs

i) Can be important for set up

Prologues can be powerful tools in setting the stage for your story. Early foreshadowing prepares readers for what lies ahead without revealing too much. Ultimately, it’s about creating a sense of anticipation.

ii) Can be important for backstory

In setting the stage for your story, a prologue can allow authors to provide readers with crucial backstory. This may be character or storyworld-related … or both.

iii) Creating Suspense or Intrigue

A good prologue can help hook readers from the very first line. By introducing an unresolved conflict or a puzzling scenario, you create suspense right away. This means good prologues can raise questions without offering immediate solutions.

Prologue CONs

iv) Can be confusing

Prologues can sometimes overwhelm readers with excessive information. This is known as ‘info dumping’ and should be avoided at all costs. This is because too much upfront about the characters or storyworld can feel frustrating for the reader.

v) Can disrupt the flow of the story

Narrative flow in a story is very important … and starts with the prologue! If the beginning is too slow or overly complex, readers might become impatient to get to the main plot. They may even skip the beginning altogether. This is because a prologue can sometimes feel like a detour.

vi) Giving away too much too soon

Prologues must not give away too much, too soon. Readers may feel they already know what will happen, diminishing their motivation to keep turning pages. Striking a balance between intrigue and clarity is essential.

So, Should You Write A Prologue?

When contemplating whether to write a prologue, consider …

The Genre and Style of Your Novel.��Some genres and styles like historical fiction or fantasy are enriched by prologues. Action thrillers often don’t need one. Weigh it up.Relevance and Impact.��Too much detail can sidetrack – rather than support – your story. Make sure your prologue ADDS to the reading experience, rather than detract from it.Your Personal Writing Style and Preferences.��Be honest with yourself about prologues: do you really need one? Think about what resonates with you and your target reader. Trust your instincts.Last Points

Ultimately, you need to decide what will serve your story best … you’re the writer, after all! Weighing up the pros and cons will help you make an informed choice on whether your novel needs a prologue or not.

Good Luck!

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The Ultimate Guide for Giving and Receiving Feedback

Years ago I joined the award-winning site, The Critique Circle, where I learned to hone my writing skills and develop the thick skin needed to take criticism and rejection. In addition to writing well beyond a thousand critiques, I became a moderator for the site, and with members in the thousands, I mediated situations that cropped up between writers who either struggled to give an appropriate critique, or to accept one.

This experience taught me the value of peer feedback. Learning how to give and take a critique is one of the best ways to develop your writing skills. Critiquing isn’t a walk in the park, however. It���s very easy to let one���s emotions get in the way and damage relationships. For this to work, a person must respect the other���s role, value the time and energy writing and critiquing takes, and follow through without letting emotions overrun good judgment or manners. Here are ���best practices��� writers should observe in each stage of the Critique Process.

When Asking for a Critique

If you are lucky enough to find someone willing to give feedback, it is your job to make your work presentable. Here���s how:

Be honest about the stage the work is in. If this is a first draft, say so. Readers need to understand what they are looking at to offer you the best advice on how to proceed.Respect their time. Don���t be unreasonable regarding turnaround time. If you are on a deadline, make sure that is understood before you send your work. If you like, ask for the critter���s best guess for having it back to you. Contact them (politely) to ask how it is going only after this time has passed.Always send clean copy. First draft or last, make sure you have fixed typos and punctuation, and hopefully taken a stab at grammar as well. If your work is full of mistakes and your manuscript reads poorly, it becomes distracting and takes away from the critter���s ability to offer insight and advice on the story itself.Ask questions or voice concerns only at the END of the writing sample. This allows you to hone in on areas you���re worried about, but by placing questions at the end, you ensure the person reads the submission ���clean��� and without bias. Otherwise they will be looking for specific things as they read, and may miss the forest for the trees.When Giving a Critique

It is the critique partner���s job to pay the submission the attention it deserves. Some important points to remember:

