I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

How do I come up with new places to take my characters?

Asked by: Jamie Singleton

How do you create a character place?

How To Make Your Setting a Character

  1. LINK DETAILS AND EMOTIONS.
  2. MEASURE CHANGE OVER TIME.
  3. REALIZE THAT HISTORY IS PERSONAL.
  4. SEE THROUGH CHARACTERS’ EYES.

Where should my story take place?

5 Elements of Setting in Literature

  • Geographic location: A story might be set in a real-life, mappable place like a particular city, state, or country, or it might be set in an imaginary world. …
  • Physical location: A character’s immediate surroundings, like a room or a temple, can be important information to highlight.

How do you bring a new character?

Here is some writing advice to help you introduce your characters as effectively as possible:

  1. Don’t get bogged down in physical appearance. …
  2. Give your character a memorable character trait. …
  3. Start with backstory when appropriate. …
  4. Introduce a character through action. …
  5. Introduce the main character as soon as possible.

How do you bring your characters to life?

To create living, interesting characters, you need to draw on your experience of life, and add to it.
8 ways to make your characters come vividly to life

  1. Draw on people you know. …
  2. Surprise us. …
  3. give them contradictions. …
  4. give them goals. …
  5. give them flaws. …
  6. give them strengths. …
  7. find their picture.

Can a location be a character?

Your Location is a Character

When you study character development and character arcs as much as we do here, you start to get a feel for where things are going in every story. But the things that continue to surprise us are the locations within stories.

Can places be characters?

Just like people, locations can have certain traits that bring out their personalities and influence the way our characters interact with them. Each location we choose has its own unique set of physical characteristics as well as a general feeling or mood that it gives off.

What are the 3 types of setting?

The three types of setting are the elements of time, place, and environment (both physical and social). Each of these types contributes to building the setting of a story.

What are the 5 elements of setting?

Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.



How do you make your story set more real and familiar?

How to Create a Vivid Setting for Your Story

  1. Use place to your advantage. Place denotes both geographical location and immediate surroundings. …
  2. Make use of time. …
  3. Show the world through your characters’ eyes. …
  4. Be aware of how setting affects emotions.

Can fictional characters be real?

Fictional characters do not exist, the things that fictional characters say and do, do not actually happen, and all the things that are gleaned from this—i.e., the profound truths about the human condition we supposedly learn from literature—are based on nothing real. and never was a real person.

How do you make your character feel human?

6 Ways You Can Make Protagonist Feel More Human

  1. Outside Interests: A story revolves around a central character, so it’s easy to make it seem like that’s all that exists. …
  2. Show How They Reacted in Bad Times: …
  3. Demonstrate Character Motives and Values: …
  4. Minutia of Character Lives: …
  5. Humor Makes Us Human: …
  6. Have a Moral Code:



How do you create suspense?

10 Tips for Amplifying Suspense and Tension

  1. Start the clock. …
  2. Finesse the point of view. …
  3. End a chapter with a cliffhanger. …
  4. Invest in strong character development. …
  5. Hint at what’s to come. …
  6. Make your main character more complicated. …
  7. Layer in subplots to add to the suspense. …
  8. Create a false sense of security.

What are the 7 elements of suspense?

7 Key Elements of Suspense Story Writing

  • Strong Characters. …
  • Conflict or Dilemma. …
  • Pacing. …
  • High Stakes. …
  • Red Herrings and Rabbit Holes (Deceive Your Reader in a Way They Like) …
  • Atmosphere. …
  • Foreshadowing.

What are the 5 elements of suspense?

5 Elements of a Suspense Novel

  • Conflict. Every novel needs conflict, and it’s also incredibly important for building suspense. …
  • Pacing. The pace of your novel is another important component to building suspense. …
  • Red herrings. Red herrings are clues in your story that mislead readers. …
  • Atmosphere. …
  • High stakes.



How do you write a stressful scene?

  1. 7 Tension-Building Tips for Writing Action Scenes. November 4, 2014 Guest Contributor Filed Under: Fiction. …
  2. Write in tight sentences or phrases. …
  3. Use hard, action verbs. …
  4. Imagine the character’s feelings. …
  5. Mix short and long sentences. …
  6. Use dialogue but quick short sentences. …
  7. Show don’t Tell. …
  8. Toss out your flowery language.
  9. How do you make a protagonist interesting?

    How to Write a Good Protagonist Your Readers Will Remember

    1. #1 – Make Your Protagonist Likable.
    2. #2 – Make Them Funny.
    3. #3 – Make Your Protagonist Powerful.
    4. #4 – Give Your Protagonist Trouble and Conflict.
    5. #5 – Give Them Diverse Characteristics.
    6. #6 – Avoid Making a Passive Character.

    How do you begin a story?

    Starting Stories: 5 Great Beginning Strategies

    1. Strategy 1: Begin with action or dialogue. …
    2. Strategy 2: Ask a question. …
    3. Strategy 3: Describe the setting. …
    4. Strategy 4: Begin with background information. …
    5. Strategy 5: Have the main character introduce himself or herself.



    How do you show dread in writing?

    1. Fear. The noises filled her with fear. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
    2. Trepidation. “Your trepidation is well placed. …
    3. Anxiety. “I can’t escape the anxiety. …
    4. Concern. When he heard where they were taking him he suddenly looked very concerned.
    5. Terror. When I saw what it did to them terror crept up my spine.
    6. How do you write a character scared?

      The most effective way to portray a character’s fear isn’t to show just their physical responses in the moment. When you sprinkle little snippets of what they’re afraid of throughout the story, the reader will not only know the character is afraid, but will be afraid for the character when the moment of truth arrives.

      How do you write scared?

      In this post, we have included 32 things for you to consider when you write about fear.
      B) Body Language

      1. Hunching shoulders.
      2. Shrinking away.
      3. Open mouth.
      4. Wide eyes.
      5. Shaking.
      6. Trembling.
      7. Freezing.
      8. Wrapping arms around oneself.

      How do I not show fear?

      Examples of Show Don’t Tell for Scared

      Her blood ran cold. The chill haze of her suspicion began to crystallize. Fear pumped dark wine through her veins and sharpened all her senses. His scream pierced the air.

      What’s a better word for scared?

      OTHER WORDS FOR afraid



      1 scared, fearful, disquieted, apprehensive, timid, timorous.

      How do I inspire my fear of others?

      Here are sure-fire ways we (inadvertently) instill fear of ourselves in others:

      1. Shut down all communication if somebody says something “wrong.” The effect is even more powerful if you grit your teeth. …
      2. Interrogate the other. …
      3. Accuse, criticize, and insinuate. …
      4. Blame others. …
      5. Complain.

      What does fear feel like?

      Faster breathing or shortness of breath. Butterflies or digestive changes. Sweating and chills. Trembling muscles.

      What is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety?

      Follow the 3-3-3 rule.

      Look around you and name three things you see. Then, name three sounds you hear. Finally, move three parts of your body — your ankle, fingers, or arm.

      What does fear smell like?

      The Powerful Smell of Fear Doesn’t Smell Like Anything at All. You won’t know what you sniffed this Halloween. An invisible mist will rise off the sweaty, scared hordes piling into haunted houses and corn mazes this Halloween, hoping to be spooked.