Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
More Annotations
EQUIPEMENT CAMPING CAR, matériel pour caravane-mon-camping-car.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Blooloop - Museum, Aquarium, Theme Park, Water Park and Zoo professionals
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
ایران اسکین,قالب وبلاگ,ابزارهای وبلاگ نویسی
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
BikesWiki - энциклопедия японских мотоциклов
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Ministerio de Cultura - Cultura | Gobierno del Perú
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of justdropithere.tumblr.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Laundry & Dry cleaning | Home cleaning | Car wash | Pest Control | Sofa cleaning | Near me
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
TransferXL - Send large files free | fast file transfer | secure file upload
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
သံစဥ္လိႈင္း (Music Plus)
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
The Lenders Network | Compare Loan Offers and Rates in Minutes
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Favourite Annotations
A complete backup of housesforsaletorent.co.uk
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of consumingtech.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of icgiyimruzgari.com.tr
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of stackoverflow.blog
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of itseasytobehappy.tumblr.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of nimrodpacksystems.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of smoothstart.com.au
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Text
Characters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY 9. Grey is okay. A lot of Christian fantasy has a clear good and a clear evil. That's fine. But remember: That's not always true or helpful. There are grey areas all over the place, so go for the big, scary questions and plunge into them. Show the struggling believer. The antagonist with a conscience. HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: 9 TIPS FOR WRITING PHYSICALLY DISABLED 9 Tips for Writing Physically Disabled Characters in Fantasy. 1. More Batman comic books. BecauseBatman. 2. More fantasy books with physically disabled characters. Becauseso many reasons. Let's talk about a few of them. Fantasy is an amazing genre meant to inspire a sense of wonder and courage and hope. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY 9. Grey is okay. A lot of Christian fantasy has a clear good and a clear evil. That's fine. But remember: That's not always true or helpful. There are grey areas all over the place, so go for the big, scary questions and plunge into them. Show the struggling believer. The antagonist with a conscience. HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: 9 TIPS FOR WRITING PHYSICALLY DISABLED 9 Tips for Writing Physically Disabled Characters in Fantasy. 1. More Batman comic books. BecauseBatman. 2. More fantasy books with physically disabled characters. Becauseso many reasons. Let's talk about a few of them. Fantasy is an amazing genre meant to inspire a sense of wonder and courage and hope. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH
They originally assumed this warrior was male, given that the Coosa culture tended to have predominatly male warriors. However, it turns out that this person was actually what is known as a War Woman, a title given to female warriors. But it gets better. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE A while ago, I wrote a post about strong female characters and how most writers somehow manage to mess them up. I’m pretty sure it was my most popular post, despite the fact that there happen to be about 3 million other articles out there talking about how female charactersare so misused in
HANNAH HEATH: 8 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Make your reader see, hear, and feel what your character is seeing, hearing, and feeling. 6. Don't be afraid to use symbolism and figures of speech. Just don't overuse them. And don't you dare write "Her hair was of silk" because everybody does that and it wasn't even very good in the first place. But, honestly, figurative writing is one of the HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY Because this is a made up world, magic doesn't have to be the witch-craft condemned in the Bible.It can be a tool just like a sword: Used for good or evil depending on whether a good or evil person is wielding it. Or it can have dark and light magic where the dark comes from the devil and the light comes from God (though you'll want to be careful with this, since it can easily fall into the HANNAH HEATH: HOW TO COME UP WITH A STORY IDEA PSA: Today is the last day to grab your free ebook copy of Colors of Fear!Do it now. This blog post is going to be a little bit different. I was going to simply tell you how to come up with a story idea, but we all know the saying. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: 8 DIFFERENT KINDS OF STRENGTHS TO GIVE YOUR This is a really interesting kind of strength and makes for a very complex character. Examples would be: Trip (Glory), Rocket Raccoon, Eowyn, Thorin, Celia Foote. 5. Fighter strength. This is very different from warrior strength. HANNAH HEATH: 8 STEREOTYPES IN YA DYSTOPIAN NOVELS A few of the below are some that several of us agreed on and the top three are ones that I consider most problematic: 1. Almost all humans are bad. Modern YA dystopian books show the world as a dismal place where humanity is dying and some government-like HANNAH HEATHABOUTMY LIFE AS A LYMIEWRITER'S LIFECHARACTER DEVELOPMENTWRITING STORIES WITH MEANING They originally assumed this warrior was male, given that the Coosa culture tended to have predominatly male warriors. However, it turns out that this person was actually what is known as a War Woman, a title given to female warriors. But it gets better. HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: NONLINEAR CHARACTER ARCS: WHAT THEY ARE, WHY It's why we have so many common archetypes: The Reluctant King (Aragorn), The Chosen One (Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter), The Rebel (Katniss Everdeen, Jyn Erso), The Comic Relief (Pippin). But the truth is that people's personalities and choices in real life are not that clear-cut. People are full of inconsistencies, inspiring bravery, andheart
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: 12 UNUSUAL, FRIGHTENING MYTHICAL MONSTERS TO 5. Ijiraq. Image Source: Deimos-Remus. A half-man half-caribou monster from Inuit mythology. They are fast, strong, cause ground tremors, and kidnap people. Ijiraq are also very elusive: You only ever see them out of the corner of your eye and they are capable of shapeshifting. This is a personal favorite of mine. 6. HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 9 EPIC, UNDERUSED MYTHICAL ANIMALS FOR YOUR 3. Crocotta. A fierce hyena-like creature, the crocotta has the body of a stag, cloven hooves, and the head of a hyena or badger. It is the enemy of man and dog, has sharp teeth, and makes noises that mimic the sound of human laughter. Basically a large, HANNAH HEATH: 10 LITTLE-KNOWN WEAPONS TO USE IN YOUR 5. Urumi. AKA: The weapon that I would end up accidentally killing myself with if I ever tried to use it. The Urumi is a sword with a flexible blade akin to a whip. Wielding it requires skill with both a sword and a whip, as this weapons is pretty much a horrifying combination of the two: HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATHABOUTMY LIFE AS A LYMIEWRITER'S LIFECHARACTER DEVELOPMENTWRITING STORIES WITH MEANING They originally assumed this warrior was male, given that the Coosa culture tended to have predominatly male warriors. However, it turns out that this person was actually what is known as a War Woman, a title given to female warriors. But it gets better. HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: NONLINEAR CHARACTER ARCS: WHAT THEY ARE, WHY It's why we have so many common archetypes: The Reluctant King (Aragorn), The Chosen One (Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter), The Rebel (Katniss Everdeen, Jyn Erso), The Comic Relief (Pippin). But the truth is that people's personalities and choices in real life are not that clear-cut. People are full of inconsistencies, inspiring bravery, andheart
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: 12 UNUSUAL, FRIGHTENING MYTHICAL MONSTERS TO 5. Ijiraq. Image Source: Deimos-Remus. A half-man half-caribou monster from Inuit mythology. They are fast, strong, cause ground tremors, and kidnap people. Ijiraq are also very elusive: You only ever see them out of the corner of your eye and they are capable of shapeshifting. This is a personal favorite of mine. 6. HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 9 EPIC, UNDERUSED MYTHICAL ANIMALS FOR YOUR 3. Crocotta. A fierce hyena-like creature, the crocotta has the body of a stag, cloven hooves, and the head of a hyena or badger. It is the enemy of man and dog, has sharp teeth, and makes noises that mimic the sound of human laughter. Basically a large, HANNAH HEATH: 10 LITTLE-KNOWN WEAPONS TO USE IN YOUR 5. Urumi. AKA: The weapon that I would end up accidentally killing myself with if I ever tried to use it. The Urumi is a sword with a flexible blade akin to a whip. Wielding it requires skill with both a sword and a whip, as this weapons is pretty much a horrifying combination of the two: HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters.HANNAH HEATH
They originally assumed this warrior was male, given that the Coosa culture tended to have predominatly male warriors. However, it turns out that this person was actually what is known as a War Woman, a title given to female warriors. But it gets better. HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: 8 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Make your reader see, hear, and feel what your character is seeing, hearing, and feeling. 6. Don't be afraid to use symbolism and figures of speech. Just don't overuse them. And don't you dare write "Her hair was of silk" because everybody does that and it wasn't even very good in the first place. But, honestly, figurative writing is one of the HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: SO YOU'RE AN OVERWRITER? HERE ARE 10 TIPS TO I found these tips very helpful, Hannah! Tip 9 is a comfort to the nostalgic of us! I think one of the things I struggle with as an overwriter is info-dumping in character dialogue, which is pretty hard to cut out and makes the characters sound long-winded and unrealistic. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING A COMPELLING HERO: 7 TIPS WITH EXAMPLES No, the reason can't just be, "Naw, he was born that way." That's a good way to create a flat character. Example: Spider-Man. He was raised by a loving Uncle and Aunt who worked hard to instill him with good morals. When his uncle died, he felt a responsibility to HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE A while ago, I wrote a post about strong female characters and how most writers somehow manage to mess them up. I’m pretty sure it was my most popular post, despite the fact that there happen to be about 3 million other articles out there talking about how female charactersare so misused in
HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
6 PROBLEMS WITH "EDGY" YA FICTION (AND HOW TO FIX THEM) What I am saying is that Edgy YA fiction tends to handle itself and its topics in all of the wrong ways. Let me point some of them out: Problem #1: Hard topics are romanticized, dramatized, and made entertaining. Life is full of very difficult things: Suicide. Eatingdisorders.
HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: WRITE STORIES WITH MEANING Write Stories with Meaning. Stories are very powerful things. They have the power to transport us to new worlds. They allow us to make friends with people we have never met, open our minds to ideas we would have otherwise never considered. And sometimes, if the writing is powerful enough or the words read often enough, books can changethe way
HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: WRITE STORIES WITH MEANING Write Stories with Meaning. Stories are very powerful things. They have the power to transport us to new worlds. They allow us to make friends with people we have never met, open our minds to ideas we would have otherwise never considered. And sometimes, if the writing is powerful enough or the words read often enough, books can changethe way
HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORY Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITE STORIES WITH MEANING Write Stories with Meaning. Stories are very powerful things. They have the power to transport us to new worlds. They allow us to make friends with people we have never met, open our minds to ideas we would have otherwise never considered. And sometimes, if the writing is powerful enough or the words read often enough, books can changethe way
HANNAH HEATH: SO YOU'RE AN OVERWRITER? HERE ARE 10 TIPS TO Trust your readers to use their own brains and to pick up on subtle details. 8. Edit ruthlessly (possibly on paper). Using the question from 1, go through and slash chunks from your story. Murder your darlings. If you print your document out and slash it with a red pen, it can feel very satisfying. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE A while ago, I wrote a post about strong female characters and how most writers somehow manage to mess them up. I’m pretty sure it was my most popular post, despite the fact that there happen to be about 3 million other articles out there talking about how female charactersare so misused in
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING A COMPELLING HERO: 7 TIPS WITH EXAMPLES No, the reason can't just be, "Naw, he was born that way." That's a good way to create a flat character. Example: Spider-Man. He was raised by a loving Uncle and Aunt who worked hard to instill him with good morals. When his uncle died, he felt a responsibility to HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY Because this is a made up world, magic doesn't have to be the witch-craft condemned in the Bible.It can be a tool just like a sword: Used for good or evil depending on whether a good or evil person is wielding it. Or it can have dark and light magic where the dark comes from the devil and the light comes from God (though you'll want to be careful with this, since it can easily fall into the HANNAH HEATH: 8 STEREOTYPES IN YA DYSTOPIAN NOVELS A few of the below are some that several of us agreed on and the top three are ones that I consider most problematic: 1. Almost all humans are bad. Modern YA dystopian books show the world as a dismal place where humanity is dying and some government-like HANNAH HEATH: 7 NEW AND IMPROVED VERSIONS OF THE CHOSEN Prepare yourself. Here are 7 lesser-known, improved versions of the Chosen One. 1. The mid-life crisis. He knew he was the chosen one. He found out when he was a teenager. However, he simply had no interest in being a Chosen One. It sounded HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORYDESCRIBE EMOTIONS WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGSHOWING EMOTIONS WRITING EXAMPLES Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RETEENAGE DCSUPERHEROES
Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Except, if done incorrectly, rather than knocking some sense into them, it can knock what little sense there was right out of their brain. Irony is a very delicate thing. Use responsibly. Tip #2: Everybody speaks irony, so don't be afraid to use liberally. It's HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long after they put it down. Do it badly and your entire novel falls apart. Here are some tips to make sure that the latter never happens: 7 ClicheCharacters in
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORYDESCRIBE EMOTIONS WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGSHOWING EMOTIONS WRITING EXAMPLES Don’t tell your readers about the feeling in the story, let them experience it for themselves. 6. Be concise. While you want to show your readers emotions, don’t show them too much. If a detail or emotion isn’t relevant to the scene or isn’t elemental in you moving your reader in a HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK Words have impact and meaning. Do not abuse that. 5. "And they all died" is not a necessary ending. Some stories can end this way if that is their natural course, but don't just do it in an attempt to devastate your readers or the one living character. Death and HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Here are 7 tips to keep in mind when shaping and describing your character’s appearance: 1. Physical appearance shouldn’t be left to chance. I’ve read a lot of books where authors take care to throw in hints about the character’s hair and eye color. They let us know that the person has a slight build, full lips, or dark skin. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RETEENAGE DCSUPERHEROES
Writing Teenage Characters: What You're Doing Wrong. Teenagers. They're a species of humans generally disliked by both adults and children. It's seen as some kind of horrible disease that pops up around 13 and supposedly miraculously disappears at the age of 18 or 20, depending on how one interprets the word teenager or the lawsconcerning minors.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU When writing from a depressed point of view, many writers have the tendency to wax poetic. Stop being so dramatic. Find the style that you are good at and use it. Don't feel the need to contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. 8. You didn't read up on other depressed characters. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE Here are 8 points you may be getting wrong when it comes to writing male characters: 1. The sarcastic jerk. Apparently, if you're a dudewho's had a
HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITE STORIES WITH MEANING Write Stories with Meaning. Stories are very powerful things. They have the power to transport us to new worlds. They allow us to make friends with people we have never met, open our minds to ideas we would have otherwise never considered. And sometimes, if the writing is powerful enough or the words read often enough, books can changethe way
HANNAH HEATH: ABOUT THIS BLOG Especially when they’re writers named Hannah Heath. Because words are so powerful, I spend most of my time learning how to better wield its magic. Here, on this blog, it is my goal to provide you with the tools necessary to not only become a good writer, but a thoughtful, confident person. Sometimes that means being brutally honest about HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: 8 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Make your reader see, hear, and feel what your character is seeing, hearing, and feeling. 