Beware of overpowered characters In NOvels Authors have to resist the impulse to make their characters too powerful. If the character is made too powerful, that character will also need to have a weakness as well. Having a character that is too powerful without any weaknesses can ruin a story. Because of this, you should…
Read More
Character Names Many students get stuck on character names. They might spend more time trying to figure out a name for a character than they do in actually starting to write the story. Names are important, but there are many ways to make finding great names for your characters easier. Impact of Character Names…
Read More
Personality ArcheTypes There is a difference between character archetypes and personality archetypes. In this article, I will discuss personality archetypes. For example, a hero might be a bad boy or an innocent archetype. The villain might be a trickster or a ruler archetype. [one_fourth] [/one_fourth] [three_fourth_last] Innocent Personality Archetype The innocent personality archetype is characterized…
Read More
Teach Students With Book Writing Prompts There are many challenges when you teach students with book writing prompts. Both the teacher and students have to be committed to completing the book. Be sure that both you and your students are prepared to face the challenges of writing a book with prompts. If you are prepared…
Read More
Character Development When writing a novel, your hero needs to go through some type of character development through growth or change. For example, your character might begin the story as an innocent bystander who watches things happens to an active participant in solving problems. Another option might be a novice warrior who is ill-prepared for battle changing…
Read More
Call to Adventure – Steps of the Hero’s Journey Students have read, heard, or watched many stories in their lifetimes. These stories share similar characteristics and as such can be used to create a scaffold for students to use when creating their novels. The Call to Adventure – Steps of the Hero’s Journey is based…
Read More
Common Core Creative Writing Prompts Almost anything can become a creative writing prompt for a teacher to use with their students. I prefer to include images with my writing prompts. When combined with an image, these common core creative writing prompts can generate interest and engagement. There are just a few examples for students to…
Read More
Before Beginning To Write A Novel Before beginning to write your novel. you should consider several important questions. One of the first questions you need to ask yourself is who do you want your audience to be. For example, do you want your audience to be adults? Okay, which adults? Men in their 20’s or…
Read More
Writing A Novel With Public Domain Characters Over the years, many writers have used public domain characters they didn’t create to write stories. Think of all the Grimm fairy tales that have been turned into stories and movies. Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel, and Gretel have appeared in multiple versions throughout the last two centuries.…
Read More