Gay Ingram's Blog - Posts Tagged "character"
Help Readers 'See' Your Story
Fiction is most effective when readers can see vividly what it is you're describing on the page.
Scenes need to hook the reader, make us eager to find out what happens next. A scene needs to be a unified action with its own beginning, middle and end, usually taking place in a single location, in a single period of time. A scene should be a mini-play with its own powerful climax and resolution.
Filmmakers can serve as helpful guides to writers striving to achieve 'visual language.Use visual elements to capture the electricity, tension, and suspense.Try to write your scene with out adjectives, using instead really strong verbs. Help your reader learn about your characters by way of descriptive traits.
Use the elements of plot, characterization, tone, point of view, voice, etc. to tell your stories in the most compelling way possible.
Scenes need to hook the reader, make us eager to find out what happens next. A scene needs to be a unified action with its own beginning, middle and end, usually taking place in a single location, in a single period of time. A scene should be a mini-play with its own powerful climax and resolution.
Filmmakers can serve as helpful guides to writers striving to achieve 'visual language.Use visual elements to capture the electricity, tension, and suspense.Try to write your scene with out adjectives, using instead really strong verbs. Help your reader learn about your characters by way of descriptive traits.
Use the elements of plot, characterization, tone, point of view, voice, etc. to tell your stories in the most compelling way possible.
Who's Going To Tell The Story Best
Somebody is giving words to your story. Sometimes deciding who will tell your story is as important as determining how it will be told.
So who is your point-of-view character? There are multiple ways to tell any story. Which set of eyes will provide the best choice for the reader to see your story evolve?
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What do you want the reader to know?
Who is in position to be present during critical scenes?
Who has the most investment in the story's outcome?
Who will be changed by the story's events?
And lastly, what tone do you want your story to have?
An important exception: if the point of your story is to portray a world that is fragmented, unraveling, absurd or complex, perhaps it will be necessary to jump from one point-of-view to another to convey this feeling.
As you begin to write your story, take time to weigh the various possibilities. Maybe the main character's Uncle Joe would be the best pair of eyes through which to view this story.
So who is your point-of-view character? There are multiple ways to tell any story. Which set of eyes will provide the best choice for the reader to see your story evolve?
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What do you want the reader to know?
Who is in position to be present during critical scenes?
Who has the most investment in the story's outcome?
Who will be changed by the story's events?
And lastly, what tone do you want your story to have?
An important exception: if the point of your story is to portray a world that is fragmented, unraveling, absurd or complex, perhaps it will be necessary to jump from one point-of-view to another to convey this feeling.
As you begin to write your story, take time to weigh the various possibilities. Maybe the main character's Uncle Joe would be the best pair of eyes through which to view this story.
