In real life, we don’t always speak in complete sentences, we often use contractions, and we drop letters at the end of words. We blend together two words, such as going to and should have. We don’t address the one being spoken to by name every time we say something to her. And we don’t always respond to the question or statement being posed.

In your stories, characters should speak the way the real people do, in fits and stutters, each having his/her own agenda in terms of what he/she wants to get out of the conversation.

For example, the girl wants the boy to ask her to the dance; the boy wants to get a kiss. The teacher is chastising a student for missed work; the student just wants to get out of the room.

Dialogue should not be used to lecture the reader on background information. For example, for a story set in San Francisco, the reader assumes that both speakers are familiar enough with the city that talking about its history would never come up in casual conversation. Unless one of the speakers is a professor taking his students out on a walking field trip.

The word said is good enough as an attribute. Don’t go searching for clever alternates such as guffawed, chortled, replied or exclaimed. In a back and forth conversation between two speakers, each line does not have to end with said.

For example:
“I’m going to New York for vacation,” Mary said.
“I’ve been thinking about going to Paris,” Bob said.
“I went there last summer.”
“Did you like it?”

Because of the nature of dialogue, combined with new lines for each speaker, the reader knows that Mary visited Paris and that Bob wants to know what she thought of the city.

Your task to find a piece of your writing and locate dialogue. Reread it. Is it natural? Is there a flow to the conversation? Can you imagine two people standing in line at a coffee shop saying the words? If not, then rewrite, aiming to make the language realistic sounding.

Does each character have an agenda? If not, give them one.

Look for attributes. Is there an over usage of alternates to said? If so, rewrite and eliminate all those that impede the flow of the dialogue.

When you are finished, reread the new version. Is there a more natural flow? Does it seem more realistic?

Hopefully so.

The premise behind the musical If/Then is that along the way, we are offered many choices that impact the eventual outcome of our lives.

If you think about it, from the time we are old enough to reach for a toy, we are making choices. Granted, playing with the elephant instead of the giraffe is not going to change our lives that drastically, if at all.

Once we are in school, however, things we do or don’t do affect grades, which eventually determine whether or not we go to college, which college, which major, and whether or not we leave with a degree or certificate.

The same is true when we begin dating. The people that we choose, or in many cases, choose us, may lead to forever relationships. Once in those relationships, we might buy a house, move to a new state, have children or dogs or cats. The possibilities are endless.

In the play, the main character spends her life questioning her decisions. What if she did this, then that would have happened. Or not.

Your characters are faced with decisions as well. The question is, after they choose a path, do they spend the rest of their lives thinking it through? Or just go with whatever happens along the way.

Which path, in your case as author, creates a more interesting story? Which has drama? Cathartic moments? Conflict? Which causes your character to grow, to change?

Select one of your favorite characters. Think about the story you have written. Make a list of potential changes that could be made. Then rewrite, at least one small portion, incorporating those changes.

When you are finished, compare the two. Which version is the most compelling?

Some writers find it easy to create worlds from the ground up. They design mountains, valleys, forest, rivers and lakes. Build cities, villages and forest preserves. They populate their worlds with varieties of people. Some are like us, humanoids, while others are aliens with amazing superpowers.

Think Star Wars and Star Trek.

In both examples there are complete languages that suite the different beings. Different styles of dress. Different and unusual food choices.

These differences affect how the beings act and react. While some are peaceful, others are warlike. Some are meek, while others are aggressive. Some master yoga-like methods, while some respect and honor skills with weapons.

Your task is to design a world. Begin by drawing it. The outer borders. The seas and mountains. Inlets and ports. Think of where resources are found. Where are the farms and ranches? What types of animals and crops do they raise?

Think about the capital. What type of government and officials? How do they get in power? Are they just rulers or despots? What rules control lives?

Populate your world. Is there a mix of beings? How do they get along? With understanding or with conflict?

Do not worry about action or dialogue. At this point you are only designing.

When you are finished, look back at what you have created. What else needs to be added to the mix? What will not work and needs to be changed? What parts me you uncomfortable when you think about telling the story? Change them now, before you begin.

Good luck.

People have routines that they follow. During the week, those of us who work traditional jobs, get up, eat, go to work, come home, eat, relax, go to bed. We do this day in and day out, without fail, until we are lucky enough to retire.

