let the emotion come from the subtext. If we, as readers, know how a situation is going to affect the character—how this will make their goals harder to achieve, how this will hurt them, how their subdued reactions hide their true pain—then we will sympathize
Middle grade characters are focused internally; it's about self-growth, learning who you are. Young adult characters are focused more externally, noticing the world around them and how they fit in, how they affect things. Often, that's a huge part of a YA character's growth throughout his or her story; moving from a naturally selfish stage in life to becoming more aware of the feelings and situations of others.
You almost always start out with a hero who is in some kind of environment where he or she is not completely comfortable and they know something is wrong...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw
{Sometimes} the author is withholding information in order to try to create tension with the reader. So the author might not let us in on the secret of who a character is, what their sex is, where the story is taking place, or what the story is about. This is what I call “false tension,” and it really can get annoying... real tension arises when a character is in jeopardy, and there is some doubt as to the outcome of that jeopardy.
When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.http://io9.com/5916970/the-22-rules-of-storytelling-according-to-pixar
My classmate had written a list of all the elements at work in the story. (Cancer! Affairs! Car accidents! Oh my!) He stripped the story down to its bare bones and read it back to me.
grounding is the fine art of letting the reader know what is going on. You need to focus on some basics: Who is in a scene? Where does it take place? What is the major conflict?
Those questions need to be answered quickly with every scene in a book or story... You could do worse than to start a story with all three elements in the very first sentence: “Johann did not want to die on the moon, but when the asteroid struck the dome above Callisto Crater, it looked as if he didn’t have any other options.”
I tried to focus on the choices you make before you write a novel. The main character and the most important character are not always the same person — you have to know the difference. The first-person voice and the third-person voice each come with advantages and disadvantages; it helps me to know what the story is, and who the characters are, before I choose the point-of-view voice for the storytelling.
Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.http://io9.com/5916970/the-22-rules-of-storytelling-according-to-pixar
Do you excel at creating tension? Unpredictable plot complications? Sympathetic characters? Suspense? Romance? Historical detail?... relish the satisfaction of leaving a particular, distinguishing mark.
If first impressions are important in real life, they are absolutely vital in fiction. A character’s initial appearance on the scene will leave an indelible mark in the reader’s mind. Flub it, and you’ll spend the rest of the book trying to make up for the mistake you made in characterization. Nail it, and the character may later perform all manner of transgressions, because the reader will know, deep down, who the person truly is.
“Who’s your reader?”...http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/who-is-your-target-reader
When an editor or agent asks... they aren’t just looking for a demographic – they’re looking for your motivation.. the implied question...“why are you the right writer to tell this story?”
See this question as an opportunity to show both the businesslike and passionate sides of yourself – i.e., why this is a marketable book and why you alone of all the souls on earth were born to write it... {to e}xplain where your ideas come from and how they develop over time.
“Who’s your target reader?” ... “9-13 year old girls. It really bothers me how they’re pressured to grow up too fast. Last Christmas I was talking to my niece and it hit me that her childhood is so different from mine, that….”