6. Don't be afraid to use symbolism and figures of speech. Just don't overuse them. And don't you dare write "Her hair was of silk" because everybody does that and it wasn't even very good in the first place. But, honestly, figurative writing is one of the HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE You only show one side of disability. Sometimes writers approach their disabled character one of two ways: 1) This character's disability has given them superpowers and their life is super cool. 2) This character's disabilities has made their life a living hell HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY Because this is a made up world, magic doesn't have to be the witch-craft condemned in the Bible.It can be a tool just like a sword: Used for good or evil depending on whether a good or evil person is wielding it. Or it can have dark and light magic where the dark comes from the devil and the light comes from God (though you'll want to be careful with this, since it can easily fall into the HANNAH HEATH: ANTI-HEROES: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO WRITE THEM Other examples of varying levels of anti-heroes are: Sherlock (from the Sherlock TV series), Wolverine, Johanna Mason, Han Solo, Rooster Cogburn, Asajj Ventress (in her later years), Cassian Andor, The Punisher, and Iron Man (in his early years). Now, on to how to write a good one: 1. They need rules. HANNAH HEATH: 9 EPIC, UNDERUSED MYTHICAL ANIMALS FOR YOUR 3. Crocotta. A fierce hyena-like creature, the crocotta has the body of a stag, cloven hooves, and the head of a hyena or badger. It is the enemy of man and dog, has sharp teeth, and makes noises that mimic the sound of human laughter. Basically a large, HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING Give your character a goal. In fact, give them more than one. 7. Connect all of this to the plot. Their flaws, their backstory, their motives, their beliefs. It should all in some way connect to the plot. After all, your main character is your main character because they are important to the plot/story. HANNAH HEATH: 8 STEREOTYPES IN YA DYSTOPIAN NOVELS A few of the below are some that several of us agreed on and the top three are ones that I consider most problematic: 1. Almost all humans are bad. Modern YA dystopian books show the world as a dismal place where humanity is dying and some government-like HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Tip #4: Use all the punctuation and fonts! You can *never* overdose on all the awesome and ~totally helpful~ symbols, italics, and all-caps that your keyboard has to offer. When in doubt, ALWAYS convey your irony through the usage of these glorious keys. HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long afterthey put it down.
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORYDESCRIBE EMOTIONS WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGSHOWING EMOTIONS WRITING EXAMPLES Awesome tips! You write informatively with good examples. My favorite tip is #3: finding an anchor to describe emotion and to keep the writer focused--bring on Pinterest! HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE I mean talk to people with the disability you are writing. Read blogs and books by them. Note that I said blogs and books, plural.Disability is very complex and each person experiences it slightly differently, so you want to read widely so you can see what HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RETEENAGE DCSUPERHEROES
1. You are generalizing. This is the number one problem that spans across all genres and effectively ruins potentially awesome characters. Your character needs to be treated as an individual with unique personality traits and interests, not as part of the teenagebody.
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Character appearance should go far beyond just allowing your reader to have a idea of what your character looks like. The way your character looks and dresses can, in fact, deepen the character’s personality, make them more realistic, and work to accent their role in the story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE A while ago, I wrote a post about strong female characters and how most writers somehow manage to mess them up. I’m pretty sure it was my most popular post, despite the fact that there happen to be about 3 million other articles out there talking about how female charactersare so misused in
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU 3. You think depressed characters need to be part of a depressing storyline. When people ask you how your books with depressed character are going, you shouldn't answer: "Well, they're just fine. HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING I'll have to agree to disagree on "reason to believe" something so many cases in which I've seen a person inherit a belief if not their whole worldview from the one that brought them up - this doesn't only impact religion, although I can see from myself that the atheist engineer's daughter wasn't likely to become religious in the first place, and became a primary agnostic atheist (I believe HANNAH HEATH: 7 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR WRITING Tip #4: Use all the punctuation and fonts! You can *never* overdose on all the awesome and ~totally helpful~ symbols, italics, and all-caps that your keyboard has to offer. When in doubt, ALWAYS convey your irony through the usage of these glorious keys. HANNAH HEATH: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. Do it well and readers will remember your book long afterthey put it down.
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING EMOTION INTO YOUR STORYDESCRIBE EMOTIONS WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEMOTION WORDS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGEXAMPLES OF EMOTIONS IN WRITINGSHOWING EMOTIONS WRITING EXAMPLES Awesome tips! You write informatively with good examples. My favorite tip is #3: finding an anchor to describe emotion and to keep the writer focused--bring on Pinterest! HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE I mean talk to people with the disability you are writing. Read blogs and books by them. Note that I said blogs and books, plural.Disability is very complex and each person experiences it slightly differently, so you want to read widely so you can see what HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: WRITING TEENAGE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RETEENAGE DCSUPERHEROES
1. You are generalizing. This is the number one problem that spans across all genres and effectively ruins potentially awesome characters. Your character needs to be treated as an individual with unique personality traits and interests, not as part of the teenagebody.
HANNAH HEATH: 7 TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE Character appearance should go far beyond just allowing your reader to have a idea of what your character looks like. The way your character looks and dresses can, in fact, deepen the character’s personality, make them more realistic, and work to accent their role in the story. HANNAH HEATH: WRITING AWESOME MALE CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE A while ago, I wrote a post about strong female characters and how most writers somehow manage to mess them up. I’m pretty sure it was my most popular post, despite the fact that there happen to be about 3 million other articles out there talking about how female charactersare so misused in
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING CHARACTERS WITH DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU 3. You think depressed characters need to be part of a depressing storyline. When people ask you how your books with depressed character are going, you shouldn't answer: "Well, they're just fine. HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING I'll have to agree to disagree on "reason to believe" something so many cases in which I've seen a person inherit a belief if not their whole worldview from the one that brought them up - this doesn't only impact religion, although I can see from myself that the atheist engineer's daughter wasn't likely to become religious in the first place, and became a primary agnostic atheist (I believe HANNAH HEATH: ABOUT THIS BLOG I am also a Youtuber, a podcaster, and a Phoenix Fiction Writer. You can find me answering writing questions on #ChatWithHannah, interviewing fellow indie authors on #ChatWithIndieAuthor, and discussing the indie author life on the Phoenix Fiction Writers podcast. Yep. Basically: My life is built on words. Sometimes I writethem.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITE STORIES WITH MEANING Stories are very powerful things. They have the power to transport us to new worlds. They allow us to make friends with people we have never met, open our minds to ideas we would have otherwise never considered. HANNAH HEATH: ANTI-HEROES: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO WRITE THEM Don't go overboard. Anti-heroes are not misunderstood villains.Remember that there's still a hero in there somewhere. Give him/her admirable qualities. A classic quality of an anti-hero is that they have plunged themselves into filth in order to keep a friend orloved one clean.
