From Villains to Protagonists and More

[justine_currie]

Last week I posted about villains. This week I link to a more general article with some interesting tips, including a couple of suggestions regarding protagonists.

From Janet Fitch, Ten Writing Tips That Can Help Almost Anyone:

7. Smarten up your protagonist

Your protagonist is your reader’s portal into the story. The more observant he or she can be, the more vivid will be the world you’re creating. They don’t have to be super-educated, they just have to be mentally active. Keep them looking, thinking, wondering, remembering..

So ... any words of wisdom you have or that you've read? If you could come up with one to five tips on writing, what would they be? What works best for you? On the flip side, have you read/heard tips that you think are a load of crap, or that just don't work for you?

Personally, I found that two books in particular are excellent.

The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman.

Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon.

Both of these get into the nitpicky details as well as the big-picture issues. I own both books and have referenced them a lot. No, not alot, but a lot. ;D

Comments

[drusillas-rain.livejournal.com]

Stephen King's On Writing was an excellent read.
I'm making my way through Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing, and it has some good stuff there too.

I had a minor writing epiphany the other day, where I realized I was so bogged down with trying to keep different aspects of writing in my head (world building! Consistency! Character depth! etc.) that I forgot how to simply write a story. I think it's why I've been struggling for the past year. It came down to such a simple concept - tell a story from start to finish - but the knowledge of how to do it somehow got lost >.

[justine-currie.livejournal.com]

Yup, yup. I like On Writing very much. I found it was helpful to give you the overall (big picture) writing experience. And how it relates to life in general.

I've also found that I get too focussed on the nitpicky stuff sometimes. Truth be told, that's a big part of why I don't plan on attending a conference this year. They're great, and I'll likely return next year, but I needed a year away from that overly-analytical approach. I need to get back to just writing.

I do find, however, that the longer I write and the more tricks I pick up, the more natural it all becomes. But sometimes too much is simply too much and you need to take a step back. *nods*

[snegurochka_lee]

No words of wisdom here, but I love that tip there about the observant protagonist. I think that sounds like exactly what's wrong with a protagonist in a story I've been struggling with: he's falling flat, and thus so is the story.

So, thank you! *runs off to tinker moar* :)

[justine-currie.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I find these little nuggets - the diamonds in the rough, so to speak - are great when you come across them. Especially when they click with something you're working on. :)

[gabe-speaks.livejournal.com]

If I only ever read Noah Lukeman's books on writing and punctuation, I'd be a happy camper.

Seriously, his A Dash of Style is like my punctuation Bible; The Plot Thickens, likewise, but with plot and story-telling.

And while I love a protagonist that is observant, there's a lot to be said with a near-omnipotent POV and a bumbling buffoon.


:-)