Writer’s Block

If you’re just starting out with novel writing or you’re going through a particularly bad period of writer’s block, writing some fanfiction can be a great way to help your writing. You’re already writing within a pre-existing world with characters that have already been developed for you, so it gives you the chance to experiment and have fun. You don’t have to do all of this work into exposition and character-building, instead you can just jump right in and write a scene with a few of your favorite characters. Or write out a story that was mentioned as a character’s backstory, but that we never got to see within the events of the story. Writing in this uninhibited way can be a great way to regain some confidence in your prose while having some fun with your writing.

Characterization

Another benefit of doing a fan fiction writing exercise is that it allows you to practice characterization without having to build characters from the ground up. You may think it will be easy to write characters that already exist, but there’s actually a challenge in living up to the original source material. Recreating each character’s unique voice, thoughts, mannerisms, etc. so that they match the character that they’re based on is a challenge in and of itself. And, because you won’t need to actually create the characters, you can simply focus on the challenge of capturing their essence in your writing. This is incredibly useful since this is a skill set you need when you write your own characters as well.

The Rules

When it comes to fanfiction, you’re writing again within a world that already exists. This presents the unique opportunity for a writer to practice adhering to the ‘rules’ of a certain world without having to develop the concepts themselves. Every world that people write within has a certain set of rules or things that are possible vs. impossible. Writing fanfiction, utilizing a world with a set of rules that already exist, allows you to work on making sure the rules stay consistent and present within the story. Again, this is an important skill set to have when you develop your own world with its own rules, so this provides a unique opportunity to practice this in your writing.

Writing Prompts: 

a) Choose a movie with a rich world and/or set of characters. Write a scene that was mentioned in the movie, but never actually shown.

b) Choose one of your favorite television shows. Write a story or scene from the point of view of one of the side characters. Have the scene act as an explanation for a choice that the character made within the show.

c) Choose one of your favorite novels. Write a story or scene from the point of view of the antagonist of the story. Make sure to keep the characterization consistent and that the scene ties into the events of the novel in some way.

The post Writing Prompt: Fan Fiction appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) Check root meanings & origins

When brainstorming a character name, it may be helpful to choose a name with a root meaning that describes the character in question. It’s a clever way to give the reader a hint about your character’s nature, without being too obvious and cliché about it (ex. Giving a character the last name Goodman). One place to start may be looking up the meanings of a chosen word in different languages to see if inspiration strikes.

However, just as importantly, make sure you’re checking the root meaning and origins of names even if you chose the name first. You need to make sure that the names have the correct origins for the nationality of your character and that the name doesn’t mean something wildly different from or contradictory to your character’s personality. Otherwise, you run the risk of confusing the more perceptive readers who will do their research.

2) Keep in mind era, location, and genre

Characters from different time periods and locations will have vastly different names from one another. Names that were popular in England in the 1920’s aren’t aligned with the popular names in the present day. Your names either need to align with the time and place or you’ll need to show why they don’t. Maybe this character’s parents had a fascination with this era for some reason. You’ll just need to make sense of it; otherwise, you’ll leave your readers wondering why there is a 20-year-old girl in present-day America named Doris.

Genre is equally important when it comes to choosing character names. Fantasy names will sound mythical while Sci-Fi named will have harsher and shorter sounds while historical fiction names will be more simple and classic. Your reader will be left scratching their head if they’re reading a fantasy novel and they come across a character named Blake. If you’re struggling with this, there are a lot of name generators online for specific genres that may be a helpful jumping-off point.

3) Differentiate between characters

By the end of your book, your readers will know your characters like they are members of their own family. However, during character introductions at the beginning of your book, it can be difficult to differentiate between everyone. To make it easier, we recommend starting each name of the core group of characters with different letters. This makes it easier for your reader to tell them apart in the initial stages as they’re getting to know them. For that same reason, it’s best not to have two character’s names that rhyme or sound similar as well. However, if you ever want to call special attention to a specific character, use alliterative initials (ex. Severus Snape).

4) Speak it aloud & be consistent

You’re allowed to include names in your book that are difficult to pronounce- just make sure you know how to pronounce them. When your book gets published, your readers will inevitably ask you about the pronunciation of specific names so you want to make sure you can say it easily and clearly out loud. In addition, make sure you’re always remaining consistent on what your character is called throughout your book. It will be confusing for your readers if characters go back and forth between called John and Jonathan- unless it’s for formality purposes.

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

SaveSave

The post What’s in a Name: Choosing Character Names appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Even explaining the term Psychic Distance can be difficult because it’s a very specific concept. Think of your book like you’re making a movie. In a movie, your POV would be the perspective of the main character and tense would be the setting (I.E. time, date, location, etc). If your book was a movie, Psychic Distance would be how close and far away your ‘camera’ is from your protagonist.

Still confused? Let me give you an example. In a movie, it would be very jarring to go from an aerial shot of a city directly to a shot of a character’s eyes opening. Because of this, filmmakers use transition shots. They’ll show a specific building, followed by the inside of an apartment,  a wide shot of a character asleep in bed, and then the character’s eyes opening.

We’re meant to do this with writing as well.  Some writers will make the mistake of writing something along the lines of “The moon was full and yellow, looming over the dark green trees in the forest. Oh no. What did you get yourself into this time, Jules?”

See the problem? The transition from describing a scene to a strongly voiced character thought is extremely jarring. Readers need the same type of transition you would find in a film. Otherwise, you leave a reader confused and wondering, “Where is Jules? What is she doing? Why is she thinking this?” You need a transition to give purpose to the thought.

Try using these transition steps:

1) The moon was full and yellow, looming over the dark green trees in the forest.
2) The young woman finally stopped running and leaned over a nearby tree. Julie’s hands were shaking and she could taste the blood in her mouth.
3) She closed her eyes and rested her hand on her forehead, contemplating her own stupidity.
4) It was actually almost impressive that someone could be this incredibly stupid.
5) Oh no. What did you get yourself into this time, Jules?

Could you feel yourself zooming in on Jules that time? First, we have a wide shot of the scene. Next, we have an action shot to establish what Julie is doing and to even give the reader a hint of the current conflict. Then we get a little closer with an action leading us to the summation of a thought she’s having from a distant third person POV.

Possibly most importantly, we have the sentence, “It was actually almost impressive that someone could be this incredibly stupid.” This is the most important transition to have here because of the language. The language, “incredibly stupid,” is no longer information that the narrator is giving us about Julie. The narrator of the story doesn’t think Julie is incredibly stupid- Julie thinks this of herself. The narrator uses language coming directly from Julie (that isn’t quite a direct thought) as a tool to brace the reader to go into the mind of the character. And, finally, we’re physically in the mind of the protagonist. The transition is even smoother when you begin each sentence with what the previous ended with (I.E. a wide shot, an action, a thought). Then, transition to the next step by the end of that sentence.

Here’s a cheat on how to do it:

1) Wide shot of the scene.
1) Begin with a slightly closer shot of the character, end with a character action.
2) Begin with a character action, end with a distant third person thought.
3) Begin with a distant third person thought, end with an almost voiced thought.
4) Directly voiced thought.

Similar to a film, these transition shots in books are crucial. It’s the difference between leaving your readers engaged and leaving them scratching their heads. Psychic Distance is a crucial part of writing consistency, even if it does sound like your college roommate’s cover band.

The post Psychic Distance: What is it? appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.