HANNAH HEATH: WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS: WHAT YOU'RE I mean talk to people with the disability you are writing. Read blogs and books by them. Note that I said blogs and books, plural.Disability is very complex and each person experiences it slightly differently, so you want to read widely so you can see what HANNAH HEATH: 8 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Descriptive writing. It's important. It's how your readers can picture where events are taking place, it's the mode of writing that allows you to convey important pieces of information, and it's how you can show off your epic writing skills. HANNAH HEATH: DARKNESS IN FICTION: 7 TIPS FOR WRITING DARK In no particular order: A Monster Calls, Frankenstein, Dracula Untold, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Book Thief, The Patriot, 1984, Crime and Punishment, PandoraHearts, The Dark Knight, Maus I and II, Wool, The Pearl, Gladiator, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Dark Knight Returns, I Am Legend, Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, The Grey, The Children of Hurin, Lord of the Rings (both the books HANNAH HEATH: 9 EPIC, UNDERUSED MYTHICAL ANIMALS FOR YOUR The head, antlers, and forelegs of a stag, but the wings and hindquarters of a bird, this mythical animal is my personal favorite. Think of what an epic steed it would make: majestic and deadly. HANNAH HEATH: 10 TIPS FOR WRITING CHRISTIAN FANTASY Because this is a made up world, magic doesn't have to be the witch-craft condemned in the Bible.It can be a tool just like a sword: Used for good or evil depending on whether a good or evil person is wielding it. Or it can have dark and light magic where the dark comes from the devil and the light comes from God (though you'll want to be careful with this, since it can easily fall into the HANNAH HEATH: 8 STEREOTYPES IN YA DYSTOPIAN NOVELS And yet, most YA dystopian novels settle for the same old thing: crumbling villages for the poor and gleaming white cities for the rich, histories involving nuclear wars, randomly evil governments, and angry and cynical characters. HANNAH HEATH: 9 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHARACTER FROM BEING BORING I'll have to agree to disagree on "reason to believe" something so many cases in which I've seen a person inherit a belief if not their whole worldview from the one that brought them up - this doesn't only impact religion, although I can see from myself that the atheist engineer's daughter wasn't likely to become religious in the first place, and became a primary agnostic atheist (I believe* Home
* About
* Writing Tips* Writer's Life
* Character Development * Writing Stories with Meaning * Writing Development * Youtube and Podcasts* My Website
* Merch Store
* My Life as a Lymie FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2020 FACTOID FRIDAY #4: ABOUT THE COLORS... Ever noticed that colors pop up in my stories quite a bit? _Colors of Fear _, as the title indicates, is literally centered around colors. _Skies of Dripping Gold _ has a color named in the title. Every single one of my stories has a color (or colors) mentioned in a significant way. Why is that? Well... Yup. Colors play a large part in my life: I keep my hair bright blue (or red or green or whatever else I'm feeling like), I have a piece of art on every single wall in my room, and I almost always have a neon-colored pen in my purse or backpack. They make me smile and help me remember the good things in life. Because colors are such a big deal for me and my mental health, they started leaking over into my stories. It was unintentional at first, but I chose to lean into it after a few publications. So if a color is ever mentioned in any of my stories: Pay attention. It probably means something important.Related article:
Factoid Friday #3: My Weird Writer Quirk Factoid Friday #2: Jumping in Theme-First Factoid Friday #1: About Wanderer's Name _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! Or, in this case: Saturday. Thank you for bearing with me. _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 8:26 AM
2 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: colors
, colors
of fear
,
depression
,
factoid friday
,
facts about Hannah Heath's writing,
mental health
,
random facts
,
skies of dripping gold,
The Torn Universe
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020 #CHATWITHHANNAH EP 22: AWESOME TROPES IN YA FICTION A few months ago I made a video about problematic tropes in YA fiction that need to die . Today I want to talk about all of the amazing, helpful, and just plain fun tropes YA fiction has to offer. Articles mentioned in this video: 7 New and Improved Versions of the Chosen One Trope Favorite and Least Favorite Tropes in YA Fantasy What are some of your favorite tropes in YA fiction? Let's hear'em!
Related articles:
PFW Podcast: How to Utilize Tropes in Speculative Fiction #ChatWithHannah Ep 18: Tropes in YA Fiction That Need To Die _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!_ Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 7:59 AM
2 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: #ChatWithHannah,
indie author youtube,
pros to YA fiction
,
tropes in fiction
,
writing youtube channel,
YA fiction
,
YA tropes
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020 WHY WE NEED TO LET FEMALE PROTAGONISTS JUST BE PROTAGONISTS Have you ever noticed that people tend to be hypercritical of female protagonists? Specifically female protagonists in action or speculative fiction stories?Yeah.
Let's talk about that. This is something that I've been observing and thinking about for years, both as an author and a consumer. It is something that always kind of bothered me. However, the more I publish and the more I get into books and movies, the more I start to notice things. Things that I find...nonsensical. Frustrating. Disturbing. People have massive arguments and discussions surrounding female protagonists that simply aren't had when a male is the head of a book or movie or franchise. A single female-led story is bashed left and right for containing feminist agendas, for reinforcing gender roles, for undermining traditional family roles, for having a flawed protagonist, for having a perfect protagonist, and on and on and on. It doesn't make any sense. To me, female characters are just characters. I don't place extra expectations on them. Why would I? But apparently that's not the right thought-process. Apparently female protagonists must be held to impossible, contradictory, and sometimes flat-out insane standards. It must stop, people. Let's take a look at all the ways we ostracize female characters and all the reasons that's messed up. 1. PUTTING FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THEIR OWN CATEGORY. This happens on a regular basis and, while not always intentionally malicious, is pretty undermining. For instance, think about how often you hear the phrase (or even say the phrase): "She's a well-developed female character." Or "She's one of the best female character's I've read." Now think about how often you hear or read or say "He's a well-developed malecharacter."
It's a stark difference, isn't it? See, when people like a male character, they just say "He's a great character" or "he's one of the best characters I've read." They don't feel the need to clarify his sex. But, when it comes to female characters, they do. There's also that whole issue of people who think that children's books with female leads are "girl books" meant for a female audience, yet children's books with male leads are simply books meant for anyreader.
This is signaling that people view male characters as the standard. It also says that female characters should go in their own category where they are judged by a different set of rules and labels. And, unfortunately, these rules and labels are often nonsensical and impossible to follow, such as... 2. INCORRECTLY LABELING FEMALE CHARACTERS AS MARY SUES OR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRLS. For anyone who isn't familiar, here are the basic definitions of these labels: Mary Sue: A seemingly perfect female character who has little to no flaws, is often overpowered, and is naturally good at pretty mucheverything.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A sweet, eccentric, and often very "girly-girl" type who has no real purpose in a story except to help a (usually mopey) male character become a better person. Critics of female characters _love_ these terms and often throw them around as a broad, catch-all way to put down a female character theydon't like.