On weekends, our routines vary. We might sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, go for a run or work out in the gym, meet up with friends or family, travel to visit someone we care about, go to movies or plays and so on.

Your characters must have everyday lives as well.

Your task is to write the routine that your character follows on work days. Be specific. This will not be your best writing, but don’t worry about it. Think like a kid when asked by your mother, “What did you do today?” Begin with the alarm going off in the morning. Include the most mundane details, such as showering and brushing teeth. What does he eat for breakfast, if he eats at all. Coffee? At home or at a shop. What type of coffee? How does she get to work? What does she do on the way there?

If in a car, does he listen to sports channel or rap music? News or country? If commuting by train, bus or metro, does he text, email, work on reports or read a book? Does he get on board early enough to sit or does she have to stand the whole way? How long is the commute?

How does he check in at work? Punching a time card or is it an honor system? What is the first thing she does? Turn on computer or put lunch in the refrigerator? Does he have friends at work? If so, how do they greet each other in the morning? Do they eat lunch together? Go out for drinks after work?

What type of work does your character do? Be specific. She might work on an assembly line installing doors in cars, design apps for hand held devices, or be a CEO of a developing company. Are there meetings? Pep rallies? Reports? Research? Lectures?

What time does he leave work? How long does it take him to get home? Once she is home, what is the first thing she does? Pet the cat? Take the dog for a walk? Change clothes? Start dinner? Pour a drink?

Think of all the possible things that he might do before going to bed. The last two things might be turning on the alarm and turning off the lights.

Now that the work day is finished, write the details of the weekend. There are different types of weekends: traveling ones and routine ones. Go through the same steps that you did earlier, one list for each type of day that she might experience.

While this might seem like a colossal waste of time, it is not. It will give you details that you can plug into your story later on. Plus it gives you a better understanding of who your character is.

Good luck!

Sometimes we are called to acts of bravery. We save an injured dog lying by the side of the road, pull a motorist from a damaged car, or take a test which will advance us in our career. We do these things not because we are born heroes, but because they are the right things to do.

We have all known someone who was a little crazy as a youth. Jumped off the garage roof. Rode a skateboard down a steep hill that ended at a major intersection. Approached a strange woman, dressed in rags, and asked her name. But are these acts of heroism?

Once we take on the mantra of adulthood, we settle down into the routine of life. We get up and go to work. We come home and play with the kids. We go shopping and mow the lawn. Day in and day out.

But what about those of us who become police officers, fire fighters or join the military? Are those individuals heroes? In today’s world they are often called to acts of bravery and are sometimes heavily criticized for how they acted under stress. Because of technology, they are constantly supervised. They have no rights of privacy and must understand that everything they do will be analyzed and reanalyzed from different points of view. Yet they still run into burning buildings, pull motorists from badly damaged cars, walk into hostage situations, parachute into enemy territory.

It would be easy to argue that there are the true heroes.

In the movie Bridge of Spies, an insurance lawyer, Jim Donovan, is asked by the government to negotiate an exchange of personnel, without truly being a representative of the United States. He is not the hero type. He is good at his job. He is intelligent, patient, insightful and thoughtful. He is a husband and father who is providing a good life for his family. He is faithful to those he cares about.

Jim Donovan is the true reluctant hero. He steps up what asked. Does what he set out to do. Expects no fanfare.

Your task is to right a scenario in which your main character is a reluctant hero. She can be an average person, going about her day, when something happens that challenges her.

In order to do this, first you must give her a life. Establish her routines. Create family and her relationship to her family. Suddenly a situation arises that pulls her out of her comfort zone. She has to choose what to do. Allow her to take risks.

In the movie The Intern, 70-year-old Ben Whittaker comes out of retirement as part of a program to diversify the work force at an online shopping site. He is forced to learn various computer usages, such as social media and email. The one thing that is most impressive about Ben is that he stays true to his values.

Is this a good thing or not? If characters are meant to be ever-changing due to life’s experiences, shouldn’t Ben have been altered, even in some small way? Or is it a strength to remain the same no matter what life throws at you?

This is something that you will have to explore with your characters. A static character might seem flat and boringly predictable. But is this something that gives comfort? Everyone needs a feel-good story; one in which the protagonist goes through challenging situations, but comes out still positive and strong at the end.

Your job is to take one of your characters and write part of her story. Give her challenging experiences that threaten to change her values, but at the end of that scene, she stands tall in her essential beliefs.

