Tip #224: Using Deus ex Machina

THE SUCCESS OF DEUS EX MACHINA NEVER LIES IN THE DELIVERY, BUT IN THE SET-UP AND IT’S IMPORTANCE TO THE CHARACTER

http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/hulk-explains-why-we-should-stop-it-with-the-hero-journey-shit/

Tip #223: Questions for critters

"The main conflict of your story is..."
"A basic summary of your story is..."
"At its core, your story is really about..."
"The major characters of your story are..."
If at any point your trusted {critiquer} cannot finish those sentences, or has trouble finishing them, or gets them wrong, or gets confused, you know where the problem areas in your story are. ...

"The questions I had at the beginning of the story are..."
"The questions that were still unanswered at the end of the story are..."

...Ask your {critiquer} to tell you about X character-- who he is, and what role he plays in your story.

http://www.yahighway.com/2012/03/strictly-objective-critique-partner.html

Tip #222: Rebirth

The Dark Point is the crisis during which all main players are reborn - whether literally, whether their perspective has changed, whether others' perspective of them has changed (perhaps because they have a new role & responsibilities, or the truth is out). Readers and characters alike are now clear on where each character will stand at the battle lines of the Climax.

Unless of course you have a Trickster character... (I'm looking at you, Capt. Jack Sparrow)

H.R. Filmore's Reminders to Self, March 2012

Tip #221: An excercise in character

looking at passersby in the street or surreptitiously at other people in the cafe. Pretend you're them: do they move comfortably or in distress?... Where is their attention fixed, and why might it be so?... Check expressions on faces... Who looks comfortable in themselves, and who doesn't?... What would it be like to be twenty years older? Twenty years younger? What worlds do they look out on and do they see the same things you do? What might be their fears? Hopes? Dreams? What do they want from life... and on and on. 

http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/q8zyv/hello_reddit_i_am_steven_erikson_please_ask_me/c3vxshm

Try choosing the people that interest you least.

Tip #220: Fear

By allowing the character to fear what could happen,  the stakes are raised for both the character and the reader.

http://yamuses.blogspot.com/2012/02/act-1-turn.html

Tip #219: Token characters

When you have only one girl {character} in a sea of boys, she starts being defined by her girl-ness – rather than her intelligence, her fear, her love for chemistry, her musical talents, her combat skills... things that make her an individual 

http://www.alexdallymacfarlane.com/2012/03/feminist-sff-female-friendships/

As Alex Dally MacFarlane later adds, this applies to all groups which are often underrepresented, whether because of race, sexuality, disability.

Tip #218: Weeping characters

rather than seeing those external displays of emotion, I’d rather know the exact thoughts that bring those tears about.

http://kidlit.com/2012/02/01/for-crying-out-loud/

Tip #217: Getting to know characters

list... the first ten things each significant character says or does... to see who those characters are

http://blog.storybird.com/2011/06/writing-and-editing-for-kids/

Tip #216: Historical language

Glamour in Glass is set in 1815 and I wanted to have the language fairly clean of anachronisms. The challenge came in trying to figure out what words didn’t exist yet. So I decided to create a Jane Austen word list, from the complete works of Jane Austen, and use that as my spellcheck dictionary.

http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/words-i-couldnt-use-in-glamour-in-glass/