For instance, a very popular example of a Mary Sue is Rey from Star Wars. People like to call her a Mary Sue as a way to explain why she's not an interesting character to them. She picks up the Force easily, she's randomly a great pilot, and it is always understood that she will 100% win her struggle with the Dark Side. But you know who else this describes? Switch the pronouns in the above sentence to "he" and you've got Luke Skywalker (from the original trilogy). Rey is simply a less-whiny version of Luke. And, yet, nobody bashes Luke for being a Gary Stu. They may not like him, but at least they take the time to explain why, rather than labelling him with a broad, sex-specific catch-all term. The same goes for Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Any cute, confident, supportive female character is in danger of being termed a Manic Pixie Dream Girl simply because she has her life together and has decided to help a less fortunate character. Now, to anyone who is about to grumble at me, I will say this: Yes. Yes, Mary Sue and Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters do exist as actual annoying tropes. Yes, these labels can be used correctly. However, they often aren't. And that's not even what makes them so sticky and troublesome. What makes these terms problematic is that they are labels that only exist for female characters. There are absolutely derogatory terms for male characters ("boy scout," or "white knight" being used to describe flat, overly goody two-shoes male characters, or "Broody Boy" being used to put down the darker, more emo types). However, they are not used as often or as incorrectly, and they don't always carry a 100% negative connotation. For instance, Finn from Star Wars is a total Boy Scout, but most people don't mind. In fact, many like him _because_ of that trait. If people dislike Finn, they don't often use the term Boy Scout because it's not as widely known. Instead, they take the time to explain _why_ they don't like him by using complete, logical sentences like all normal mature humans should ("He lacks any real character arc and his traumatic backstory doesn't seem to impact him the way it naturally would," rather than "I don't like him 'cuz he's a Boy Scout!!!!" The same is not generally true for critics who label female characters as Mary Sue or Manic Pixie Dream Girl. They (often incorrectly) slap those labels on with very little provocation and little to noexplanation.
3. CONSTANTLY SCRUTINIZING THEIR APPEARANCE. Ummm. Guys. I feel like it's obvious why this is bad, but it's still happening, so I guess we need to talk about it. Again. Remember that time when the first Wonder Woman trailer dropped and people started going insane over her perfectly shaved armpits? It sparked all sorts of arguments about how this was either feminist or anti-feminist. People got so fixated on her hairlessness that they ignored the fact that you could see her armpit _because_ she had her arms raised while fighting in battle like a badass. Yeah. Or how about that time people got upset about Rey being "too skinny" to be a good fighter? Like muscle mass has anything to do with being able to use the Force....? Or what about when people lost their minds arguing over how Brienne of Tarth wore normal armor rather than armor that showed off her boobs (AKA: "boob plate" armor)? I don't even watch Game of Thrones and I still heard about that one. Or when people were arguing about what message it sends that Bo Peep wore pants in the newest Toy Story movie. It's gross, guys. Women come in all shapes and sizes. Some shave, some don't. Some wear dresses, some wear pants. None of it has anything to do with how well-developed a character is, so there's no reason for us to be making any kind of an issue out of it. Stop trying to fit female characters into tiny boxes. 4. NOT LETTING THEM HAVE FLAT CHARACTER ARCS. Before we get started, let's define some stuff. A flat arc = a character whose personality and motives don't really change. Instead, they change the world/characters/plot around them. It's not a bad thing. A flat character = a character who has no real emotional depth or complexity. It is almost always a bad thing. Take Captain Marvel vs Captain America. Captain America has a flat character arc: He starts his story as a good person who's being kept down and must fight not only for himself but for others, too. He's an incredible character and I, like many others, absolutely love him. Captain Marvel has pretty much the same arc: She starts the story as a good person who's being kept down and must fight not only for herself but for others, too. And, yet, so many people bash on this aspect of her character because they think it's pushing the "feminist agenda" that women are perfect, unflawed, and above needing to change.Look.
You can't be okay with flat character arcs for male characters, but get upset when female characters have them. You can either always find flat character arcs socially problematic or never find them sociallyproblematic.
Be consistent, please. 5. PITTING THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER. You've heard the squabbles. "Moana is better than Rapunzel because she don't need no man!" or "Cinderella is a superior female character because she's not afraid to be'feminine'!"
Wut.
You know it's possible to like multiple female characters at once without tearing other ones down, right? Even if there's a female character you love and one you don't, there's no need to pit them against each other. Simply discuss why you like or dislike the individual characters without mudslinging or stepping on other character's necks. It's not hard. This is a weird trend because we really don't do this with male characters, do we? There's not a lot of "Aragorn is better than Legolas because he's more ripped and 'masculine'!" or "Superman is better than Batman because he's able to settle down with a woman andBatman isn't!"
Soooooo. Maybe stop being so weird about comparing female characters? 6. PITTING THEM AGAINST MALE CHARACTERS. Did you know that you can like a male character _and_ a female character _at the same time_. *gasps* Yep. You can! Please refer to the point 5 because yeah, all of that logic applies to this point. 7. GENERALLY CRITICIZING THEM FOR THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER CRITICIZE A MALE CHARACTER FOR. When you're about to go all hypercritical on a female character, ask yourself: "Would I apply this same nitpick to a male character?" This is important to do because female characters are often subject to very specific criticisms. Aside from the critiques I mentioned above, here are some other female-specific standards: * People get into arguments over a female character marrying vs being single because _clearly_ that's forcing an agenda, yet marital status is not generally a concern when discussing male characters. * People get weird about female action heroes being mothers ("They're enforcing gender stereotypes!" or "Look, this is how _all _female characters should be!"), but nobody batted an eye when the entire plot of the Mandelorian revolved around him taking on the roleof a father.
* People tend to nitpick a female character's profession ("They just made her a mechanic to fulfill an agenda," or "Making her a babysitter is heteronormative"), but how often do people take issue with a male character's profession? Now, before you get me wrong, I need to make something very clear: I AM _NOT_ SAYING WE SHOULDN'T CRITIQUE FEMALE PROTAGONISTS (or female characters in general). We should. But we should be critiquing them the way we would any other character. After all, some female protagonists suck, some are amazing, some are just mediocre. Call it like it is and move on. My point is that we should not be holding female characters to insane standards, double standards, or pretty much any other standard that we wouldn't use for other character types. Put simply: We need to let female protagonists just be protagonists. Stop putting every female hero under a microscope unless you plan to treat every single hero you read or watch in the exact same manner.*takes deep breath*
Okay. I think I'm done now. What do you think? As always, I'm very interested to hear your thoughts! All I ask is that you please keep your comments (both to this original post by me and to any posted comments by others) respectful. Thank you!Related articles:
The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Strong Female Characters Writing Awesome Male Characters: What You're Doing Wrong How to Identify and Obliterate Sexism in Your Novel 7 Tips for Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!_ Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 8:35 AM
8 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: female character,
female protagonists
,
Manic Pixie Dream Girl,
Mary Sue
,
putting down female characters,
sexism in fiction
,
strong female characters FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2019 8 TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD SCREENPLAY Ah, screenwriting. One of the two types of writing that I know virtually nothing about. (the other one is poetry, but we won't speak of that because it makes me sound like uncultured swine) However, Alexis P. Johnson and Ryan Penland know about screenwriting. They have both written multiple short films, some of which have been or are currently being produced. And guess what? They're here today to tell you about how to get started with screenwriting. You all better take notes.ALEXIS P. JOHNSON
1. GET SCRIPTWRITING SOFTWARE. This is crucial as most people won’t even get past page one if your script is improperly formatted. There are some free ones online such as Celtx.
