Write Your Novel
Step by Step


By Melanie Anne Phillips
Creator of StoryWeaver

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For Story

Structure


Story Structure

Library


Videos on

Structure



For Story

Development


Writing

Tips

Library


Articles on Writing






Read the Science Fiction Thriller

From the founder of Storymind

Man Made follows a mysterious force as it sweeps around the globe erasing anything man made - from buildings, vehicles, and technology to medicines, clothing, and dental work.

Governments stagger under the panic, religions are at a loss for an explanation, scientists strive for any means to stop or divert the phenomenon, and the world’s population from families to individuals struggle to prepare for The Event, which will drive humanity back beyond the stone age.

The Event is coming.

Are you prepared?

Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips


Storymind

Free Writing Resources

~ Step 14 ~


Unusual Characters


In the previous step you added to your cast list some characters who would not raise an eyebrow if they showed up in your story’s world.


Now, let yourself go a bit (but just a bit) and list a number of characters that might seem somewhat out of place but would still be fairly easily explainable in such a story as yours.


Example:


In our example story of a small town in the old west, these “unusual characters” might include:


A troupe of traveling acrobats

Ulysses S. Grant

A Prussian Duke

A bird watcher


You may be wondering why you’d want to have such odd characters in an otherwise normal story.  The reason is to prevent your story from being too normal.


Neither reader nor publisher will want to waste time or money on a book that is just a rehash of the same tired material they’ve read over and over again.


What they are looking for is something with a unique personality – something that sets itself apart from the usual run of the mill.


Adding one or two somewhat unexpected characters to a story can liven up the cast and make it seem original, rather than derivative.


Once again, you won’t be married to all these characters.  They are just a gene pool from which to select your actual cast in a later step.


So, add to your list some slightly odd, offbeat, unexpected or quirky characters – no one too unusual, mind you – just folks who would not immediately come to mind in a story such as yours but could be explained with a little effort – folks to add a little color and interest to your story.


In the next step we’ll pull out all the stops!