early planning -

13May 2011 by diannagunn

Characterization in Early Planning

This week we are going to talk about character. I know that I said we would talk about plot next, but I decided that we should talk about character first. This is because I believe plot should usually be built upon setting and character; together they are the building blocks of a well written story, and without them, plot means nothing. The greatest story in the world will fall flat on its face if nobody cares, and without a great character-or at least a decent one-nobody will care. For many writers, character is the first thing to appear when they are working on a story. This does not make it the easiest; a character may say hello to a writer days before they give the writer a name, and months…

29Apr 2011 by diannagunn

Setting and its Purposes in Early Planning

Novels, Writing

You are probably aware of the three main elements of storytelling: plot, setting, and characterization. While these elements are usually talked about separately in writing blogs, in truly great fiction they are very hard to separate from one another, and each one directly influences the next. This is because characters must fit within their world; the plot must fit within the setting and the characters must be willing to participate. In most fantasy novels the setting is changed too, if not the climate or world itself than at least human society. Today I'm going to talk about setting and how you can either use it to create a story or how you can discover it by looking at the basic elements of your idea. I am lucky because my stories…