Tag Archives: character

Writing Tip Wednesday: The Nature of Conflict

Posted on January 15, 2020 by dbjackson

When I was in grade school (yes, grade school) we were taught about the rudiments of writing – not just grammar, mind you, but also the fundamentals of storytelling. We weren’t necessarily taught these things well, but they were, at … Continue reading →

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Struggle

Posted on April 27, 2018 by dbjackson

Writing is fits and starts. It is slog and glide. It is by turns frustrating and exhilarating and frustrating yet again. This is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is doing you a disservice. Earlier this week, I found myself … Continue reading →

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Quick-Tip Tuesday: Emotion and Narrative

Posted on July 26, 2016 by dbjackson

So how do we imbue our prose with emotion? Well, we DON’T do it with a sledge hammer. I am not telling you to bludgeon your readers with paragraphs-long explorations of your characters’ emotions. That would be no better than … Continue reading →

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Quick-Tip Tuesday Is Back, with Ro Laren!

Posted on April 19, 2016 by dbjackson

But simply adding a character isn’t always enough. Sure, a love interest can spice things up, or a new villain can ratchet up the tension. But sometimes what a story needs is both more subtle than those options, and also … Continue reading →

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Quick-Tip Tuesday: Giving Secrets to Your Characters

Posted on January 26, 2016 by dbjackson

Giving secrets to our characters sets up plot points for our stories. But secrets do more than that. They add dimension and richness to our characters.  Those secrets become the source of our characters’ vulnerabilities, and often their strengths as … Continue reading →

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Today on the Blog Tour: Nemesis and Protagonist

Posted on August 20, 2015 by dbjackson

One of the things that the first book did not do — because it wasn’t necessary to the plot — was to set up a nemesis for Jay Fearsson who would outlast the narrative of this particular novel. I mean … Continue reading →

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POV and Q&A, Today on the Blog Tour!

Posted on August 6, 2015 by dbjackson

As writers we should be deliberate in choosing the proper voice for each story. We shouldn’t choose third person simply because the market might prefer it, as once it did, nor should we automatically gravitate toward first person just because … Continue reading →

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A Better Day

Posted on February 11, 2015 by dbjackson

First off, my deepest thanks to all who left comments of support and encouragement and advice in response to yesterday’s post. Your words helped. Your good wishes helped. I knew already that I was not alone in feeling those things; … Continue reading →

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A Very Special Interview

Posted on January 14, 2015 by dbjackson

Today on the unofficial Winter 2014-15 Spell Blind Blog Tour I have a very special post up at the website of Lucienne Diver, writer, agent, friend. The post is an interview with Namid’skemu, a character from Spell Blind and the … Continue reading →

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Writing About Character at Magical Words

Posted on January 13, 2015 by dbjackson

Today, I am back at Magical Words with a post about character and character relationships in Spell Blind, the first book in The Case Files of Justis Fearsson. The post is part of my continuing unofficial Spell Blind Winter 2014-15 … Continue reading →

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