Category: character development

Posted in build confidence as a writer, character development, character torture, creative writing, experimental writing, good writing, great writing, how to write, novel writing, the art of writing, The Writer's Toolbox, the writing journey, the writing process

Writing About the Things We Fear

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” — Natalie Goldberg

Being a writer is a complicated thing. We love to write for the sake of writing, but we also don’t want to write because some days it is just so hard. But still we write, because not writing is not an option.

So what do we write about? People have different views on this. Some like light and happy stories. Some like dark and depressing stories. Some like gore and horror. Some like aliens and cool technology. Some like hot romance where the girl and guy always have their happy ever after. Some like the never ending thrill. And some like deep and moving characters no matter what the story is about.

But we all wonder… what really makes a good story? What draws the reader to each page to hungrily reach the end? What makes writing such an intense and rewarding process for the writer?

I think all these questions have one answer.

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Posted in character, character development, good writing, how to write, novel, novel management software, organization, point of view, scrivener, story structure, The Writer's Toolbox, the writing process, writing, writing advice

The Difficulty of Writing From Multiple POVs

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

This one is a doozy for me, especially since my novel has five different point of views (POVs) that I am telling the story from. There have been many, many times where I question my decision as to whether I really need to be inside five different heads. Can’t I just manage with my main character? Because it sure would be a lot easier and my novel would be done long by now. But I keep coming back to the answer of… yes.

My story is such that it’s bigger than the main character. It’s more than just about the people. It’s about the world they live in and the choices each person makes and how those choices affect the bigger picture. And because of that, the reader really needs to get a front row seat with each of these five major players.

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Posted in better writing, character development, good writing, great writing, how to write, Johnathan Maberry, learning about writing, learning to write, The Writer's Toolbox, workshop, writing, writing advice, writing fight scenes, writing workshop

Fight Scenes Part 5: Psychological Warfare

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Whew! We made it to number five! If you missed the other four parts of this fight scene series you can catch up Fight Scenes Part 1: An Introduction, Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Differences, Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat, and Fight Scenes Part 4: Weapons. Here is the last, but certainly not the least installment of the series. Check out how to get the upper hand with messing with people’s heads, or how a fight can mess with a your (main/other) characters head.

Something to remember... When you fail to do something in a fight, it can be a serious psychological blow.

The arrogance of power assumes they will always be successful and can’t be stopped. They also feel entitled to seize anything they can take.

Some psychological elements are…

  • Experience
  • Temperament
  • Desire/ intent
  • Mental state
  • Emotional state

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Fight Scenes Part 4: Weapons

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Missed the fist three parts? Check out Fight Scenes Part 1: An Introduction, Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Difference, and Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat. Now let’s talk a little about weapons. These notes focus mostly on unconventional weapons or what Jonathan Maberry called natural weapons.

Weapons

The more a character knows how to use natural weapons the better he’ll be.

Types of Weapons…

  • Core Body Techniques
  • Surrogate Weapons
  • Actual Weapons

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Posted in character development, good writing, great writing, how to write, Johnathan Maberry, learning to write, The Writer's Toolbox, the writing process, workshop, writing, writing advice, writing fight scenes, writing workshop

Fight Scenes Part 3: Hand to Hand Combat

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

So far we have looked at Fight Scenes Part 1: An introduction and Fight Scenes Part 2: Physical Differences now lets get into the really fun stuff… hand to hand combat. My notes are more geared toward getting out of a fight and how touch can be important in a fighting situation. So without further delay…

Ways to Get out of a Fight…

Rule #1: The more injury you make the least able the attacker is able to attack.

A hit to the nose can end a fight to a non-experienced fighter (which even a child can do).

Things a hit to the nose does to a person…

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