characters writing tips

Only You Can Tell Your Stories — Writing from Your Experiences

I was recently asked — what do you bring to your story that no one else can? It got me thinking. Where do my ideas for characters come from? They come from my experiences. One new character in this sequel to The Invisibles is based on my unusual family of origin. When we were in our teens, my brother and I were joined in our family home by two troubled teenagers. They were high school…

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Ann Patchett’s Heart-Stopping Memoir of Friendship

Ever since I read Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto and her luminous memoir about a friendship, Truth & Beauty, Patchett has been one of my heroes. She has a way of reaching into your heart and wrenching the “truth and beauty” from deep within you. Whether the story is tragic or not, I feel uplifted by the depth and vividness of her characters and the compassion she brings to their stories.

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Two Types of Characters in Stories

Can there only be two types of characters in fiction? I’ve read many articles about types of stories, claiming that there are a limited number of stories in existence. I don’t believe it. Not for a second. There are as many stories as there are human beings — and humanity is changing all the time. But when you’re creating a character, a fictional construct perhaps based on a real person, you have to make a…

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What Makes a Great First Page in a Novel?

Someone in one of my writing groups asked what makes a great first page. It’s an excellent question, and no two answers will be alike, despite what the bestseller lists and books on writing “the breakout novel” tell us. Character always draws me into a book. I don’t read many thrillers or fast-paced stories. Someone reported the advice that a first line of a novel should make you nervous. I think that works well for…

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