Tip #455: Character masks

People in real life wear masks to protect their real feelings and vulnerability.
Masks peeling away is a dramatic device

http://aerogrammestudio.com/2013/12/14/50-narrative-devices-for-non-fiction-storytellers/#more-5652 Slide 26

Tip #454: Passive characters

in language... subjects act, objects are acted upon

http://www.upworthy.com/being-a-sex-object-is-empowering-oh-wait-no-it-s-not-here-s-why-2

Do you want your protagonist to be the subject or the object of your story?

Are your female characters subjects or objects?

Tip #450: Finding sparks of life

When a particular character isn't coming to life, I... write out what s/he would say for themselves in an interview.

'Why I did this...'
'why I'm ging to do that...'
'Why I'm right...'

...The reasons and excuses aren't so important, but the perspective is... an assertion of {the character's} own perspective...

self-justifications... don't get into my novels. They do influence... the scene where a character is confronted by the truth about themselves.

http://writingtips.com.au/WRITING%20TIPS%20BRITISH%20version/downloads/wtipscontinuousUK.pdf p 63-64

Tip #448: Not everyone is the same

Pick two people on the same side of a conflict, but give them completely different motivations for fighting on that side.

http://www.writingexcuses.com/2013/12/08/writing-excuses-8-49-hard-social-science-fiction-with-joel-shepherd/

One of the advantages of using this in a story is it can be a far more subtle way of showing how evil an antagonist is without having them kick a puppy.

Tip #447: That which is unspoken

That which is unspoken defines the relationship.

Given examples:

Those things you won’t talk about.

The apology never given.

The explanation never provided.

The promise never followed through on.

The secret never shared.

The unspoken things that affect our relationships can also be those truths we keep from ourselves rather than the other person. We often hate most in others things that we fear in ourselves.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/12/13/things-left-unspoken/

Tip #445: Why character choice matters

There are very few situations where every human being on the planet will respond the same way, so the cascading series of unique choices they make — each time altering how the story goes — is what makes them — and the story — come alive.

When you’ve done it right, you’ll look at your story and realize that it would have been an altogether different story with any other character in the same situation.

http://www.aisteach.com/blog/?p=1205#more-1205

If you have some situations but no protagonist/antagonist, those situations (and how the characters got into and get out of them) help define your characters.

If you know your characters try asking yourself occasionally what they wouldn't do, and then work out why they'd do it.

Tip #335: Creating internal conflicts

pick a word that describes your character. For example: He’s compassionate. Then find another word that can also describe your character, but make it a polar opposite—terrorist... Giving a character a dual nature creates an instability, a lack of balance, that probably can’t stay forever.

http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=281

Tip #331: Character tone

Each person that you meet has something of an emotional tone about them. Some people are stern most of the time, while others might be thoughtful, pleasant, or excited.

http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=271

Tip #329: Using characters' desires to create character arcs

How far will that character go to fulfil their desires? Will he sacrifice the life of a member of his family to stay alive? Will she sacrifice her own life to kill him?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/crime-writing-competition/10159834/Telegraph-Harvill-Secker-Crime-Writing-Competition-masterclass-Stuart-Neville-on-plot.html

Quote taken from video so may not be word perfect.

Character arcs often build up to this question.  It's something we often grapple with daily: how far will we go to satisfy our desire for calorie-rich food?  Will we sacrifice our spare change/diet/figure/health/self-respect/love?  Where is the point when one desire battles with another and we start to question if the original driving desire is worth it?  Where is the point when we decide YES, it's worth it, or NO, it's not?  And what are the consequences of this decision?

The main character arc in Star Wars IV is different.  It's about Luke learning to believe in the Force (and therefore himself) culminating in his choice to trust it (and his own judgement) for a vitally important gamble (and foreshadowing the same decision in Star Wars VI).  But Han Solo has a desire character arc, discovering offscreen he can't abandon his friends in their attempt to destroy the Death Star -- even for money/long life.

