Developing a plot for a novel can be tricky. Today, Sarah Waldock, author of Regency romances and historical mystery stories, presents an amazing creative method: Writing by dice.
Her post offers a unique insight into the creative process and shows how the element of chance can be successfully employed to enhance a plot.
People often ask me how a writer develops a character for a novel. I usually answer:
“It’s easy. You simply make up his or her life.”
This answer is not always helpful, because the most frequent reply is:
“Oh, make it up – but I don’t know how to do that.”
This post is dedicated to all persons who feel fobbed off by my aloof advice. Today, I will explain the development of a character properly. To give you an insight into the creative process, I will use a “real life” example.
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I have discussed Methods of Research for Historical Writers some months ago. Among others, I recommended working with Wikipedia to get a quick overview on a topic. I still stick to this advise. Nevertheless, it is always important and useful to double-check on information and to deepen your knowledge by visiting specialised websites and blogs. Therefore, I have edited links to tried and tested websites for you to help you with your research on the Regency period. Continue reading
In the first two parts of this series, I wrote about ways to manage the characters of a novel. I discussed
I also mentioned that it is useful to write a biography for each character. While it is a lot of work, there are certain benefits.
Welcome to the second post of this 3-part series about keeping track of your characters – the one with The Free Download. In the previous post, I covered what pieces of information about your characters you could and should define.
You have now created a lot of data for each character. How to handle it? The answer depends on your preferences. Here are some options: Continue reading
Your novel features many characters. Each of them has individual characteristics of appearance and behaviour. You might easily remember the long dark hair of your heroine and the aquiline nose of your hero. But remembering every bit of information about every character is likely to be a challenge. It is advisable to list those attributes somehow.
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Research is immensely important for writers of historical novels. A good knowledge of the historical background helps to straighten the plot, gives credibility to its characters and brings the story to life.
Research also is fun.
If you aspire to write a Regency novel, here are five conventional and unconventional methods of research for you:
Unconventional methods of research
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Writers are free to make use of any creativity technique they can think of. Brainwriting and Mind Mapping, for example, are well known.
Another intriguing technique is incorporating chance, i.e. random thoughts, into your creative process in order to trigger ideas. In a previous post I have suggested using chance cards when being stuck in creating a plot.
Of course, I haven’t. They are not real! Or they are dead. Or both.
Is that what you are thinking? Technically, you are right, but luckily it is not the end of your story.
Time to let your schizophrenic side(s) shine:
How do you come up with a plot? The question sounds harmless, but has caused many a sleepless night to aspiring writers.
Once you have decided to write a Regency novel, the rules of the genre define your framework:
For a Regency novel, you need in any case: Continue reading
