How to Write a Character Driven Story -

Identify what your characters want, their motivation and emotional change in the story.  Characters come to life from a guide chart, on their past and individuality for consistent story flow.  Fit the characters fears, drives and goals to the difficulty or obstacle in their path.  Does the character perceive things the way everyone in general might?  What affects the character for change?  How does the character change?  What triggers the driven character and to what form of action?  Would the character be asked, “Is that you?”  “Is that really you?”  What makes the character interesting in the description?  With a clear objective and growth the character solves the problem that readers may share in.  Character driven focuses on growth by showing internal change and its influences, to develop the plot and story.  Show unique actions a dramatic character takes to overcome problems, danger on a path to attain the goal.  Place inner tension conflict to develop layering situations that raise the stakes to take action.  Scenes for your story are created by actions dealing with encounters, event or problem consequences.  A story ending has emphases on maximum unpredictable stakes.  Conflict has been resolved at the story ending.

Character driven novels:

M. L. Stedman’ The Light Between Oceans, 1926. Tom Sherbourne is a young lighthouse keeper on a remote island off Western Australia. The only inhabitants of Janus Rock, he and his wife Isabel live a quiet life, cocooned from the rest of the world.  Then one April morning a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a crying infant - and the path of the couple's lives hits an unthinkable crossroads.  Only years later do they discover the devastating consequences of the decision they made that day - as the baby's real story unfolds ...

Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name Of The Wind, so begins the tale of Kvothe—from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe as a notorious magician, an accomplished thief, a masterful musician, and an infamous assassin. But The Name of the Wind is so much more—for the story it tells reveals the truth behind Kvothe's legend.

Colum McCann’ TransAtlantic, these three iconic crossings are connected by a series of remarkable women whose personal stories are caught up in the swells of history. Beginning with Irish housemaid Lily Duggan, who crosses paths with Frederick Douglass, the novel follows her daughter and granddaughter, Emily and Lottie, and culminates in the present-day story of Hannah Carson, in whom all the hopes and failures of previous generations live on. From the loughs of Ireland to the flatlands of Missouri and the windswept coast of Newfoundland, their journeys mirror the progress and shape of history. They each learn that even the most unassuming moments of grace have a way of rippling through time, space and memory.

Charlotte Brontë’ Jane Eyre, one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr. Rochester. However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors.

How to Use Pace in Writing -

To develop uniqueness and feeling of the moment forward pace is reduced.  Pace slows with silence and description of sight, smell or touch as an event unfolds extending tension.  Expand tension with characters inner thoughts before their reaction, dialogue or scene description.  Readers share terror, fear or joy in events and the experiences of crowds or characters.  When characters thoughts of-and their circumstances are described, the scene slows then feelings increase unique to the character.  Scenes slow down the action.  Sound and new setting description can direct, set mood and pick up the pace.  A characters statement with opinion imagery can control scene pace, a contrast to the previous scene.  Action dialogue scenes can pick up the pace.  Narrative information about key scenes brings the scene alive for the reader.  Those scenes may be effective for chapter openings or section transitions.   Pick up the pace by condensing slow text and summery also speeds up the pace.  Create a clear writing flow that makes the logical connections and is easier to read.

Slow Pace:

J.R.R. Tolkien’ The Hobbit (Middle-Earth Universe), this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001). Unforgettable!

Josephine Tey’ The Daughter of Time, inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower.

Paced:

Hakan Nesser’ Hour of the Wolf, soon Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, now retired from the Maardam police force, will face his greatest trial yet as someone close to him is, inexplicably, murdered. Van Veeteren's former colleagues, desperate for answers, struggle to decipher the clues to this appalling crime.

Elmore Leonard’ Djibouti, they learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him. He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something big.

How to Use Foreshadowing in Writing -

Foreshadowing builds anticipation for readers in what could occur, adding unexpected striking apprehension to your writing.  Suspense is created in mystery novels, with misleading or distracting words and phrases for readers.  When foretold unusual and surprising events seem believable, using foreshadowing that prepares the readers.  When used at the beginning of a story or chapter, readers may expect coming events or an experience in a story. There are various ways of creating a foreshadowing.  A writer may use dialogue hints to indicate a cause for changes in events or traits in the future.  Any event or action in the story may signal to the readers about future events or action.  Title or a chapter title can suggest what will happen.  In fiction the atmosphere of suspense creates a mood, or it conveys information the tone giving readers interest to know more.  Clues both subtle and direct in the text seem believable; readers feel prepared for the plot events when they happen with foreshadowing.  When there is a possibility of conflict foreshadowing can be used, it advances the story.   Unusual details, differences in progression, a unique emotional significance; can suggest and later prove significant for plot or character.

