Penstricken
Andrew Ferguson – Author
Archives
Throwback Thursday: 50 Character Motives For Your Story
Posted on November 17, 2022 Leave a Comment
I’ve listed a few possible character motives in the image below and I would encourage you to play around with different ways of interpreting and applying them.
6 Things I’ve Learned About Writing Fiction
Posted on May 28, 2021 Leave a Comment
Today I’ve decided to share a brief selection of some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years which I think has helped to make me a better writer.
On Character Traits
Posted on April 20, 2021 Leave a Comment
Let your reader get to know Dave by experiencing Dave, not simply being told about Dave.
Theme: The Truth Behind the Tale
Posted on April 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
What fundamental truth(s) are you conveying in your idle fantasy? What aspects of real life are you exploring? And equally as important, how are you conveying that truth?
Writing a Good Character Description
Posted on April 6, 2021 Leave a Comment
Remember: a character is defined what they do and say, not by their physical appearance. Therefore, use physical descriptions to bring out their key traits. First ask yourself who this character is and what important details of their life and personality you wish to convey.
Figuring Out Foil Characters
Posted on March 31, 2021 Leave a Comment
A foil is a character (or sometimes an object or idea) who highlights the traits of another character (usually the protagonist) by contrasting with them. But apart from that, these characters can play just about any role in your story you like.
Writing Child Characters
Posted on March 13, 2021 Leave a Comment
It can be tempting to approach child characters differently from adults. Don’t fall into this trap. A character is a character, regardless of age. They are all imaginary people made up of motivations, goals, backstories, dialogue and all that wonderful stuff.
Fiction: Reality Refined
Posted on March 5, 2021 Leave a Comment
There are two kinds of story in this world. Those that are not at all true to life and therefore are completely unsatisfactory, and those that create the illusion of being true to life but, in fact, are not. Very few stories (even those meticulously and faithfully based on true events) accurately reflect real life once they’ve been structured in a way which allows them to be communicated, because real life is far too much of a jumble for that to be possible.
Super Snappy Speed Reviews – Books (vol. 2)
Posted on February 19, 2021 Leave a Comment
It’s that time again! We’ve already had super snappy speed reviews for books, TV shows and films now it’s time to return for a second helping of super snappy book reviews. As before, the books I have reviewed here have been selected entirely at random from my ever-growing book collection and do not necessarily have anything in common apart from the fact that they are all books. They are not necessarily films that I particularly liked or disliked, nor are they sorted into any particular order.
As always, these reviews only reflect my own personal opinions and impressions, squished, sliced and diced into a few short sentences. So without further ado…
7 Things I Hate In Fiction
Posted on February 17, 2021 2 Comments
No matter what genre of fiction or medium of story-telling you’re into (even if you’re into nearly all of them, like me!), we all have our own little things in fiction that we don’t like. Sometimes it’s the little things that can absolutely ruin an otherwise potentially good story for us and make us seriously think about leaving it unread/unwatched/unlistened to.
For your enjoyment, therefore, I have compiled a list of my own fiction bugbears with expositions. Maybe you won’t agree with them all. That’s okay. I’m not for one second suggesting any of these are hard and fast rules about what constitutes a bad story. These are just things that, for me, are a bit of a turn-off. So without further ado and in no particular order…
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