Andrew M. Friday

Category: characterization

  • Start The Scene With Action And Dialogue

    Start The Scene With Action And Dialogue

    Okay, this is a long post. Just warning you. This good news is you can just read the highlights in bold to get the gist for each section. This post is for reference as you may want to experiment with the writing exercise I’ve fleshed out in the following paragraphs. In the previous post, I…

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    Writing advice from one of my favorite science fiction authors: I’d just like to say that writing advice is just that: advice. It’s not a set of rules; it’s contextual. I know I’ve contradicted myself in the advice I’ve given in the past, and that’s because the needs of each writer and story are different.…

  • You Can Never Have Too Many Character Infographics

    You Can Never Have Too Many Character Infographics

    Photo by Anfisa Eremina from Pexels

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    Writing a novel, or even a short story, can be daunting. “I’ll never finish.” “I don’t have time.” “I’m not a good writer.” Everyone who writes fiction feels this way at times. Here are some habits I’ve picked up along the way to keep me from feeling overwhelmed: I email a scene idea to myself.…

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    I’ve always heard badly written characters can bring down a good story, but well-written characters can save a mediocre story. A few things I’ve learned over the years about writing characters: give each one distinct physical characteristic so the reader can picture them in his mind; give each character an inner goal, such as finding…

  • Epic Characters: How to Create Them

    Epic Characters: How to Create Them

    Creating characters for your story may be the hardest part of writing. But it’s the most important. Infographic from the blog Something Delicious: A Creative Catalyst for the Writer’s Soul

  • Friday's Findings

    Friday's Findings

    I always think of my first draft as a lump of clay I’ve been working on for only a few minutes. It’s wet and soggy and unpainted, but I know it’s unfinished and the best is yet to come. Why Your First Draft Isn’t Crap Stop Killing Your Creative Genius How a Career Can Reveal…

  • Wooden Characters

    Wooden Characters

    The best thing you can do when creating a character is give them a flaw. Here are some more tips on avoiding wooden characters. Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    I’ve been the victim of a writing group troll. I didn’t even want to read my rough draft. Then he proceeded to tear it apart. I understood why there was another writing group that had broken off from his and why they didn’t include him. I wish I hadn’t let it discourage me. But that…