Focus on the writing, not the writer. No matter what shape a story is in or how green the writer may be, a critter���s job is to offer feedback on the writing itself, not a writer���s developing skills (unless you are praising them, of course).Offer honesty, but be diplomatic. Fluffy Bunny praise doesn’t help, so don���t get sucked into the ���but I don���t want to hurt their feelings��� mindset. Your honest opinion is what the writer needs to improve the story, so if you notice something, say so. However, there is a difference between saying ���This heroine is coming across a bit clich��,��� and saying, ���This character sucks, I hate her���what a total clich��.���Be constructive, not destructive. When offering feedback, voice your feelings in a constructive way. To continue with the clich�� character example, explain what is making her come across clich��, and offer ideas on how to fix this by suggesting the author get to know them on a deeper level and think about how different traits, skills and flaws will help make her unique. Give examples if that will help. Bashing the author���s character helps no one.Be respectful. Regardless of where the writer may be on the path to publication, they have chosen to share their work with you, and this will make them feel vulnerable. Honor this by treating them and their work in a respectful way.Praise the good along with pointing out the bad. Sometimes we get so caught up in pointing out what needs fixing we forget to highlight what we enjoyed. If there���s something amazing about the work, say so. Even if the story is not your favorite, try to point out something positive, even if it is a simple description or dialogue snippet. The positives are what help writers keep going even when there is still a lot of work to do.Offer encouragement. Part of our job when critiquing is to offer encouragement. We want to build people up so they work harder to succeed, not tear them down and erode their confidence. End any critique with some words of support and friendly encouragement so it reminds them that writing is a process and we���re all in this together.Return the critique in a timely manner. If it has not been agreed upon before you receive a submission, give the writer a ballpark timeline to have the critique returned to them and then stick to it. If you need an extension, don���t wait for them to ask where the critique is���be proactive and explain your circumstances.When Receiving a Critique

A critique waiting in our inbox brings about both excitement and dread. This is the final phase, with important steps to follow.

Before opening the critique, let the critter know you received it, and that you are looking forward to reading it as soon as you have a chance. This lets them know that it didn’t get lost in cyberspace, and that you have not yet read it, which gives you some time to process the critique without them wondering why you haven���t said anything about it to them.Before you read the critique, remind yourself that the reason you asked for feedback was to make the story stronger. Set the expectation that you will have work to do, and ultimately the story benefits. Steel your emotions for what is ahead.Read through the critique once. Try your best to not let anger, disappointment or even excitement cloud your read. Then, set it aside and turn your attention to something else. Use this time to go through any hurt feelings this critique caused, and deal with any emotional responses (self-doubt, frustration, even elation). Good or bad, you need to clear emotion from the picture to be able to best utilize this feedback, even if your gut instinct is to disagree with it.When you are ready, go through the critique again, this time, free of emotion. Look at each suggestion objectively and make notes to yourself. If there are suggestions that make you angry or defensive, pay special attention. Often when a comment hits close to home it indicates that something requires more thought. Challenge yourself to see the situation or scene as they did. Do you understand how they arrived at a specific conclusion? Is information missing that would help them view the situation/scene as you intended? This may lead you to realize something needs strengthening. Or, through the act of poking and prodding, you reaffirm your belief that it works as is, and you can dismiss this suggestion. (However, pay special attention when multiple partners highlight the same issue���even if you believe it is good enough, chances are strengthening is needed.)**Respect the Critique Partner���s time and effort. This person likely just spent several hours working on your submission, and regardless if you agree with the feedback or not, you should send a follow up email thanking them for the critique, highlighting how it gave you better insight into you story and characters. If you have questions about the feedback, ask! This is your opportunity for more helpful discussion and ideas on how to make your book better. Do not get angry. Let me repeat that: do NOT get angry. Take the high road, even if you found nothing helpful. Show appreciation for their time, and in the future, find another partner.

**This last point is very important to nurture a critique relationship.

This person chose to help you, taking time away from their own writing. As someone who often spends hours on a critique, there is nothing more frustrating to me than when a writer does not acknowledge my work. I���m not looking for flowery pats on the head, simply to know the feedback was helpful in some form. Anyone who has given their time is worthy of your appreciation, regardless of whether you agree with their suggestions or not.  Be gracious when feedback rolls in.

Consider Offering Feedback in Return

Critiquing is about give and take, so if someone has kindly given time to help you, offering to look at something in return is the right thing to do.

Do you have any tips to add? Have you found critiquing helpful, or do you avoid it like the dentist’s chair?

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