2. READ SOME BOOKS ABOUT SCREENWRITING STRUCTURE. My favorite books are Cut to the Chase about writing films, and Inside the Room about writing for TV. There are many available to choose from. 3. THOUGH STRUCTURE AND FORMATTING ARE IMPORTANT, YOUR OWN STYLE DOES NOT NEED TO BE RESTRAINED BY THEM. Keep your voice unique. You will see how others do that when you… 4. READ SCREENPLAYS OF YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES. You’ll see how a variety of writers add their own spice and flavor to productions long before they are shot. You can’t have a great film or series without solid writing first. 5. SEEK OUT FEEDBACK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE NEW TO SCRIPTWRITING. There are usually groups on Meetup or Facebook that you can join for film and TV. Seek out other writers and see if you can mutually beta read each other’s work.Website | Twitter
| Goodreads
|
Instagram | YoutubeRYAN PENLAND
1. WHEN WRITING DIALOGUE FOR YOUR CHARACTERS, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE EACH CHARACTER THEIR OWN VOICE. The tendency I have when writing my first draft is every character sounds like me. Get creative and give each of your characters their own personality. With each draft of the script, you’ll see each character come more and more into their own, and it will reflect on the actors! 2. WATCH YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES THAT INSPIRE THE STORY THAT YOU WANT TO TELL. Watch them for their lighting, cinematography, acting, and storytelling. The more movies you watch, the more you are able to think and problem solve like a writer when it comes to your ownscript.
3. REMEMBER THAT THE RULES OF SCREENWRITING ARE MORE GUIDELINES THAN ANYTHING. Every movie you have watched has broken one or two screenwriting rules. However, it’s important to know the rules so that you know which ones you are breaking. Twitter | Instagram Are you interesting in screenwriting? We'd love to hear about what you're currently working on, as well as tools you've found helpful! Leave a comment below!Related articles:
8 Ways To Use Movie Watching To Improve Your Writing 11 Classic Movies All Writers Should Watch (Part 1) 7 Writing Lessons Learned from Stranger Things _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!_ Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 8:22 AM
3 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: Alexis P. Johnson,
guest post
,
Ryan Penland
,
screen plays
,
screenplays
,
screenwriting
,
short films
,
watching movies
,
writing a movie
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2019 FACTOID FRIDAY #3: MY WEIRD WRITER QUIRK I have a lot of weird writer quirks. Most of them aren't a problem in my day-to-day life, but this one? This one is. For instance, when I was writing Sounds of Deceit , I really, _really_ wanted to watch the newest season of The Dragon Prince. But The Dragon Prince is fantasy, as is Sounds of Deceit, so I wasn't able to watch it. This isn't because of will-power. It's because of the fact that, if I _had_ watched Dragon Prince, my brain would keep screaming at me: "You should be writing!" Why? I'm not sure, but I think perhaps the fantasy elements would keep making me think of my own WIP, thus triggering a guilt-trip in my mind. On top of this, I try not to be overly influenced by stories in my own genre because it can end up making me feel boxed-in, so watching the show would've made me question my characters, tropes, andplotlines.
Yeah.
It's not great, but there it is. What are some of your weird writerlyhang-ups?
Related articles: Factoid Friday #1: About Wanderer's Name Factoid Friday #2: Jumping in Theme-First _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! Or, in this case: Saturday. Thank you for bearing with me. _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 11:41 AM
1 comment:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: factoid friday,
genres ,
WIP , writer
quirks
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2019 #CHATWITHHANNAH EP 21: WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BE AFRAID TO WRITE DISABLEDCHARACTERS
"I'm afraid it will limit the story." "I'm afraid of doing it wrong." "I'm afraid I'll get in trouble." Let's talk about all of the reasons why people are afraid to write disabled characters...and all of the reasons these fears are not good reasons to give up on disabilityrepresentation.
Here are a list of my blog posts, videos, and interviews regardingdisability:
Writing Disabled Characters: What You're Doing Wrong (AKA: The afore-mentioned post where I talk about the magical trope) 9 Tips for Writing Physically Disabled Characters in Fantasy My interview with Yaasha Moriah about disability in fiction #ChatWithHannah Ep 12 Part 2: Disability in Fiction, World-Building, Descriptive Writing, and More 7 Tips for Writing a Character with a Chronic Illness Giveaway!!! Here's the link to the giveaway for my indie-versary. May
the odds be ever in your favor. Want to read some books with awesome disability representation? I'vegot your back.
The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reeder Dragon School by Sarah K L Wilson Irellia the Nightwalker by Beth Wangler All of my stories (except Vengeance Hunter in the Antiheroes anthology) Have questions? Comments? Book recommendations! Please leave thembelow!
_Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 4:46 PM
2 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: #ChatWithHannah,
disability in fantasy,
disability in fiction,
disability representation,
how to write a disabled character,
writing characters with disabilities,
Youtube Channel
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2019 DO'S AND DON'TS OF INDIE AUTHOR PROFESSIONALISM Four years ago from Thursday, I became an indie author. *throws confetti* Woohooo! How cool is that? I published Skies of Dripping Gold on 12/05/2015 and things took off from there. I didn't have a business model to look to, nobody in my family knew anything about publishing, and I didn't really know a lot of other indie authors. It was a bit disorienting, but also meant that I had the opportunity to build my indie author business from the ground up with no rules. It's the beauty of indie publishing. But also the downfall. There are _so many_ incredible indie authors out there, but there are also a lot of unprofessional practices going on, too. The lack of hard-and-fast rules combined with people's creative flares has, unfortunately, led to indie authors who run themselves into the ground because they don't know how to handle a business. Let's talk about how you can make sure you are being the best, most professional (but still personable) indie author you can be. But, before we get started: In honor of my four year indie-versary, I'm holding a giveaway! All the details are below, so keep reading: DO: GET HELP, OR HIRE PEOPLE. Don't know how to write a blurb? Ask you market-savvy friends. Can't draw to save your life? Hire a cover designer. Confused by formatting? Pay a professional to do it for you. Being an indie author doesn't mean you have to do every little thing by yourself. This is so important that I'm going to repeat it again, but in a different point: DON'T: TRY TO DESIGN YOUR OWN COVER, FORMAT YOUR OWN BOOKS, OR EDIT YOUR OWN STORY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE SKILLSET. Seriously. I can't tell you how many indies have lost future sales because they've published a fairly interesting book that is riddled with errors. Or who don't sell at all because their cover looks like a baby tried to use photoshop with their non-dominant hand. It's bad, guys. Don't be that indie author. If you can't do something, hire someone. If you _can_ do something, invest in tools that will allow you to do them in a professional way (like Adobe or Clip Studio Paint for cover design). DO: ASK NICELY FOR REVIEWS. ONCE. Only once. And even then, it's important to use discretion. If there is a reader who you have 1) interacted with and 2) has very publicly stated that they've read your book, consider privately reaching out and asking them to write a quick review. But only ask once. And be very nice. This is something that I did when I released by debut story because I knew reviews will make or break a new indie author. However, I don't tend to do it very often anymore because I have a fanbase and know that I'll always have a decent number of reviews per story. Basically, this is a tricky thing. Use discretion and tact, and remember that your readers don't owe you a review. DON'T: HARASS PEOPLE FOR (OR ABOUT) REVIEWS. This is a huge no-no. Never bother people for not reviewing your book. And NEVER contact a reader if you dislike their review. This is very unprofessional and off-putting. I had an indie author complain to me about my review via private message and, well. Guess which indie author I will never readagain? Yup.
