Creating Characters

They may be men, they may be women, they may be young, they may be old, they may be sloppy, they may be bold, but they are all yours. Yes, the characters you create in your books are yours. I thought of an idea and have it up in my FB Page “Prem Rao, Story Teller.” I put up a poll, “Who is your favourite character in ‘Lucky For Some, 13?'”

What’s good writing for you?

What I will start this post with could very well scandalize some of you. There are some so called masterpieces in literature which have left me stone cold. May be the choice of the book at that age was all wrong. Whatever be the reason, for example, when I was in my late teens, I really struggled through  Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” which is considered a historic epic. I don’t think I completed it either, even after several false starts. Call it bias or what you will, but I am not inclined to give it another shot more than 40 odd years later.

A Treasure Trove of Writing Tips

There really is no end to learning. If you seek what you want to learn, there are many places, thanks to the power of internet, where you can get enough and more. I have followed  many blogs and websites over the years, and continue to track them. I have gained considerably from reading different points of view on writing. I go in more for those which are practical and straight forward , rather than those which are highly technical. In today’s post, I put together some of these resources for writers:

The Way I Write

I have been full-time into writing for about two years now. I thought it made sense to capture how I go about writing. This could be use to me and not just for others who might be interested. These points are not in chronological order as I write them as they come to  mind:-

About Great Starts and Editors

My debut novel “It Can’t Be You” started with “The man was dead.” I then went on to develop the opening scene where a body is found. At that stage those who find the body do not know whether the man was killed or killed himself. Many who read the book have commented that it set the tone for what became an absorbing psychological thriller.

Proof Speaking & Other Tips

I remember the time I was editing my second thriller ” Lucky For Some, Thirteen” before it was sent off to the publishers. Each time I went through the manuscript, I would find either an error or a clear opportunity to make the sentence “sound” better. That’s when I decided to “proof speak” rather than proof read.

This blog post in Ballpoint.com tells you why it’s a smart thing to proof speak your work. I found it very useful. The biggest gain is a better understanding of how it would sound to the reader.

Most description should come through dialogue but there are times when you need to find the right words to express the feelings of your characters as seen by others. I came across this list from author Kimberly T. Matthews. Your choice of the right word makes a big difference in your description. Kimberly’ s list should prompt you, as it did me, to add-on to our vocabularies. If we don’t, we could end up using the same old words all the time, novel after novel.

The best way to improve your writing is to actively seek ways of improving it and put them into practice. I believe proof speaking and using the right word to depict expressions are useful tips to any writer.

Useful Checklist for Writers

KG4JVFNS7DZN I came across this useful checklist for writers by Maria Zainab. Many of the points seem obvious but we are guilty of ignoring them in our zeal to pound out more stuff for our readers. Thank you, Maria for this comprehensive list.  It will act as an effective reminder for me as I am sure it will for many others.

Writing Fiction Is Hard Work!

So you want to be a fiction writer? Congratulations but so do a million others. All of them don’t make the grade. It is easy to get carried away with the images of huge success. Everyone dreams of churning out best-sellers that feature on the New York Times, getting that incredible advance that make eyes pop out and wallowing in luxury as you write from your  exclusive writer’s den in some exotic place.

W for Writing

It was a toss-up between writing and a writer. One part of me wanted to write about P.G.Wodehouse, my favourite author. Another urged me to write about an old passion which is now a central part of my life, writing!

Writing Tips

I am quickly finding out that writing is a fascinating subject and an equally fascinating business! There is so much to learn. As a relatively new author, I have found Daily Writing Tips to be an excellent site.