Fi Phillips

I know, I know. I'm late in getting this post on here this week, but the joys of the Easter school holiday and the challenge of the April Camp NaNoWriMo writathon have kept me busy. One of the hardest concepts that I've had to face as a writer (and I still find it difficult) is that of the character arc. The two point of  view characters in my novel both change but it's subtle and I'm unsure whether it's enough for the reader, or authentic. On the Helping Writers Become Authors site, K M Weiland discusses just this topic in her post The Hardest Part of Writing Good Character Arcs - and How You Can Make It Look Easy! . It's well worth a read. How do you approach character arcs?

I enjoy naming my characters, both in my plays and in the novel I'm working on. Some of them come ready-named, introducing themselves to me in a way that they could never be altered. Others take some time to work out. Hartley Keg was one of the former. So was Blessing Hawkes. Cormac Moran, on the other hand, went through several names before finding the right one. In Naming your characters and settings , Roz Morris discusses the importance of name and how she finds them for her books.

One of the questions I asked myself when plotting my novel, Shadowbinder, was how I could make things hell for my protagonist? And then, how could I make it worse? The next question I asked myself was how could I make the story's outcome matter to him? Writer K M Weiland discusses this same topic in her article, When Your Story Stakes Aren't High Enough . Have a read.

There is so much advice and opinion out there about how to write a novel (or how to write anything, for that matter) that after a while it can all turn into a blah shade of grey, the same thoughts, techniques and scenarios repeated over and over again. For me, the most informative advice is the kind that comes from a writer's personal experience, illustrated with their own 'story'. Nathan Filer's TEDx talk, How to write an award winning bestselling first novel, is just such a lesson. If you can spare fifteen minutes, then it's well worth watching. Nathan Filer

During my time away from blogging to work on my novel, I reconsidered the use I was making of this website and I've decided to alter a few things. Tuesday Choice Words While there is a lot of brilliant advice out there for writers, what I've found in searching for new links and videos to bring to you each Tuesday, is that a large percentage of it is repeated advice, different slants on the same literary gem. So as of this week, Tuesday Choice Words will cease to exist. What I will bring to you instead is a monthly post of an article or video that I think really stands out from the crowd, something that has helped me personally. Book Reviews Although my writing has taken precedence recently, I love to read. I also love to share my literary finds. Expect more resulting book reviews. My Journey I started this blog (back in 2009) as a way to explore and share my own writing journey. Somewhere along the way, I seem to have lost that. Now that my novel is nearing the fi...

One of the things that interests me in writing a novel is breaking it down into its structure - beginning, middle, end, inciting events, resolutions, and so on. A well-formed structure can make all the difference, carving a path for the reader to follow. Janice Hardy discusses The Act One Problem on her website, Fiction University, "the  bridge between the beginning of the novel and the middle". Have a look.

I like to blog. It gives me a  chance to connect with readers and other writers, discuss my writing progress and swap ideas about what works (and sometimes doesn't work) for me as a writer. I'm definitely a supporter of blogging.What about you? On the Indie Plot Twist website, Danielle Hanna discusses The Benefits of Blogging for Novelists . Have a look.

What kind of beginnings do you like to your novels? Action? Mystery? Description? K M Weiland gives her opinion on what makes a good start to a story in her article,  Why Avalanches, Wolves, and Lightning Storms Aren’t a Good Way to Begin Your Book . Have a look.

During the current rewrite of my novel, I found that it was necessary to cut certain scenes, chapters and characters. It was all a little sad, and scary, and brain-wrecking, but I can see that the story will benefit from all these changes. In her article, Does it serve the book? Killing your darlings is a mark of writing maturity , Roz Morris discusses just this topic. Have a look.

Research is an issue that scares a lot of writers. For others, it can gobble up their (writing) time. Novelist Cesca Major discusses how she researches her novels. Cesca Major discusses research for writers.

I'm obviously not at the stage yet of holding a printed copy of my novel in my hands but I'm filing this article away for future reference. From the Write Angle website, this article The Art of ARC-ing by Marcy Kate Connolly has some great ideas on what to do with your advance reading copies (in addition to keeping a copy for yourself of course). Have a look. Courtesy of The Writers and Artists Yearbook

Sometimes I get mired down in (re)writing and (re)shaping my novel. It all starts to turn into a grey  blur and my energy levels dive. I've been working on my novel for a long time, learning about writing along the way, and fitting it in between running my script writing business and family time. On occasion, I lose sight of the light at the end of this creative tunnel but I've come too far to give up now. When all of this happens, I stop and revisit my characters. I look at what I love about them, perhaps examine their appearances in my story too and generally reacquaint myself. One of my favourite characters is Bodrn, a darkling. She has the ability to be in shadow form (literally, a shadow) or in solid form. She is my shapeshifter. On the Better Novel Project website, Christine Frazier talks about shapeshifting characters in her article 3 Roles of the Shapeshifter Character Archetype . I think Bodrn stands for the role of trust (the second in the article's list). Do yo...

Tension in a book can, literally, have you perched on the edge of your seat. Will they, won't they? Will they get there in time? Will the secret be revealed? I've had to put novels down in the past to have a rest from the onslaught of that story's tension. Elizabeth Spann Craig has written a wonderful article on just this, Tension & Pacing in Your Fiction . It's well worth a read. Have a look.

One of the major changes to my novel, post assessment, is to examine who is telling the story. Originally the story jumped between numerous characters, whittling down to one character only by the one third point. Now, the story is told by only two characters. I wish I'd read Nathan Bransford's article 4 tips for handling multiple perspectives in a  third person narrative before I'd started writing. Have a great week.

Camp Nanowrimo is proving very motivational in the re-write of my novel but I'm always open to more help. K M Weiland's article 4 Reasons You Might Be Missing Out On Your Best Plot Ideas runs through plotting problems. Have a look.

Sometimes the most concise of writing advice can be the best. This Buzzfeed article - 27 pieces of advice for writers from famous authors - is just that. And here is mine: So only you can tell your story your way.

Re-jigging my novel post assessment is proving to be both a joy and a challenge. Taking what I had, re-writing some, adding more, and beginning the novel in a different place, is making my head hurt slightly but I'm getting there. A large portion of the changes in my novel will be in the run-up to the ending. On the Better Novel Project website, Christine Frazier's article How to Transition to Your Story's Climax with a Gatekeeper has proved very helpful in my rewrite. Have a look.

Sometimes, it's good to keep things simple. In his article, 10 Ridiculously Simple Tips for Writing a Book , Jeff Goins breaks down the creative process to a few easy to follow steps. Have a look.

One of the challenges I've set myself for the year is to return to short story writing, probably tales linked to my novel, and within that I'm taking on another challenge, to write from first person point of view. Normally, my writing is third person but I want to see how limiting/liberating using first person perspective is. Cesca Major talks about different points of view in this video. First person? Third person? Which do you prefer?

What did you want to be when you grew up? By the time I was seven years old, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Other jobs appealed to me from time to time - veterinary assistant, actor, teacher - but I always returned to my love of writing. I don't know exactly what it is about me that made me into a writer - imagination, persistence, certain life events - but those things have certainly added to the mix that is me. Elizabeth Berg's article What It Takes to Be a Writer on Medium explains her thoughts on this topic. Have a look.