Go back and reread. How does this make you feel? Is it comforting to see that he is able to survive, intact? Or does it bother you? Would like prefer to see a learning experience in which he takes something out of his trials that alters his values somewhat?

If you want change, then rewrite the same scene. Reread. Explore your feelings toward the piece.

At the end of this process, you will have learned something about yourself as a reader which can then be applied to your writing.

When you think about it, every human being belongs to a surprising number of families. Of course we have our biological ones, those that we do not get to choose, but are chosen for us. But then we have the families of our neighbors, workmates, casual acquaintances and friends. All of these families create our present, past and future.

When you design a character for your story, you must take into account all of these, for each subset impacts the development in varied ways.

For example, some are born into poverty, others wealth. Some of us feel hunger and a lack of safety, while others never want for anything that money can buy. How does this impact the personality, dreams, actions? A poor person might simply give up and live that life into adulthood, while another might be motivated to rise above. A rich person might do nothing of merit and just live off the money, while another might use the wealth to set up charitable organizations that help others.

Some families are physically and emotionally abusive. The child reared in such an environment never feels loved or safe. How does this impact their outlook on life? Will the unloved child seek love in all the wrong places or look for the one individual who can fill all their needs?

Lucky children grow up in families that nurture and encourage. Even if poor and hungry, these children know that they are loved and feel safe in the home. Because these primary needs are being met, the child can focus on school success. What about your character? How was he/she reared?

Our neighbors form a unique, and often unfortunate, frequently, changing family. People come and go. Friendships are formed and then lost. Yet for those brief moments that paths cross, something magical happens. We are exposed to new ways of thinking, eating, doing. We learn from the mistakes and successes of others, which then helps us to grow in ways impossible without that interaction.

When we are young, we have a school family. It does not always consist of nice people. Bullies dominate the weak, deals are made and kept, circles are created that exclude others, bonds are formed. Some of us are lucky enough to remain friends with school friends, while many of us drift apart, yet for the years that we are together in that one place, our lives are forever touched.

As we age, we join our workplace family. Again, we are touched. A mean, intolerant boss brings us to our knees, while an encouraging one pushes us to seek ever higher positions within the business. We form bonds with our workmates that extend beyond the workday, some for the good, some not.

Your project is to think of a character that wants her story to be told. Make a list of the different families in which she belongs, including those that have impacted her past and those that will continue to develop her future. Under each subset, list the ways that the family has changed the character. Think both positive and negative.

Once you have your lists, write a short biography of that character. You do not have to go back to infancy nor do you have to include every tiny detail. Write enough that you get a feel for what your character has experienced, both the joys and the struggles.

Only then can you tell her story.

In each story, the characters must have a reason for being. This reason drives how the character thinks and behaves, speaks and listens. The ways in which the main character interacts with others, whether animate or inanimate, affects the development of the story.

In order to incorporate the unique personalities of your characters, you should develop a Character Arc for each of them before you begin writing.

What are the components of an arc?

1. The character is going through life, everything status quo, until an inciting incident shakes things up. It could be meeting the future love of her life, having something stolen, being injured in an accident, or going on a trip. Something has to happen that reverses the world in which the character knows and feels comfortable living.
2. The character must want something. This something, in the character’s opinion, will restore balance to the known world. Think abstract as well as concrete.  If it’s love that he wants, how badly does he want it? How hard will he work to find and keep it? What if it is a precious family heirloom? Where is it, what obstacles must she overcome to get it, and is she willing to put forth the effort to possess it?
3. In the search for this something, what complications arise that keep the character from obtaining it? There should be a series of complications that occur, not just one. These are the events that give rising action or tension to the story. It’s the equivalent of taking baby steps. For each few steps forward, a roadblock appears that sets the character back a bit. Make sure that the complications are realistic and severe enough that the character feels a level of distress.
4. In the search for the desired object, what conflicts with other characters arise? Perhaps a sibling already has possession of the heirloom and won’t give it up. Or someone else is dating the love of his life. Think about the dialogues that ensue, the feelings hurt, maybe even injuries that occur. How does the character react to each of these altercations?
5. At the end of the story, has the character obtained the object of desire? Not all stories end happily ever after, so there is no need to have the character succeed. There can  be partial success. Say, for example, that the family members agree to share the heirloom, or to give it to a different relative so that neither one possesses it. Or that the couple can’t make it to the engagement and marriage stage, but agree to remain best friends. In both cases, the character has not truly succeeded in his quest, yet there is resolution.

