Is Your Protagonist an Average Joe or Jane? Give Them a Shot at Greatness: Part 1

by Marylee MacDonald in Characters

Do you want readers to love your protagonist? Then you must make that protagonist a hero or heroine. This is the first of three posts that will discuss what it means to be heroic. This post talks about heroic characters who are average Joes and Janes, but who perform extraordinary actions. In my next post […]

Billy Battles: The Remarkable Life of a Reluctant Hero

by Marylee MacDonald in For Readers, For Writers Who Need Readers

This week I’ve invited Ron Yates to do a guest post about the hero of his historical-novel trilogy about the life and adventures of Billy Battles. Why am I featuring this series? Well, first, because I loved the first two books and have been eagerly awaiting this volume. And, second, because I know all authors […]

Revising for Tension

by Marylee MacDonald in For Writers Doing Revisions

Are you putting pressure on your characters so that they’re forced to change? Do quiet characters have moments when they’re about to explode? Adding tension to a novel often means that you must deepen the characters’ intensity of emotion. Sometimes, you must even write new scenes to replace those that are just marking time. I’ll […]