Tip #327: Battle & fight scenes

There are many different reasons for a good battle scene. Am I trying to give a proper end to a beloved character? Am I trying to resolve the grudge, or to determine who, in the end, is better? Am I using a fight to leave a cliff-hanger...? Am I writing a personal fight between two enemies, or a grand-scale battle which can determine the fate of a city? Or am I simply trying to wake up the readers after a long pause in the action? I do that. I admit it openly. There are times when I just want a reader to get his or her pulse pounding.

http://blog.shelfari.com/my_weblog/2011/08/ra-salvatore-on-how-to-write-a-damn-good-fight-scene.html

Keep in mind that the injuries sustained during a fight will linger... Even if a person is never touched, and inflicts all the damage, there can be an emotional toll that character will walk away with

http://www.maxwellalexanderdrake.com/ClassHandouts/Old%20Handouts/Handout%20for%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fight%20Scene%20Pt1%20by%20Maxwell%20Alexander%20Drake.pdf

Tip #326: Living characters

our characters are just like us, constantly reacting to a million different stimuli... they could {n}ever have anticipated.

http://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/2013/04/24/are-you-planning-your-script/

Tip #324: Foreshadowing through myth

if you are writing a novel and creating your own world... consider whether to include your own legendary beasts and monsters, things that aren’t real but which some of your characters could conceivably believe in. ... A culture’s myths and legends... [can] serve... to warn the reader that they would encounter many a strange thing

 http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=254

Myths & legends can also be a great way to make info-dumps interesting, influence character behaviour, or highlight clues and red herrings while adding flavour to the world.

Tip #322: Character motivations

to sift through an array of possible motivations... The way to do that is not to ask, “What would make one man kill another?” Unless you’re a telepath... Better to ask, “What would make me kill someone?”

http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/you-and-your-characters/

Tip #320: Organic character growth

if your characters are doing things, even small things, those things will {often} change your characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vm6ttFHDTE (Christopher Paolini)

sometimes just in small ways, but small changes add up.

Tip #319: Obstacles

Brick walls are not there to keep us out. Brick walls are there to show how badly we want something.

– Randy Pausch (found here)

Or how badly our characters want something.  What are your characters' brick walls?

Tip #316: Meaning in character arcs

A powerful story motif occurs when the anti-hero, because of the unfolding events, is forced to join the community.

http://www.writersdigest.com/tip-of-the-day/writing-fiction-the-three-types-of-lead-characters

Likewise, if you start with a character who is part of the community and because of the unfolding events chooses or is forced to leave the community, that's also powerful.

Tip #315: The secret of great set-pieces

Audiences don’t love set-pieces. They love characters who do amazing things during set-pieces.

http://screenwritingtips.blcklst.com/2013/03/screenwriting-tip-1215/

Tip #308: Easy character arcs

If nothing (and no-one) else, your protagonist should end the story in a different state of mind to the one they began in, unless you're deliberately putting them back exactly where they started to show their lack of change or to emphasise small changes...   

Going from a negative to a positive emotion gives the ending a greater positive impact because the reader is subconsiously aware they've been on an positive emotional journey with the protagonist.

Given examples:

Biggles and Tintin frequently follow this arc:
Boredom -> Increasing Determination -> Satisfaction

Some of the Nancy Drew books often do something similar:
Curiosity -> Increasing Fear -> Relief

The Harry Potter books are much more complex, containing multiple arcs, one of which is:
Alone -> Increasing Friendships -> Loved

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

Tip #296: Meaningful deaths

{the} reader cared about these various character deaths because their deaths left an impact...

http://avajae.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/how-to-kill-characters-with-impact.html

because of how their subsequent absence will change the story, especially for the protagonist.

Tip #293: Attention-catching concepts

A good log-line is ironic. Irony gets attention and hooks interest.
 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/keeping-focused-nailing-the-pitch-understand-your-seed-idea/


Example:

A sparkly vampire falls in love with the one girl in the world whose blood might tempt him to break his vow not to feed on humans.

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/concept-begins-from-line-one-or-whats.html