Don't be that person. DO: HAVE A PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE. Guys. If you only take one thing away from this post, it should be this point. Having a clean, easy-to-maneuver post is essential. It shows that you care. It makes it easy for your readers to learn more about you and your books. Yes, websites cost money. And yeah, if you aren't good at web design, you're going to have to higher someone to do it for you. But it is very worth it. It sets the professionals apart from the amateurs. Check out some of these indie author websites to get an idea of whatworks:
Mine | Kara Swanson| Nate Philbrick
| Mollie E. Reeder
DON'T: FORGET TO LINK SAID WEBSITE ON ALL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIAS. What's the point of having a website if you don't publicize it? Always link your website on your social media profiles. Not your Amazon page. Not your Goodreads account. _Your website_. I can't tell you how painful it is when I want to learn more about an indie author, but can't locate their website on any of their social media accounts. It makes it impossible to support them, and leave us readers feeling like: DO: PLAN YOUR RELEASES CAREFULLY. You're gonna need sleek promotional graphics. Pre-order links. ARCs. Cover and blurb reveals. Newsletter notifications. Blog tours (depending on the type of release you're going for). All of this takes time, so you'll want to start working on your release plan well before your release date. This increases your visibility and shows people that you are very seriousabout your story.
DON'T: BE SELF-DEPRECATORY. This is a really bad look. People often buy indie books because they like that author's presence online. They like what the author has to say about their work. But if an author is constantly putting themselves and their work down? Nobody wants to see that. It's annoying, unsettling, and undermines your work. It also can sometimes feel like you're fishing for compliments, which gets reallyold really fast.
DO: INTERACT WITH YOUR READERS. Indie authors have a special thing going because they can interact with their readers on a very personal level. Being an indie author often has more to do with marketing yourself as an _author_ than it does with marketing _individual_ _stories_ (it is often the opposite in traditional publishing). Because of this, it's important to be kind and accessible to your audience. Respond to tweets, answer emails, thank people when they tag you in reviews or shout-outs. DON'T: SLAM THE TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, FELLOW INDIES, OR READERS. This is gross, guys. Traditional publishing is not the enemy. Neither are fellow indie authors or that one reader who left you a bad review. Constantly slamming people in your circles is highly unprofessional and a huge red flag for both readers and those in yourindustry.
Along the same line, you shouldn't ever be using your author platform to constantly talk about politics or business you hate or....anything that isn't related to your brand, honestly. Before you post something, ask yourself: "Will this help me get where I'm planning to go?" and "Is this right and kind?" If the answer is no, don't publish it. It's not hard, people. DO: RUN YOUR PLATFORM LIKE A BUSINESS. This means you need a solid profile picture, a good author bio, a nice website. You respond to emails in a timely manner. You don't spam people by only posting about your own publications. You use a real name or a pen name (rather than a screen name like BabyYoda394). Always stay on topic. DON'T: BE ROBOTIC. Being professional doesn't mean you can't add a personal flare. If you're a nerd, don't be afraid to make nerd references online. Like sports? The occasional tweet about your favorite sport thingy is fine. You don't want to come across as a robot who is trying to impersonate a business professional, so don't feel like you have to only ever talk about books and the genre that you write. Just create a brandand stick to it.
Have questions about specific indie author conundrums? Feel free to leave them below and I'll answer as best I can!Now.
On to the free stuff: Please feel free to share this giveaway around the internet! I'm excited to see who wins.Related articles:
11 Things Nobody Tells You About Being An Indie Author (Until It's TooLate)
A List of Great Self-Published Books You Should Read (Part 2) _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 8:45 AM
8 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: how to be an indie author,
how to run business
,
indie publishing tips,
indieversary
,
professional tips
,
professionalism
,
skies of dripping gold,
writers life
,
writing tips
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2019 THE PFW BLACK FRIDAY SALE IS HERE TO SAVE YOUYour time has come.
Have you ever dreamed of starting a giant library chock full of amazing books? Or of showering your loved ones with sci-fi and fantasy novels during Christmas? Of course you have. You're a bookworm. Luckily for you, we Phoenix Fiction Writers have prepared the way for you. Starting today, on the Friday where most Americans are getting in fist fights over discounted TVs, I invite you to pull up a chair, grab a mug of something yummy, and prepare for the funnest, most chill shopping experience of your life (and yeah, funnest is a word. Don't bite that hand that feeds you). In short: I'm inviting you to the annual PFW Black Friday Sale. This sale runs from 11/29 - 12/02 and includes:* 50+ ebooks
* 30 paperbacks
* 9 ebooks bundles
* 10 different signed paperbacks * Dozens of pieces of merch from 5 separate merch shops That's right. I know the glory is a lot to take in. Allow me to recommend some of my top choices: THE TEREBINTH TREE CHRONICLES BUNDLEBY YOURS TRULY
Yep. You can get all three ebooks for 99 cents. That's a 67% discount, for all you math-y people. If you love magic, complex characters, disability representation, strong action sequences, and Native American and African-inspired world-building, this is foryou.
ECHO: FIRST PULSE
BY C. SCOTT
FRANK
Do you like sci-fi, amazing world-building, and incredible characters? This is where it's at. Echo: First Pulse is three books in one paperback for only $7.99. Yup. It's a steal. Go grab your copynow!
OUT OF DARKNESS
BY
E.B. DAWSON (SIGNED) This book is a Jason Bourne-esque sci-fi thriller with an incredibly strong, broken protagonist who is one of my all-time favorites. It's so good that you're gonna fall in love with Dawson's writing, which is why you'll want the signed copy. It's 27% off, too, so that's a hugeplus.
BEAUMONT AND BEASLEY VOL. 1 BUNDLEBY KYLE ROBERT
SHULTZ
Need a good laugh? Then you gotta grab yourself this ebook bundle. Beaumont and Beasley is a fantasy re-imagining of all of your favorite fairytales. It's hilarious, full of heart, and very well-written. Go snatch a bundle for 50% of it's usual cost!CHILD OF THE KAITES
BY BETH
WANGLER
Speaking of re-tellings, you're gonna want to read this one. It's a desert fantasy novel that's a re-telling of story of Moses, but with a female protagonist, homicidal storms, and *drum roll* griffins. Yup.It's the best.
WHERE THE WOODS GROW WILDBY NATE PHILBRICK
This makes a great read for all ages, so if you're looking for a perfect Christmas gift, this is it. It's heartwarming, imaginative,and funny.
RIFT IN THE DEEP
BY
JANELLE GARRETT
Guys. This is the epic fantasy of your dreams. It has warlocks, travel adventures, awesome world-building, and compelling characters. You don't want to miss this one. MALFUNCTION UNIVERSE BUNDLEBY
J.E. PURRAZZI
You want cyperpunk? Because we've got it. J.E. Purrazzi writes the best there is, and she's currently selling two novellas and three novels for $3.99. These heart-pumping action stories will make you cry, cheer, and think. I highly recommend them. TWO LIVES THREE CHOICESBY K.L. + PIERCE
A Christian sci-fi with an antivillain sibling antagonist? Yes, please! Pierce is currently selling her ebook for only 99 cents. If you love sibling characters and themes of faith through struggles, this one is for you. THE ANTIHEROES ANTHOLOGY GUYS. You can currently get our anthology for a massive discount (bothin paperback
and ebook ).
This anthology has everything: mischievous shopkeepers, sci-fi vigilantes, and Aztec-inspired vampires. It's a wild ride that youdon't want to miss.
