"BEST" WRITING PRACTICES: Characters, Scenes, Dialogue, and More

By Ann LM Kitching

Pick up the "Best" Writing Practices for invaluable plotting and story ideas.

Feeling overwhelmed by a glut of writing techniques? Unsure where to get the fastest, easiest, "best" advice on how to get your book out of your head and onto paper?

• Language: English
• Publisher: ALMK Press
• Release date: May 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9781738278268

Ann LM Kitching

Ann LM Kitching, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., can't stop teaching. As in her books "How to Plot and Write a Story" and "Story Writing Basics," she presents subjects from the bottom up. Retired after 20 years in mostly second-language education (kindergarten to university, in Canada and the Middle East), she applies her unconventional yet constructive approaches to writing.She's married, has one daughter and one Portuguese Water Dog.

Book preview

Best Writing Practices

Characters, Scenes, Dialogue, and More

Ann LM Kitching

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ALMK Press

New Brunswick, Canada

A black and white oval logo Description automatically generated

Published by ALMK Press, New Brunswick, Canada

April 2024

COPYRIGHT ©2024 Ann LM Kitching

ISBN 978-1-7382782-5-1

Ebook 978-1-7382782-6-8

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in any part in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. This book may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Contact the publisher by email through www.almkitching.com.

Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or liability on the behalf of the purchaser or reader of these materials. Sample scenarios are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Cover by       Phryne Press


Welcome

Welcome to Best Writing Practices, a collection of advice aimed at improving scenes and strengthening novels and stories. The word best is in quotation marks to underline that each writer is different and if you want to keep rambling passages that offer little tension and less world-building you certainly may. You’re in charge of your own writing. You’ll find some techniques pertinent to your style and easy to implement; you may decide to ignore other suggestions. Nothing’s ideal for everyone.

Theories and hints feature in the chapters. Follow-up exercises are grouped in the back of the book to make it easy to skip directly there when you’re ready to plot or edit a new project.

Similar to Story Writing Basics: How to Use and Develop Themes, Characters, Scenes and More, this manual digs deeper.

Use this manual to improve your writing style and give yourself more confidence when sharing your work.

Write on, Dude.

Table of Contents

Theory, Ideas, Hints, Tips

Hero

Antagonist

Character Descriptions

Side Characters

Scenes

Openings

Conflicts

Stakes

Setting

Dialogue

Romance

Comedy

Reinforcement Exercises

Exercises: Hero

Exercises: Antagonist

Exercises: Character Descriptions

Exercises: Side Characters

Exercises: Scenes

Exercises: Openings

Exercises: Conflicts

Exercises: Stakes

Exercises: Setting

Exercises: Dialogue

Exercises: Romance

Exercises: Comedy

Wrap Up

Theory, Ideas, Hints, Tips

Hero

Journal prompts

What kinds of characters do you enjoy reading about?

Who’s your favorite movie character? Why?

Who’s your favorite character from a book? What makes them so enjoyable?

If you were in a book, what special abilities would you give yourself? Think beyond super powers—what about the gift of the gab, extra intelligence, better hair, straighter posture, more empathy, less image-conscious, etc.

The hero experiences the greatest arc of change

Other words for hero include protagonist, main character, point-of-view (POV) character, and principal actor. I tend to use hero most often because it’s short and easy to type. The word hero refers to the function of the character, not to the meaning brave. As a convention for this manual, the hero is she, the antagonist is he, and other characters are they.

The hero is the most important character because she drives the action. Without the protagonist, there’s no story. Her decisions propel the events; her lack of motion pauses the story. Your reader should feel like they’re standing next to her looking, hearing, sensing, tasting, and smelling the same things.

The hero’s desires shape the narrative. She encounters the most tension and the greatest number of obstacles. The main character will live through the most highs and lows. She enters with one way of thinking that will be challenged throughout and changed by the end.

Your story must be different with a different protagonist. If you could substitute any other character for your POV actor, you’ve chosen poorly. A different hero makes alternative choices. Like your favorite actress in her best-known role, no one else could take her place.

Who’s not the hero?

The hero propels the plot and constrains the action. If the hero wanders through the plot allowing things to happen but doesn’t actively make decisions in pursuit of a goal, she’s not the hero—she’s in the passenger seat letting someone else drive. Your hero must make choices to push forward or stumble backward in every scene, and those choices must affect the outcomes.

A story’s hero makes mistakes because of who she is. If the hero doesn’t want anything, she’s not a hero. (She can resist getting involved—that just means she wants peace—but she must commit to achieving something with all her being so that readers want her to succeed.)

