By: Powell's Staff,
on 9/13/2013
At Powell's, our book buyers select all the new books in our vast inventory. If we need a book recommendation, we turn to our team of resident experts. Need a gift idea for a fan of vampire novels? Looking for a guide that will best demonstrate how to knit argyle socks? Need a book for [...]
By: Jason Boog,
on 2/1/2013
Why do you write? Author Meredith Maran asked 20 great writers that question, collecting their replies in her new collection, Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do.
On the Morning Media Menu today, Maran shared writing advice she learned while getting responses from Isabel Allende, David Baldacci, Jennifer Egan, Sebastian Junger and Ann Patchett.
Press play below to listen to the whole interview on SoundCloud. We’ve collected a few quotes from the interview as well…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Jessica Strawser,
on 11/29/2011
Here, some of the most successful writers in recent (and not-so-recent) memory share their take on everything from how they get ideas (or go find them), to the best way to start a manuscript (or why the only important thing is that you start at all), to their most methodical writing habits (and quirkiest rituals), to writing with the readers in mind (or ignoring them entirely). Read more
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By: Darcy Pattison,
on 7/31/2009
Wednesday, I went to north central Arkansas to teach a professional development class and on the way up, I listened to an audio version of T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton, the 20th Kinsey Millhone mystery.
At one point the detective calls a college to do a background check on a suspect. The supporting character here was the clerk at the college, and writing the scene was made more difficult because it was just a phone conversation. How do you characterize a minor supporting character when you only present them in one phone conversation?
Husky voice. Nasal voice. In short, the character’s voice. That’s about it, right?
Instead, Grafton gives the character a cold, and now, she is sneezing, blowing her nose, and she’s grumpy, all of which adds an extra layer of interest and conflict to an otherwise straightforward request for information.
The grouchy clerk tells Millhone it will take five business days to get the information, that is, five days after Millhone shows up with the signed employment application giving permission to release the information. Millhone is aggravated, but dutifully trots down to the college to show the application, only to find that clerk has gone home early because she felt so bad. Of course, that’s great for our heroine, because she innocently tells the new clerk that the information was supposed to be waiting for her. The new clerk retrieves the information in less than ten minutes.
The college clerk is a minor supporting character, but the quick characterization of a grumpy woman with a cold kept the story moving with a minor, but appropriate conflict that provided a nice plot twist when the information was retrieved fast, instead of slow.
Do you have minor characters who are cardboard cut-outs? Here are 4 quick ways to characterize better. For an extra challenge, while you’re sharpening your minor characters, look for a minor plot twist, too!
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