Rae Elliott

How to Write a Fandom-Worthy Character (Part 1): “The Complex Heroine”

by Rae Elliott | Mar 29, 2018 | Blog

The “strong” heroine is becoming a cliche, one-dimensional character women can’t relate to or don’t find realistic. So it’s time we toss the “strong/kick-butt heroine” out and replace it with a more satisfying character: the complex heroine. Fab fictional femmes like Shuri of Black Panther, Rey of Star Wars, and Eowyn of the Lord of the Rings, have raised the bar high for female characters. And, as writers, it’s time we meet that bar. So what characteristics should your complex heroine possess in order for readers to freak over her? Competence Flaws/weaknesses/failures. A noble cause she stands for. Let’s talk about how you can use these traits in your own character crafting process. Competence All the ladies I spoke of aren’t strong. No, see, the adjective that better describes them is competent. That means they carry their own, they hold down the fort, and they make use of the beautiful brains God gave ‘em- in brilliant ways. See, being competent allows for strength in multiple areas, not just one. Just wanting your heroine to be “strong” isn’t enough of a goal for her. Women possess many qualities that make them unique, honorable, and resilient. So focusing on strength alone narrows her possibilities. Focusing on creating a competent heroine, however, gives her more dimension, depth, and allows her a variety of goals and abilities. Shuri, princess and younger sister to T’Challa, wasn’t just sitting on the sideline as her brother changed Wakandan history. She helped him change it- and not just through fighting, either. Through the use of her awesome brain, Shuri created gadgets, weapons,...

When and How to Introduce Your Character’s Origin Story

by Rae Elliott | Mar 21, 2018 | Blog

Your character has a dark, mysterious past. But what is his past? Will readers appreciate it or roll their eyes hard? First of all, how do you formulate a personal, unique character backstory? Who your character is today is explained by where he’s coming from. So, ask yourself: Who or what influenced him the most as a kid? Parents? Friends? Mentors? What was his environment, world, or home like? Did he relate to it, love it or hate it? What did he dream of most as a teenager? What goal was he working toward? Who or what hurt him, affected him, or took advantage of him when he was young? Was he a happier person before today? A sadder person? An angrier person? These questions will help you formulate a satisfying, unique origin story. After you’ve created an origin story that’s unique to your character, you’re ready to share it with the world, right? Well, what’s the purpose of an origin story? To do three things: Share with the reader why your character needs to change. Explain a character’s personality traits, reactions, or beliefs about the world. Emphasize the personal importance of the character’s journey. That’s it. No more, no less. An origin or backstory encourages character development, so treat it as you would a plot point in your story, not just an identity marker. The mistake I made when I was a newbie was that I treated the story like it was about this character’s past instead of his present. It got in the way of the story and became the character’s only identity. “Hey I’m Mr. Bad Boy Protagonist....

How to Pack More Punch in your Sentences

by Rae Elliott | Mar 14, 2018 | Blog

Economy of writing is an art form all writers must learn if they want readers. Why? For two reasons: It’s more difficult than ever to get noticed in a sea of self-published, best-selling, author-aficionados. And if you’re not Neil Gaiman or Rainbow Rowell, chances are your book won’t be ripped off the shelves. 2. The attention span of a normal human now equals that of a goldfish. Yep- a whopping 8 seconds. *Gets distracted by a cat video montage.* So if your reader must drag his feet through lengthy, descriptive paragraph after lengthy, emotional, existential paragraph, chances are your reader won’t make it past page one. But don’t panic jellybean. You don’t have to write stories that fit on page five of the Wall Street Journal. What you do have to do is: Tailor your sentences to pack more punch in less space. Weave words in a way that’s trademark to your unique voice. So how do you do it?: Study poetry. Understand what you really want to say. Widen your vocabulary. Study Poetry KM or Kimmery Moss and Solaire, or Ariana are both dear friends and incredible poets. They write raw, honest, emotional pieces. Please check out more of their poetry and their unique genius by clicking on the picture of their pieces above! Poetry dignifies the existence of every word used, every sentence crafted. Poetry strips emotions down until they are naked– until the truth is all that’s left. By studying poetry, we build up our creative writing...

Three Reasons Why Unlikely Character Friendships Should Be Included In Your Novel: My Guest Post for Jade Young

by Rae Elliott | Mar 7, 2018 | Blog

This week I want to draw your attention over to my friend and author Jade Young’s page theeducatedwriter.com. Jade kindly invited me to write a blog post for her awesome blog. So this week I am talking about : Three Reasons Why Unlikely Character Friendships Should Be Included In Your Novel Click to be redirected to the article! So why should you include unlikely character friendships in your novel? 1. They share a unique, previously unseen side of each character 2. They create an exciting twist in story development that readers will devour 3. They encourage character development See the importance these three reasons dissected through the examples of friendships like Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson of Stranger Things, Legolas and Gimli of The Lord of the Rings, and Russell and Carl Fredricksen from UP. Read my guest post now! Check out Jade’s guest post...

Why Every Writer Should Use the Three-Act Structure for their Story

by Rae Elliott | Mar 1, 2018 | Blog

When I was about sixteen years old, I almost drowned. Our family was big on water sports ever since I was a little kid. And most of all, we loved surfing. Still do. But one day, while on vacation in Florida, I didn’t notice something that would’ve kept me from going in the water in the first place. What was it? Well, we’ll get back to that story in a minute… For now, you’re wondering what a three-act structure is. I know I sure did until I researched the topic. What I discovered was this: The three-act structure has been used in every best-selling novel ever. It’s actually an easy structure that makes story-crafting heckin’ easy. Novels that don’t use this structure deadline pretty dang quickly. The term comes from the literal acts in a theatre production. There are three acts and each act is determined by the rise and fall of a literal curtain. This phrase, also used by the writing community, is used in the same way. Except, in fiction, there’s no distinct rise and fall of a curtain signifying the end of an act. So, sadly it’s not obvious to us. But the curtain rises and falls nonetheless, invisibly parceling every story according to this structure. Our job is to train ourselves to see this curtain, understand it, and apply this parceling in our own works of fiction. Act One: Act one Introduces your main characters and shares what their daily routine is like in an appealing way. It sets up what their world is like. It lets readers know what the world is suffering or lacking, especially if it will be addressed in...