Examples of foreshadowing:

John Steinbeck’ East of Eden, based his novel and named his characters Caleb and Aron to foreshadow their respective fates from the known story of Cain and Abel.

Agatha Christie’ Murder on the Orient Express, conversation overheard by Poirot between Mary Debenham and Colonel Arbuthnot on the way to Stamboul, Ratchett tells Poirot someone is going to murder him, Princess Dragomiroff tells Poirot her arms are not strong and looks at her arms.

Ray Bradbury’ A Sound of Thunder, the science of time travel takes hunters back in time. Travis insists that interrupting any of the natural processes in the past could have irreparable repercussions for the future.  When the hunting party returns to their time, Eckels notices a strange smell in the air. It's faint, but something is different. He looks around him trying to figure out what has changed. The immediate thing that he noticed had changed was the sign upon the wall. The words were spelled differently, and Eckels begins to panic, seeing firsthand the repercussions of his stroll off of the path. The death of a single butterfly has dramatically altered the world they once knew.

John Milton’ Paradise Lost, turning to their daily obligations, they are reminded that they have power and free will.  They may be able to attain a purer state through obedience.  Eve's dream is confirmation and emphasis on what the reader knows must and will happen.  Further, by bringing up the dream at this point in the text, Milton makes the reader analogous to God. Both God and the reader know that Adam and Eve will fall, but neither the reader nor God is the cause of that fall.    

How to Write a Compelling Novel, Plan |

Compelling writing is emotional and engaging with many obstacles.  The protagonist is selfless in bravery and there for the benefit of others.  An almost impossible urgent mission is another element of an excellent thriller.  Dialogue for each character should be unique for their identity, driving their actions consistently.  Each character should have purpose and pursue something.  Provide interesting relevant details, evidence and subtle differences in the level of importance.  Develop the story with clear points readers may have experienced and bring your story to life.  Show the audience through clear description with action and conflict, so they can see the purpose and become involved.  Connect with the audience in a path through obstacles with focus to an outstanding outcome and change.  Readers participate in the decisions and action for what could happen next.  Resolve questions or conflicts.

Compelling novel examples:

Albert Camus’ The Plague, It may be a human instinct to search for meaning in every tragedy.  As Dr. Rieux says, of the plague's survivors, "For some time, anyhow, they would be happy. They knew now that if there is one thing one can always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love."

Caleb Carr’ The Alienist, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department.  - amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over."

John le Carré’ The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Setting a standard that has never been surpassed, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a devastating tale of duplicity and espionage.

Cormac McCarthy’ The Road, is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

How to Develop a Theme in Writing

Theme is the cause for incidents the reader is reading about that occur; cause shows or relates to events affecting the antagonist.  Theme is why direction is taken to advance to exciting new surroundings, a situation or characters that can develop more action.  The leading characters goal is achieved through effects, overcoming obstacles in pursuit of a goal.  As each incident cause becomes known, it can give further direction for responses that advance the story.  The protagonist may inspire fear or losses through a length of forceful events, to influence the antagonist.  The antagonist may in part or completely halt afflictions to their main objective, due to the duration of events then the protagonist achieves the goal. 

H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, theme is of compliance through fear of destruction, from a technologically advanced civilization.  This invasion of inhuman monstrous aliens, were physically grotesque and only able to processes thoughts destroying all but themselves.

Jules Verne’ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, theme is man surviving the conflicts living an undersea life.  In the midst of undersea dangers, the leading character previously unknown, demonstrates his means of naval technological superiority and sinks a ship.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, theme is guilt of a selfish man in the giving environment of Christmas.  Ghosts revealed to the lead character, the terrible aspects of his human nature upon his victims.  Change came to the leading character through his new connection to mortality.

Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, theme is vengeance of a man further incited by his enemies.  The lead character changes realizing his punishment of others through deception must end with forgiveness.