Beyond these specific recommendations, I highly encourage you to check out the bundle section of our sale . This is a great way to sample multiple PFW authors without breaking the bank. And of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that many of us are selling signed (and discounted) paperbacks . Yup. That's a perfect Christmas present right there. You should also probably sign up for my newsletter , as I'll be sending out more tailored recommendations tomorrow. Have you read any PFW stories? Which ones do you recommend? Leave the titles below to help out your fellow bookworms! Posted by Hannah Heathat 6:46 AM
2 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: annual pfw sale,
book recommendations,
books for sale
,
free ebooks
,
indie authors
,
indie published books,
pfw , PFW
antihero anthology
,
Phoenix Fiction Writers FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019 5 TIPS FOR WRITING A COMPELLING PARAGON CHARACTER What's a paragon character? you may ask. There are a lot of fancy definition, but we all know I don't go for fancy things. Put simply, a paragon character is Captain America. A paragon is a character who is a champion of a specific (or multiple specific) admirable trait(s). They are good characters, through and through. Maybe they stand for freedom and right-doing (Captain America) or justice (Black Panther) or kindness (Beth March). These character often, though not always, come with a special skill, such as Super Strength to go with their Super Heart (Superman). They are fascinating characters that tend to be favorites of mine, though they are sadly lacking in speculative fiction. This lack of paragon character types is, in part, due to the fact that writers are afraid that such a character will be boring. But guys. They do not have to be boring. They can be AMAZING. Take it from two authors who know: Beth Wangler and D.J. Edwardson , both masters of the paragon character type.D.J. EDWARDSON
Today, we’re going to look at two types of paragon characters and how to write them well. #1. THE SUPERMAN: These are the characters who can do almost everything. They’re strong, courageous, they try to do the right thing. They don’t have any real weaknesses and, frankly, they’re a little harder to pull off. To begin with, you’ll need to establish just how powerful they are. Have them save the day, and then save it again and again, each time ina bigger way.
Then comes The Problem, capital P, where you throw the cosmic sink at them. Give them problems so big, even they can’t solve them. This is where the character uncovers that extra wrinkle we didn’t know they had. They can still solve it (or a specialist character can—see below), but we have to believe, at least for a time, that they can’t. We’ll love them all the more when they do or, alternatively, when they learn that even they need help once in awhile.
BONUS TIP: GIVE ‘EM A WEAKNESS. Without some kind of Kryptonite, it makes it hard to put your paragon in a tough situation. #2. THE SPECIALIST: This character is really good at one thing. I’m talking extra-special-crazy good. Atticus Finch can’t run a four-minute mile, but you won’t find a more upstanding fellow in the courtroom. He’s a legend when it comes to setting a good example. The phrase “paragon of virtue” had to come from somewhere. Let itbe your character.
Most paragons fall into this camp. To make these characters sing, do the opposite of tip #1. Give them chances for their unique trait to shine. Let them be the best at that over and over again. You could have them fail (or nearly fail), but there are plenty of other things for them to fail at (things they’re not good at). Let them fail at those. Try building them up in the reader’s mind to be the single best (fill in the blank) and see if they don’t end up finding a place in readers’ hearts because of it. BONUS TIP: GIVE ‘EM A SURPRISE SECOND (OR THIRD) SKILL AT SOME POINT. Make it unexpected. “What? You’re a master fencer and you’ve built up an immunity to iocane powder? Amazing!” Website | Twitter| Goodreads
BETH WANGLER
1. WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE? The reason I, and I think many others, love paragon characters is not just because they are nice: It’s because they inspire us. They show us what it could look like to live the way we want to live but aren’t able to yet. They light a fire in us and give us a goal to aim for. With that in mind, there are two equally worthwhile ways to approach paragons. You can start with a good thing you wish you were better at, like loving your friends, following the rules, etc. Or you can start with whatever you view as your deepest failing—the thing you wish most in the world that you could change about yourself but can’t seem to change—and build a character out of that. Both characters may end up looking the same on the surface, but the way you approach writing them will be vastly different. 2. GIVE THEM PERSONALITY. It’s always tempting to create a character around one central trait, and nowhere is this more tempting than with paragon characters. You’ll have a list of morals or virtues in mind, you’ll plop a face on top of that list—but your work is far from done. Take extra time building full personalities for your paragon characters. What are their quirks? Their regrets? What is their backstory? What are their pet peeves, and why? 3. PARAGONS AREN’T PERFECT. Most of the time, your paragon character will still be human. That means that, however much they strive for goodness, justice, etc., they will still fall short. They will have blind spots where they don’t realize they aren’t living up to their ideals. They will have pitfalls that will get them again and again. Sometimes, their dedication to what’s “right” may even lead them to make the WRONG decision. Vices are often out-of-balance virtues. If your paragon character is, say, a holy, perfect god, that still doesn’t give you an excuse for laziness. Perfection often might look very different from what your characters and readers would expect. You can play with this to create a truly powerful commentary. That will also keep your readers engaged and make them love your character even more. The unexpected “Hail Hydra” moment in End Game got one of the biggest reactions in the theater, after all.Website | Blog
| Goodreads
Related articles:
9 Ways to Keep Your Character From Being Boring Challenging Writers to Create Stories With Meaning 5 Tips for Creating Complex Characters _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 5:52 AM
3 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: Beth Wangler,
Captain America
,
character development,
D.J. Edwardson
,
paragon character
,
paragon character type,
perfect characters
,
writing a goody character,
writing tips
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2019 #CHATWITHHANNAH EP 20: INDIE AUTHOR MYTHBUSTERS Do you think indie authors aren't "real authors"? Are you under the impression that indie publishing doesn't make money? Or that we're indie because we failed at traditional publishing?Think again:
My newly published short story, This Pain Inside, can be found in the Strange Waters anthology. The
entire anthology is amazing. You should read it. And don't forget to read allllllll the indie books.
Who are some of your favorite indie authors? Drop their names below! Website | Merch ShopsRelated articles:
#ChatWithHannah Ep 19: Advice for Aspiring Authors #ChatWithHannah Ep 17: Pep Talk for Writers #ChatWithHannah Ep 18: Tropes in YA Fiction That Need To Die _Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! _ Some links are Amazon affiliate. Thank you for your support! Posted by Hannah Heathat 3:49 PM
3 comments:
Email This
BlogThis!
Share
to Twitter
Share
to Facebook
Share
to Pinterest
Labels: #ChatWithHannah,
being an indie author,
indie authors
,
indie publishing tips,
myths about indie authors,
writing youtube channelOlder Posts
Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Find your next good read! Views and opinions expressed by these authors/advertisers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Hannah Heath. It is each reader’s responsibility to verify that the content of any written work is personally suitable prior to purchase.ABOUT ME
* Hannah Heath
I am a
Christian author and hopeless bookworm. As somebody who fights chronic Lyme disease, I know that life can be hard sometimes. Because of this, I make it a point to write stories of struggle and strength, of darkness and light. I’m on a mission to uncover stories with souls, convert everyone into book lovers, and show people the wonders of sarcasm, Batman, and chai tea. View my complete profileMY PUBLICATIONS
MY AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:SEARCH THIS BLOG
FIND ME HERE:
I am the multimedia manager for the Phoenix Fiction Writers AddThis Sharing Sidebar Share to TwitterTwitterShare to PinterestPinterest , Number of shares2.4KShare to RedditReddit , Number of sharesShare to MIXMIXShare to TumblrTumblrShare toFacebookFacebook
, Number of shares62Share to LinkedInLinkedInHide
Show
Close
AddThis
Show
AddThis What's Next
Recommended for you
7 Tips for Using Story Writing to Raise Awareness for a Cause hannahheath-writer.blogspot.comAddThis
Hide
Details
Copyright © 2024 ArchiveBay.com. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | DMCA | 2021 | Feedback | Advertising | RSS 2.0