Writing Wednesdays

So I know that a lot of writers seem to have some difficulty writing realistic characters, especially 12-27 year old females.  From now on, this post is going to become your Bible of everything you need to make your character real, interesting, and make sure you are not making them the fabled Mary Sue (google if you don’t know what that means).  This right here is going to be a fantasmic list of resources that you will wish you knew a long time ago.

How Not to Write a Female Character

How to write empowering female characters (This one is really great)

Red Flags for female characters written by men  (Also really helpful)

  Now this chart is going to be hugely helpful.  Save it and zoom.

After you consult these resources, you can rest assured that your female character isn’t a stereotype or a trope.  Well, at least they are less than they would have been!

Writing Wednesdays

So, until I get into the point where something interesting is happening in the world of publishing my book, I’m going to use this to help other authors.  Let’s talk about names.

Ok, so you need a perfect name for that character.  Few options.

1 Choose based on meaning.

2 If a modern book, choose modern names (Don’t try o be cool about it.  I have never met anyone named Ambzeraghaha.)

Imagine your character introducing themselves.  This helps soooo much.  If they need an over the top name, Bob or Herb just won’t cut it.  Likewise, if they are a more stable character, something like Charles is better suited than Jamelak.  Go with the real feeling of the character for guidance

over the topover the top bname,

Writing Wednesdays

Let me tell you a thing.  If you think that there is this feeling of relief that comes with the wonder of finishing a rough draft, then you are correct.  However, if you are like I was and thought that that feeling lasts for any longer than about .5 seconds, you are very wrong.  Let me introduce you to the fun world of editing.  Hint hint, it’s not fun.

I’m not talking about having to critique your own work, because that is the easy part.  It’s having to write down everything you have to change and then having to retype the entire thing with the edits.  It’s like saying ‘go ahead and type whatever you want’ verses ‘alright, type an exact copy of what I give you’.  It is killer.  So long story short, writing is the fun part, it’s the editing that is the real monster.

Writing Wednesdays

I’ve come around to deciding that three posts a week is a suitable minimum, and now I have evolved three corresponding categories. *drum roll*  We have Music Mondays, which is really just me discussing what playlists I use to write, and really a bit of a freestyle musical discussion.  Writing Wednesdays are when I either 1. post a short something I have written, 2. talk a bit about how a current writing project is coming along, 3. just take some time to write about something important.  And finally, Fiction Fridays, where I will bring up other people’s books, and really say what I love about them, and which books truly helped form who I am as a person *cough cough Harry Potter*.

So since I’m still getting everything with this blog working, I will be up to speed very soon.