Monday Motivation: On Creating Secondary Characters

[Writers Digest]

In this issue, a bestselling author shares how to create better secondary characters; plus, more!

In this issue, a bestselling author shares how to write better secondary characters; plus, why emotions are a writer's secret weapon, fun word origins, and more!  Writer's Digest Online | Writer's Digest Shop | Online Education On Creating Secondary Characters Unless your hero is taking a solo trek across Antarctica for 300 pages or has become a hermit in Tibet, his story will be one of interaction with other people. We will come to understand him or her by the way they interact with those around them. So the creation of secondary characters is important to any story. The aim is to create a world populated by real people so that we feel we are in a real time and place. (5 Tips for Giving Your Character Powers.) The primary level of secondary characters are those who are most important to the life of the sleuth, and therefore the plot. The best supporting role at the Oscars! The romantic interest, the villain, the possessive mother. We need to know a lot about them because we need to understand their motivation. Is the boyfriend worthy of her love, why does the villain want revenge? It really helps if we can picture them clearly and hear their voices too. Read more... MORE MOTIVATION Letting the Illustrations Do the Talking in Graphic Novels When I first began writing Fitting Indian, my debut graphic novel, a story was burning inside me. But as someone who can barely draw a stick figure, I assumed the only way to get that story across was through the dialogue—line by line, panel by panel, word by word. Every facial expression, every reaction, every emotional beat, I tried to write into the dialogue or captions. I believed the words were the story. (Storyboarding for Writers.) As I did my due diligence by immersing myself in graphic novels throughout writing the first draft, I learned that silence speaks louder than words. A character sitting silently on her bed, her shoulders hunched, her eyes cast downward, doesn’t need a thought bubble to explain what she feels. That single panel says more than a paragraph ever could. That’s when it hit me: The strength of a graphic novel isn’t just in the words; it’s in the spaces between them.  Read more... Halina St. James: The Story Developed a Life of Its Own "Just write. Write from your heart. Write from your soul. Do it for yourself. And let it go. Send it out the publishers, agents, and whomever. Trust the universe will do the rest. Just keep writing." Read more... Why Emotions Are a Writer's Secret Weapon I have written more than four books, one a bestseller in its field, and I am an avid blogger with thousands of words credited to my thoughts and ideas. Through this journey, I have gained one key insight: Emotions drive engagement. Read more... Setting the Scene When it comes to setting the scene, all writers know it’s a critical piece to ensuring readers have a clear grasp of what they’re reading, whether it be a physical setting in a novel or narrative nonfiction or the reason why information matters in instructional nonfiction. Setting also matters when it comes to a writer’s writing life. This issue aims to explore all facets and interpretations of how writers can set the scene.   Click here to learn more >> 7 Fun Word Origins Every Writer Should Know Did you ever stop in the middle of a sentence and think, “Wait—where in the world did we ever get a word like that?” Writers use words to tell stories, but each of those words has a story of its own. As the 19th-century essayist Thomas Carlyle observed, “The coldest word was once a glowing new metaphor.” (25 Common Writing Mistakes Writers Make.) Many of those metaphors tucked inside a single word can be surprising, others picturesque or poetic, and still others are downright entertaining. The metaphors and lively stories behind such words are the kind I love sharing each week on the radio show and podcast “A Way with Words” and in my new book, Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland. Here are some of my favorites, specifically selected for writers. Read more... From Your Writer's Digest Editor: Robert Lee Brewer Robert Lee Brewer is a senior editor for Writer’s Digest and former editor of the Writer's Market book series. He is also the author of Smash Poetry Journal and Solving the World's Problems. He spent the weekend working on a new writing project. Active Interest Media 2143 Grand Ave Des Moines, IA 50312 USA View online You received this email because you are subscribed to newsletters from Writer's Digest Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive.