#dynamic writing

Worldbuilding: Part 2 You've done the leg work, but now what? Avoid info dumps by finding better ways to introduce the world of your novel.

Let’s just walk through this quick…

You have read Worldbuilding Part 1 (ahem—right?) and learned how important it was to develop a rich, thoughtful, and dynamic world. You heeded that oh-so-valuable advice and rushed to compile a world that would take your book to the next level. You have then twiddled your thumbs for WEEKS in anticipation of this very article.

And now here we are……

Welcome to Worldbuilding!

This was a series that was never intending to be a series. A note on our editorial calendar to create an article on worldbuilding and continuity turned into an article on worldbuilding, which then in turn turned into a “I’ve written how many pages?”

So, you get a series. Three parts, moving from getting started and managing scope (you’re here!), integrating the…

When you think of writing a story, there are certain things that you must come up with. For example, you need to come up with your characters. One way of starting a story is where you introduce your readers to one of the characters. In most cases, it is often the protagonist. The characters play a very important role in plot development. One can use the thoughts and words of the characters to pass a given information across.

There are two main types of characters. First of all, we have the static characters. These are the type of characters who never change. They do not grow, adapt, evolve and neither do they learn. There are such individuals in the real life. The, we have the dynamic characters. These are the type of characters who usually undergo an important change. The change is often an internal one. The action of the plot is what attributes to these changes. Our lives are all about changes. For instance, we are not the same as we were back then. People often change as a result of the circumstances surrounding them. Click this link for more info.

There are quite a number of the things that the use of a dynamic character helps the writer to achieve. In other words, the dynamic characters are important in various ways. For instance, they are used by the writers to bring out the issue of conflict in a story. Interesting stories often have a conflict that is present. In some cases, the dynamic characters are found in the middle of the conflict. The author will therefore use the dynamic characters as part of their solution to the conflict. The static characters cannot be used since they do no change or adapt. As for the dynamic characters, they can adapt according to the situation. The resolution of conflicts in a story often comes at the hand of the dynamic characters.

This is the reason why most good stories have dynamic characters. The dynamic characters help the author to come up with the plot of the story. This is so because stories often change as you continue reading. And it is only the dynamic characters are able to assist with that changes since they adapt. A writer can then introduce another school of thought by using the dynamic characters.  

As a matter of fact, there are different methods, styles, techniques and ideas that people use when coming up with a script, book, fiction, or play. One of these techniques is the use of a dynamic character. This is basically a character that is always on the move. He or she undergoes substantial changes internally which brings a certain form of development. These changes occur in the worldview, attitude or personality.

Through the narrative or play, it is not easy to predict the behavior of character due to the constant change. They act completely opposite static characters who never change from the start of the narrative to the end. In most cases, minor, antagonist, and protagonists also take the form of dynamic character in a play or fiction. When writing about this type of character, there are some things you need to know, Check out this link.

First, you need to understand the character creation. In this area, you need to come up with the entire life format in order to know where to fix the changes. This will help you come with up a complete guide towards your writing goal. For instance, if you take a protagonist pastor to be your main character, some questions can be used to answer the behavior of the person.

First, how does the pastor behave and what does he say about himself. What is his relationship with his parents and church members. How does he relate to females and how does he relate with men. You also need to address how he handles his family and church. What is his level of education, is he learned or not. What are the good or bad habits and does he have self-conscious or not.

These are some of the areas that this character should address. In fact, the character is expected to be unpredictable. You cannot depict exactly the behavior or the next move the person is about to make. You also need to indicate the life mission, purpose or objective of the character. This will help create desires and suspense for readers trying to know whether he has achieved his life mission or not.

In my day job as an editor I see a lot of manuscripts, and creating ‘authentic’ dialogue seems to be tricky for many a new author. The trick is to find a balance that allows important information to be conveyed to the reader while still making the speech feel ‘natural’. Have you ever felt that the dialogue in your stories reads as self-conscious and stilted, or as an endless monologue of exposition ‘disguised’ as one character talking to another? I have the same problem. In fact, for me, dialogue is the hardest part to get right. In this series, I will share everything I have learned so far about what (not) to do when writing dialogue.

Part 1: Short Speech

Part 2: Longer Speech

Part 3: Speech Within Speech

Part 4: Character Voice

There are two types of readers who like mystery novels: those who like to figure out the ending before the protagonist, and those who are happy to go along and be pleasantly surprised by twists in the plot. What both of these types of reader have in common, however, is a keen appreciation of the nuance that goes into a good mystery.

Because of this, writers of mystery novels (and I’m sitting watching episodes of Cadfael on YouTube while I write this) need to be on the ball when it comes to details. The mystery itself can be as complex as you like, but there must be clues so the reader can follow along and mutter, ‘Oh, so that’s what that was about,’ when the big twist is revealed.

The best way to do this in something like a crime novel is to remember the principles of Chekhov’s Gun. This trope advises that any object described in detail in the first act of a story must come into play during the third act, in order for the reader to be satisfied with the pay-off. Think about it: what is the point of you, the author, putting effort into being particular about a thing if that thing doesn’t become important later on?

But when writing stories that feature more intrigue than crime, it is better to focus on your characters’ actions. If there is a traitor among your cast, build hints into their actions from the very first, so that when the Big Reveal happens, it doesn’t come from so left-field that your readers question the suspension of their disbelief. At the same time, don’t strain to conceal the identity of the traitor past plausibility with phrases such as ‘said the tall, amorphous individual without any identifying features,’ because after a few sentences your prose will likely become warped and clunky, and the frustrated reader will roll their eyes in exasperation. If the story demands a reveal, use it! The dramatic irony created can later on be used to heighten tension between the protagonist and the unknown (to them) traitor.

In my day job as an editor I see a lot of manuscripts, andcreating ‘authentic’ dialogue seems to be tricky for many a new author. The trick is to find a balance that allows important information to be conveyed to the reader while still making the speech feel ‘natural’. Have you ever felt that the dialogue in your stories reads as self-conscious and stilted, or as an endless monologue of exposition ‘disguised’ as one character talking to another? I have the same problem. In fact, for me, dialogue is the hardest part to get right. In this series, I will share everything I have learned so far about what (not) to do when writing dialogue.

Part 1: Short Speech

Part 2: Longer  Speech

Part 4: Character Voice

Part 5: Accents