Writing and need critique and thoughts, please?

Question

I've been to editors.com or whatever, but I need some real feedback.

I'm a budding writer and artist and I was wondering if for some of you drawing out your characters helps you write about them? It's a proven fact for me that if I can't picture my character, I can't write about them.

On the other hand, I'm planning to write either a short story or... a long story, depending on how it turns out, and I really need some help for ideas on how to start it and whether or not I should include things to help the storyline.

For more information, please either e-mail me or contact me through deviantArt: http://bri-san.deviantart.com/

Answer 1

Here's some advice on character creation:

Re-scetch the details of your main and potential characters - start with looks, mannerisms, background, etc. Write the details down - or even draw them if you are a visual person.

Then take your main character or characters and imagine them in some new odd/out of the ordinary (out of your current work's context) places or scenarios – anything goes! Write down ideas on what would have to happen to your type of character or how they would react to the scenario you placed them in.

This may seem futile, but it will help you flesh out your characters further and give you insight into what you may want to happen to this type of character in a potential story. You may even come up with multiple story lines and can see if one of them just seems to be the best or easiest to continue

Strong well-crafted main characters can inspire readers to love your story as well as drive you to write a great story for these imagined beings to be in! :-)

This should get you going. Then you may want to write an outline of you story (a kind of synopsis), including the ending. I have heard that John Irving writes his endings first, down to the last line, and works backwards. The idea of the outline is to give you goals as you proceed. Writing the ending first may give you the "spark" you seek - and also give you something to strive for.