Author Heather McCorkle

This week on the #WritersRoad chat we talked about character mannerisms and actions. It was an excellent chat and I walked away with a lot of great ideas. Today's #writetip is inspired by the chat. #WriteTip: Mannerisms should be unique to each character~to a point~and she be used to show instead of tell. Such as, crossed arms and looking down one's nose to show defiance, tight jaw and clenched teeth to show anger, maybe a slight limp to hint at an old injury. For some excellent ideas on character mannerisms and description I highly recommend The Emotion Thesaurus . It truly is a writer's bible. Don't forget to enter my eBook and paperback giveaway , it's to help a great cause !

Remaining in the vein of last week's post, we're talking about how to strengthen your character's arc and why it's important. The character arc is the changes your character goes through from the beginning to the end of the novel, how they grow and learn, or change. Take a good look at your manuscript or outline. Is your character arc strong enough to help carry the novel? It should be just as strong as the plot, if not stronger, depending upon your genre. Not every genre will have such a powerful character arc and that's okay, they aren't all supposed to. But if you write character driven fiction like I do, that character better be strong. Think of a novel you read recently that had a really good character arc. How did that character change? What about them did you like in the beginning of the novel and in the end? Readers celebrate with our characters, be it an achievement, revelation, or growth. Without those elements in our characters the reader doesn'...

We've all stressed over the titles of our novels but what about the name of our characters? If you're like me, you put just as much thought into the names of your characters as you do the title of your novel. Actually, I put more work into naming my characters because the title usually comes along naturally at some point. But the names of my characters are a part of them and they affect a reader's first impression and perception. But Heather, a rose is a rose and all that right? Yes and no. If I told you my protagonist's name was Poindexter that immediately forms a picture in your mind does it not? Don't worry, that isn't really my protagonist's name. A name can be nerdy, masculine, feminine, beautiful, or complicated, among other things, which is exactly why you should choose carefully. Usually if the name feels right to you then it probably is right for your character. But you must be aware of how it sounds and feels to other people. Consider the name ...