Fiction

Not all works of fiction rely on the strength of the characters, but ones that do must have exemplary development. Here's how to write characters that pull the reader into your stories.

Good characters are the building blocks of any story. What would "War and Piece", a literary monument of genius, be without its 125+ characters? A thousand or more pages of setting and...

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), author of A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, and Oliver Twist, is one of the most well-known writers in English literature, and one remarkably successful in his...

For a fiction book to be great, it must be believable and draw readers in. One of the most important ways for a book to accomplish this is for the characters to be real and believable. You must...

Writing a novel is not easy. But sometimes the juices flow pretty good and you can connect to a character in a good way. Overall, it's a nice thing to believe you can do, that is, write a...

Horror stories have been really appealing to people for the past 30 years. People really want to experience vicariously through characters the horror of being isolated, terrified and having their...

Since the early 1960s the Marvel superhero has been part of the American cultural consciousness. Unforgettable, larger than life characters like Spiderman, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible...

Just what is meant by “the plot,” anyway? In fiction, it is what happens in a story. It’s something you have to think about when writing fiction, because you have to give your reader motivation to...

Writing a fictional sex scene is about the characters, their emotions, and the events in the story. You will not find a formula that tells you how to craft the scene; it is dependent on unique...

In journalism you have the who, what, where, when, and why and you try to put all this information in the first paragraph. In fiction you also have to include the who, what, where, when and why in...

Which is more important to a story the plot or the characters? It's like asking the question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg. The answer of course is that it really doesn't matter...

What would a great story be without great characters? Not much if you ask me. Here are some tips to help you develop characters for your novel or short story.

Historical fiction is a story set in a time previous to that of the writer and reader, with characters who react in varying degrees to historical events.

Well rounded, dynamic and interesting characters are hard to come by, even in the world of professional story creation. I'll take you through a step-by-step guide of how to create a truly...

This is just a simple process for practicing and strengthening your creative writing skills. This will particularly help those of us who are interested in writing about fiction/characters.

Everyone loves adventure, but some adventure stories are more memorable than others. Adventure stories have action, romance, drama and compelling characters. Your story should work as a whole and...

Why does it seem that everyone is obsessed with Twilight?? Follow the directions in this article and you will find out!

The adventure novel can encompass a range of genres, including action, thriller, and even mystery and suspense. The novel can create a story full of edge-of-your-seat thrills and breathtaking...

So you love children. You’ve always dreamed of having a children’s show or writing a series of children’s book, not for the money, but because you want to see children happy and educated. ...

A fantasy novel is a fun and challenging way to let your writer's imagination fly free. Fantasy fiction is often inspired by childhood fairy tales, mythology, folk legends and stories of the...

People tell stories all the time. The trick to writing a story from someone else's point of view is to look out at the world through their eyes. Everything they see, smell, hear, touch, and/or...

Pulp fiction is a term that was originally coined to describe the early nineteenth-century magazines and novels (dime novels) that were printed on cheap, or pulpy paper. "Weird Tales"and "Ace...

Do you love to write fiction but get frustrated when the novel spins in a direction you didn’t intend? The plot and characters can sometimes take on a life of their own, spinning in a direction...

Creating interesting fictional characters can be quite a task. It is many writers’ natural inclination to base characters on people who exist in real life. This is not nearly as entertaining as...

Writing a 3rd person omniscient narrative story is probably the easiest narrative style to write, and tends to be what more writes gravitate towards. However, in the good sense of a how-to, let’s...

Who are you and why are you ruining my story? Who are these people you've created and why don't you like them? Characterization is the most important part of your story. If you don't like your...

Although every generation of young people likes to believe they're the first to ever fall madly in love, feel fretful about the future or stress out about not fitting in with the "cool" crowd,...

One can look at a novel as nothing more than a collection of scenes, starting from the beginning and progressing toward the end. In order for those scenes to work, however, they need to fit into...

A flashback is a literary device designed to illustrate some period of time before the current action of the story. When used properly, it becomes an invaluable tool for revealing key information...

"The Glass Menagerie" was playwright Tennessee William's first work, and one of his best known. Widely acknowledged as a classic of the American stage, generations of high school and college...

Are you one of the many people who swears they’re going to write a novel someday? Maybe you even have all the ideas stored up in your head. Great characters, plot, setting, and tone all up...

Creating a universe where superheroes roam, super-villains concoct diabolical schemes and ordinary people need rescuing can be a fun endeavor. But when you begin writing, you may become...

Conversation in a story is an important element that many beginning writers struggle with. Writing good dialogue is a skill that all writers should learn quickly. Good dialogue in a story serves a...

"I could do better than this!" yells a man after wading through 300 pages of a novel. How many times have you said that? How many times have you heard someone else say that? While many people...

Many people dream of writing a novel one day, but few of them actually finish it. Being a writer takes dedication, focus and passion. If you love mystery novels, you may have thought about writing...

You’ve probably read books in which the characters are dull and not very interesting. You might not of finished reading the book, and it’s one of the main reasons that fiction fails. Uninteresting...

A suspense novel often combines elements of different genres, but all suspense novels have one thing in common. A good suspense novel keeps readers wondering what will happen next. Michael...

Selecting names for the characters populating your work of fiction can be very important in how readers perceive them. For example, a reader might conjure up negative images for a man named Mr....

Feminist criticism is literary criticism that deals exclusively with female characters, women's issues and how the female roles in a story, novel or play affect the plot and other characters....

A romance novel needs to meet certain expectations in order to be considered a romance. This does not mean it is written following a formula. On the contrary, the romance genre allows authors to...

Characters are one of the most important components of good fiction. Create compelling characters and your readers will follow them almost anywhere. Here are some helpful tips.

Learn how to bring your characters to life in a way which will keep readers hooked, no matter what the genre.

You've no doubt heard the saying, "Truth is stranger than fiction." The world around us is full of real-life stories that can provide a basis for successful fiction. Our own lives are often...

Writing a novel is a deeply personal experience. Because of this, no two novelists take the exact same route to completing their works and there is no right or wrong way to do it. For example,...

When you think of movies or books you loved, you probably remember specific scenes rather than the overall story. That's because scenes are the bedrock of your project. Your story is only as good...

You want to write a fan fiction story but you are not sure how to write out the characters. This will show you how to figure out those characters.

So, you've stumbled upon a fic you find interesting. The summary seems intriguing, proper spelling and grammar are a go, and you settle down for a nice read. There's only one problem: the...

The names you pick for your characters is an important factor of any story, especially the names you choose for your main characters. The names must not only sit well on the tongue, they must...

The core of any work of fiction is its plot, whether it's a novel-length book or a short story of only a few pages. Outlining the plot beforehand can help immensely with your writing, since it...

Have you ever thought you had a good idea for a story but couldn't quite put it together from beginning to end? Or have you ever watched a TV show and couldn't quite understand why characters did...