by Marg McAlister | Characters, Viewpoint
One thing that gives away an inexperienced writer is overuse of tags such as ‘she noticed’ or ‘he saw’. Example 1: “Taking a second look, SHE NOTICED that his face was growing redder.” Example 2: “TIM SAW that the car had...
by Marg McAlister | Characters, Viewpoint
A monologue is a long speech by one person. It can be dramatic, or it can bore the pants off listeners (or readers, if it’s a character holding forth). The content has to be pretty dramatic for a monologue to work well. Interior monologue is a fancy name for ‘thinking...
by Marg McAlister | Characters, Viewpoint, Writing Fiction
Sit back, and imagine what it feels like to be you. Now that shouldn’t be too hard – you’ve lived in your own skin for a long time. Do you feel happy or sad? Do you feel on edge or relaxed? Do you feel tired or energetic? Do you feel angry or calm?...
by Marg McAlister | Plotting, Characters, Viewpoint
Whenever you sit down to plot a story (or even to think about a story) one of the first things you have to ask yourself is this: “Whose story IS it?” It seems like a simple question – but your story can succeed or fail depending on how you handle...
