by Marg McAlister | Characters
Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important ‘ingredients’ in your novel. That might sound like a fairly sweeping statement, but think about it. You can have a wonderful plot with twists and turns and a humdinger of a surprise...
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
How do you describe a scene without slowing down the pace of your novel? What do you include? What do you leave out? Here’s a neat trick: use your own experiences as a guide. When we encounter a new setting or new experience, all our senses are on the alert....
by Marg McAlister | Characters, Writing Fiction
Long ago, movie directors mastered the technique of creating a convincing fight scene. Bodies crash to the floor.. chairs are upended… viewers are treated to closeups of terrified or furious faces… and the punches thrown are enough to make us wince and...
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...