If your hero doesn’t care if she goes or stays, she’s not an active character and not the correct protagonist. A hero who merely reacts to catastrophes is not an agent of her own fate, therefore, readers can’t side with her, root for her, or care very much about the outcome. If your hero shrugs and says, Not my problem, readers also disengage.

The hero needs to care so readers care.

Protagonists take steps towards their goals and crawl away from defeat. They influence what other characters choose to say and do. If your main actor takes no initiative, swap her for a different character.

Note: Choosing to stay is still a choice. In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s character goes through various trials as he strives to leave his hometown. At each turning point, he consistently chooses to put other people’s happiness before his own, and those decisions color the next part of the story. He actively chooses his path, even if he doesn’t like it.

What does the hero do? Five-phase story outline

Phase One. At the start of the story, the hero yearns for something she thinks she can’t have. She looks around her normal life and doesn’t like it. Something feels off; she’s discontented. An opportunity arises that seems to offer a way out of the dreariness, and she grabs it.

Phase Two. She gets more than she bargained for. She operates within a false belief that changing her external circumstances will make her happy. She makes plans and sets out to get a goal, relying on her usual tactics to succeed.

Phase Three. The hero loses something of real value (such as faith or self-respect) at the mid-point. She realizes she was wrong at the start; her original goal was faulty. She must make an internal change (in attitudes/ mindset) in order to thrive.

Phase Four. The hero attempts to change, altering her approaches. She pushes away her normal world because internal change is hard and frustrating. Finally, she arrives at a point when she loses everything precious to her (friends, family, reputation) and she must make the hard choice to stick with the new philosophy or give up completely, revert to old habits and face the same old problems she knew before.

Phase Five. Either the hero emerges changed into a better world where she can thrive, or she falls into evil having failed to change her beliefs.

First character in a story

Readers assume the first character on the page will be the point-of-view character—except in the case of a murder mystery or a thriller when the initial on-page actor may be killed off. In other genres, readers anticipate engaging with the very first character to talk, or act. Use the hero’s first name and one identifying trait, then dive into her present predicament. (Because when you meet someone in real life, you learn an important detail about them, but generally not their entire life story. Don’t detail backstory on the first page.)

If the first character on the page isn’t important to your story, why did you choose them? If they’re a minor character used for setting the scene, leave them nameless and push them to the second paragraph. Instead, introduce the setting and the central problem. After that, present the hero and introduce new characters from her viewpoint (and say what she notices about them). Readers prefer the hero’s views over the author’s voice.

Working with a large cast of heroes/ Multiple POVs

To make your job simple: decide on one clear hero for each adventure. Even in an ensemble cast, one character usually stands out. Consider a television series: sometimes there’s one main character yet a different supporting actor may feature in each episode. In the case of other stories, each actor gets equal air time or one character dominates one episode and another takes over the next. No matter which way you go, the audience can only experience the story through the perspective of one character at a time. Each time you switch to a new character, readers must realign their expectations.

To write a full novel with more than one protagonist, plot before you write:

clearly define who’s in charge of which part; give each hero her own full chapter

avoid head-hopping (writing from separate points of view) without a distinct separation such as a clear scene break or a chapter change

ensure every chapter follows logically from the one before to avoid repeating action

set up each character before they enter; hint at their arcs to prepare readers for the switch to the new point of view

Warn readers through your blurb, cover art, and titles that more than one character will tell the story.

Save the Pet

Readers root for characters who are grateful, kind, or compassionate in some way. If your character is completely negative in the first chapter, readers may put your book down and walk away. Heroes can be grumpy, unfriendly, or murderous, but they also must have charm and demonstrate empathy. Assign at least one positive trait to the hero. Even if the hero is morally bankrupt, catch her doing something good at the start because an uplifting attribute entices readers to continue with her story. Give the hero an opportunity to show her nice side. Let her stick up for the little guy. Remember that the first chapter is sales copy. You want readers to enjoy your entire novel. If they get bored, offended, or dislike the hero, they won’t continue reading.

Your hero doesn’t need to be perfect. Unlikeable traits are totally acceptable, as long as they don’t overpower the good bits. Present soft edges of characters so readers can appreciate their dimensions and forge connections. We’ve all met people we like and others we don’t, so reflect that in your characters.

The hero is special because you want most people to like her straight away—she doesn’t have a lot of time to charm your readers. Let her be as grumpy and disillusioned as Jessica Jones or