The hardest characters to write
Chances are, as a writer, there are certain types of character that you find easier to write than others. In some ways, this is an extension of that old cliché: write what you know. It’s easier to...
View ArticleWhy the antagonist’s POV is so vital in crime fiction
There’s nothing quite like a really good, juicy crime thriller, and I think that one of the things that makes them so good is the antagonist. If a crime novel doesn’t have a good antagonist, the book...
View ArticleThe importance of the supporting cast in crime fiction
Often when we talk about crime fiction, we talk about the main players: the antagonist and protagonist, as well as a couple of other key characters who play a major role within the story. However, we...
View Article7 tips for creating characters who are nothing like yourself
When it comes to creating characters for novels, the easy option is to come up with a protagonist who is quite a bit (or quite a lot) like yourself. However, someone like you won’t be right for every...
View Article6 tips for creating a protagonist
We all know that much of the interest and tension in stories comes not from an elaborately constructed plot, but from an exciting, well-developed character. Even the most brilliant plot in the world...
View ArticleCreating a crime fiction protagonist
Following on from yesterday’s post about creating a protagonist for your story who is interesting and believable, today we turn our attention to a slightly more specific issue: creating a crime fiction...
View ArticleCreating a quality supporting cast
When we are planning our novels, we naturally give more time to creating our protagonist(s) than we do to any other characters. This makes sense, but we also shouldn’t forget that our supporting cast...
View ArticleThe character conundrum
Creating characters is often one of the most fun parts of novel writing – but it can also be one of the most challenging. We need to get the balance right with our characters. They need to be...
View ArticleThe power of normalcy in crime fiction
In the world of crime fiction, we spend a lot of time writing about extraordinary things. Extraordinary crimes, incredible leaps of logic that lead to the solving of those crimes, amazing strength of...
View Article10 quick tips for creating fantastic characters
Characters are crucial in fiction. Without top notch characters, even the most interesting plot will fall flat because there will be nothing to drive it or generate the interest in the first place....
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