expositively

agonyofanuntoldstory:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave Sherlock Holmes a full panoply of supporting characters. There was Dr. Watson, the quintessential “sidekick,” to act as a sounding board; Scottish landlady Mrs. Hudson, to cook and clean and fuss over Holmes; Scotland Yard Inspector LeStrade, to provide a foil for Holmes’ intuitive brilliance, as well as access to official investigations; the Baker Street Irregulars, to ferret out information; and Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s politically powerful older brother, to provide financial and strategic support. Like Doyle’s, your cast of supporting characters should reflect what your protagonist needs.

Balancing Character Traits

An amateur sleuth needs a friend or relative with access to inside information—a police officer, a private investigator or a crime reporter will fit the bill. A character who’s arrogant and full of himself needs a character to keep him from taking himself too seriously, maybe an acerbic coworker or a mother. You might want to show a hardboiled police detective’s softer side by giving him kids or a pregnant wife.

The most important supporting character in many genres, though, is the sidekick. Virtually every mystery protagonist has one. Rex Stout’s obese, lazy, brilliant Nero Wolfe has Archie Goodwin—a slim, wisecracking ladies’ man. Carol O’Connell’s icy, statuesque, blonde Detective Kathy Mallory has garrulous, overweight, aging, alcoholic Detective Riker. Robert B. Parker’s literate, poetry-quoting Spenser has black, street-smart, tough-talking Hawk. Harlan Coben’s former basketball-star-turned-sports-agent, Myron Bolitar, has a rich, blond, preppy friend, Windsor Horne Lockwood, III.

See a pattern? It’s the old opposites attract. Mystery protagonists and their sidekicks are a study in contrasts. Sidekicks are the yin to the protagonists’ yang. The contrast puts the protagonists’ characteristics into relief. For instance, the thickheaded Watson makes Holmes look smarter.

The place to start in creating a sidekick is with the profile you developed of your sleuth, so think about what kind of opposites will work.

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(Source: writersdigest.com)

thewritershelpers:

Every writer will find themselves procrastinating, getting bored, or hitting a mental wall. Like everyone says, the only way you can get through it is to sit your ass down and actually write. However, when you’re feeling insecure with your story or your capabilities, that can be a lot harder than it sounds.

The only advice I will give other than “go read a book” or “go look at art” is sign up for a forum and join or start a roleplay. Some writers are hesitant to roleplay, and of course they have legitimate reasons, but roleplaying (or “RPing”) has a lot of positive aspects.

1. It keeps you writing through your rough period, even if it’s just 400 words per day (it also keeps you away from self-help sheets like this).

2. You don’t have to take it seriously. Don’t be an asshole and make it a miserable experience for the other people in your RP, but this is an excellent opportunity to write without the nag of “this would never get published…” 

3. The roleplay can end whenever you want it to, whether it’s reached its end or not. You can permanently leave at any time and not have to give a shit. It might annoy the people you were RPing with, but leave them a little excuse and just log out. 

5. Having other people posting will keep you from hitting a wall. Even if you can’t find a way to carry on the story from your POV, tell them you’ll pass your turn, wait for someone else to post, or ask for them to edit in something you can respond to. 

6. It’s perfect for developing an elusive character that you just can’t connect with. Use them as your MC and take some time to get to know them personally, with new challenges thrown in their face. 

7. You can make writing friends who may also be working on their own private projects, who feel fine giving you advice for yours or editing it.

8. It’s perfect for developing your weak spots. Terrible at fight scenes? Join a violent RP. Terrible at romance? Make your character a love interest. Terrible at antagonists? Play one. Terrible at distinct dialogue? Practice it. Etc.

9. Experimentation. You want to write a child, but you’re not sure how to go about it? Add a child into the RP. Give yourself room to stretch and test things out. The other RP-ers won’t care, unless it severely gets in the way of the plot. 

10. Writing with other people will inspire things that can be modified and applied to your private works. I’m not saying steal other people’s characters, but perhaps a trait that one of their characters has is particularly interesting and you’d like to use it again. Maybe one of your characters uses some secret camera device that you can change around and put to work in your story. 

Of course, roleplaying isn’t going to be for everyone, nor is every RP experience going to be superb. But if you find yourself stuck, it is one of the only things I would advertise as always helpful.

Wearing that ring…

From A Creative Writer’s Kit by Judy Reeves

One day, while reading your favorite book on the beach, you notice a boat slowly drifting to shore. It eventually lands near your spot. A person, draped in pirate clothes, yells to you from the boat, “I have a treasure map and I need help. Are you in?” 500 words.

From Writer’s Digest

Write a fragment of a story about a villain who gets away with a serious and perhaps brutal crime and enjoys the fruits of his crime (or simply enjoys the fact that nothing happens after this crime). Love this character and try to make him at least somewhat loveable to us. Think in terms of class distinctions- an uncomfortable subject in the United States, as we tend to deny they exist here. 600 words.

From The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kitely

​1. What is your writing goal?

2. What stands in the way of you achieving your writing goal?

3. What do you stand to lose if you are not successful?

4. Name some of your flaws as they have to do with your writing.

5. Name some of your strengths.

6. Name some things you hate about writing.

7. Name some things you love about writing.

8. Name some things you fear.

9. Describe a dream or aspiration.

1​0​. Write down a secret no one else knows about​ you​.

From The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson