fiction – Page 22 – Jean's Writing

What makes for a unique story?

Published on August 15, 2016August 10, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell14 Comments

Some people would argue that there are lots and lots of things.

But today I learned it once again boils down to the characters.

Last week I talked about writing real-life characters who walk and talk like flesh and blood. But how just how do I breathe life into a character? By showing they react to a situation and what makes them special and unique. That is what turns an ordinary cliche of a story such as boy meets girl into an authentic book that only I can write.

cornelia funke quote

Stay with me.

We all know, or should by now; there is nothing new under the sun. Every story has a basic foundation such as boy meets girl, love triangle, murder mystery, space aliens, super humans save the planet, a journey or quest. Well, you get the idea.

If all stories, like a good cake, have the same basic ingredients, what will make mine unique different? After all, a plain layer cake is plain, right? But add flavors and toppings and your cake will stand out on a table of desserts. Put a surprise in the middle and it will delight those who taste.

strawberry-dream-cake-2428901_0 — Photo: Greg Dupree at Southern Living.com

What can I do to make my book stand out among all the other time travel, love stories, detective or YA heroes set out to save the world books?

Character reactions.

How they react to the situations in the story is what will make my story different. Throw in a surprise in the middle and the reader will keep reading.

Remember, readers gravitate toward the familiar. They respond to characters they recognize and enjoy developing relationships with the lovable granny or the washed up detective as cliche and trope as those characters may be. However, they may grow tired and bored if my characters look, walk, talk and react just like every other love sick gal pal in most

However, readers may grow tired and bored if my characters look, walk, talk and react just like every other love sick gal pal in most chick lit books on the shelf.

Now, I’ve gotta go and give my characters a few quirks. Later Y’all.

I write my blog to share as I learn. It helps the lessons stick. So where did I find all of these great nuggets? At Upgrade Your Story. I hope you’ll click on the video and enjoy.

Do you have any tips or tricks for making your characters unique?

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell,Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on, and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Everyone enjoys a little haunting every now and then.

Published on August 12, 2016August 3, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell2 Comments

And that’s what you get a story you won’t be able to turn loose long after reading the words “The End.” Jennifer McMahon leads us all down a rabbit hole of lies and deceit in this disturbing haunting, psychological thriller, and paranormal page-turner.

Many kids have big imaginations and imaginary friends to keep them entertained. Parents think it’s cute, and give little thought to any of their imaginings being real.

But if you lived near Reliance, a village that mysteriously disappeared one day, you might believe in the paranormal too. You might surround your bathtub with iron to keep away the things that live among the shadows.

Fifteen years after Lisa told everyone she was crossing over to the world of the fairies to meet the Fairy King and disappeared, her brother Sam wants to find the truth.

In Don’t Breathe a Word: A Novel by Jennifer McMahon introduces us to a family ravaged by loss.

Like me, you will not be able to put this book down until you find out what really happened to Liza.

You’ll keep the lights on long after you finish reading the last page.

Can you recommend a good FridayReads for us?

Do share your lasted book find!

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Do you want more oomph in your story?

Published on August 11, 2016August 11, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell3 Comments

Well, Roz Morris over at Nail Your Novel gives us 10!

I love tip #3!

And if you’re like me working on your characters you’ll understand why.

But, hmm, tip #8 definitely gives me food for thought.

Click on the link below and keep reading.

Now that you’ve read the entire post, tell me which tip is your favorite?

When I work with a writer on their first serious novel manuscript, there are certain aspects they usually get right on instinct alone. There’s the content – a believable story world, characte…

Source: 10 eye-opening tips to add impact to your storytelling

Writing Characters Who'll Keep Readers Captivated: Nail Your Novel by [Morris, Roz] — **click to read a sample**

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell,Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Do you know how to develop believable characters?

Published on August 10, 2016August 11, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

I confess, I don’t – not always.

Sometimes, just when I think I’ve written a real-life character who walks and talks like flesh and blood, boom I’ve created Frank.

You know, that pieced together, patch quilt looking monster that walks like he’s got a stick up his ass. Right, that Frank.

I’m in the beginning stages of a new YA novel, I hope. And fleshing out the characters is more of a challenge that I anticipated.

Back to the drawing board, I opened Scrivener and studied my character sheets. Paper dolls, that’s the word that popped in my mind. Row after row of paper dolls.
Reading my story, I went over the tips for writing believable characters.

Show don’t tell, check.
Place characters in a situation that reveal and move plot, check.
Reveal more and more about characters as the story goes along, check.

So what was I missing? The answer eluded me until I read a post by David McFarland where he mentioned adding too many characters. Ding, ding, ding. Alarms rang. I went back to the computer.

What happens if a story has too many characters?

The reader can become confused. (Who did what, went where and found?)
Readers find it difficult to bond with any one character in a cast of many.
Can’t hate a character if you’re unsure who to hate. (see above.)
Readers give up and never finish the book, or worse give us a bad review.

Whew! I’ve got to go back now and throw out some of those useless characters. Lots of rewriting to do.

Thanks, David! Y’all might want to hop over and read more in his blog at David McFarland’s Writing Tips.

Have you ever added too many characters to a story?

What about to few? Is that as bad?

For more tips on writing great characters, I’ve added links at the bottom.

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.