Your next assignment is to create a character arc that encompasses all these conditions. You may have to write several versions until you come up with one that works.

You want to write your life’s story. Things happened to you that are raw, gritty, painful. You still hurt when you think of them. Sometimes you cry. Sometimes you feel like running into the street and screaming at the top of your lungs about the injustices done to you.

The problem that keeps you from writing? The relatives or acquaintances that committed the offenses are still alive.

Do you tell the truth, in all its gory detail? Or do you hold back?

If anyone is alive that might have been a part of the story, you might want to think twice about how you report what happened. For one, your interpretation is only just that: your interpretation. Someone else might recall the incidents differently. They may take offense to your version and you may find yourself in a court of law.

Yet without the details, your story is not as poignant. The pain, the suffering does not stand out as anything unique. The antagonists are not as evil. The validation that you seek is not justified. What do you do?

Consider writing your story as creative non-fiction. Change not just names, but also characteristics. Give each character appearances that are not even closely related to the real people. Give them different patterns of speech and mannerisms. Invent dialogue that might have happened, that carries the meat of the pain, yet without identifiers that indicate exactly who the speaker is.

Memoir written purely from fact can be flat, without substance. It becomes a recitation of places, things, people. Read some contemporary biography and you will quickly see how unemotional the telling is. The writers are great researchers who have pulled quotes from existing documents, but the telling lacks flare.

Emotions are not felt. Characters are not three-dimensional, living, breathing, error-prone beings.

When you choose to fictionalize the story, you free yourself from a recitation of the facts and you are now able to round out your characters. They become realistic people who live your story.

For this prompt, choose a major event that has impacted you in an emotional way. Write it using only fact. Do not embellish. Do not include dialogue that you do not recall, word for word. No descriptions unless you actually co remember Aunt Alice’s yellow tulle dress and Uncle Joe’s scruffy black shoes. When finished, reread it. What do you think? How would someone else react when reading it? If you find it boring, then so would an impartial reader.

Now take the same scene. Change Alice and Joe to Steve and Petra. Dress them in jeans, t-shirts and tennies. Change the setting from an old rambling Victorian-style house to a modern one-story ranch. Move from Minnesota to Wisconsin. From the country to the suburbs of a large city.

Put the characters in action. Replay the argument that was the pivotal point of the event, but change the trigger to something equal in intensity, but changed somewhat. Write dialogue that is logical. Include emotional charge. If, in real life, the protagonist fights back, in this version, have the same thing happen. Have the outcome be close to the actual event.

Go back and reread this version. Which is more compelling? Which invites you to read on?

This is the choice you have to make when writing memoir. To tell the truth and nothing but the truth, as accurately as possible, or to change things around and embellish.

Catriona McPherson’s novel the day she died begins with a frightening prologue. A woman is trapped in a completely dark room, fumbling about, searching for a way out. Tension immediately builds. The reader wants to know who this woman is and how she got in this predicament.

When the story begins, the main character is introduced, a young, naive woman named Jessie. We go to work with her, see who she sees, follow her to the market, and go to her home. In a relatively short period of time we begin to questions Jessie’s decision-making, and feel, deep inside, that she is walking into trouble. All along we wonder if she is the woman in the prologue.

In this case, the prologue works. It provides a scenario that brings chills and causes anxiety. It does not detract from the story, but rather pulls the arc along its path.

Not all prologues are as effective, however. Some are simply backstory that the author wants the reader to know, yet can find no tidy way to include it in the narrative. Some are dream-cycles, nightmares from which the protagonist awakens in a sweat. Some are a marriage scene, the first love in a relationship that fell apart due to death or divorce.

When you write a novel, think carefully about whether or not to begin with a prologue. Ask yourself questions about why your story needs this device.

If you do write one, after you’ve moved on a few chapters into your novel, go back and reread the prologue. Does it still work? Is the reader tantalized by the story or pulled away from the following action? What purpose does it serve?

If the prologue serves as a distraction, then remove it. Save it for later to use in the novel itself, if you decide that it works better in a different spot.

The bottom line is that the prologue acts as an enticing force. It spurs the reader to continue. It sets up action to come in such a way as to provide hints as to what is to come.