Things My Characters Learned (the Hard Way) #6

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week while I wrote their story. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). It also serves to act as a way to share vague plot devices: what are the many ways you can get your characters into trouble? Read on to find out.

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Project: UNTITLED (Hansel + Gretel retelling)

Genre: Short Story

Lesson Learned: Always be sure of your way, or at least make sure the person in charge is sure of their way. And if you still don't trust their sense of direction, take some initiative and bring something to mark down your path? Or at least a map? Because getting lost is a sure-fire way of getting into sticky situations.

Really, you never know who you might run into when you can't find your way home. Thieves, beggars, a witch or two...there's troublemakers of all kind in unfamiliar territory.

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments! 

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TMCL: looking to get your characters into trouble? You never know who they'll run into when lost... (Click to Tweet)

Things My Characters Learned (the Hard Way) #5

**Note: Happy Friday, everyone! Well, it's officially been a month since I kicked off this new weekly blog feature, Things My Characters Learned (the Hard Way), and I'd love to know what you think so far. Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave them in the comments, and I'll send you virtual cookies!

Also, something new: you can now Follow my blog with Bloglovin**

 

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week while I wrote their story. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). It also serves to act as a way to share vague plot devices: what are the many ways you can get your characters into trouble? Read on to find out.

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Project: CHILD'S PLAY

Genre: Short Story

Lesson Learned: Maybe Mother was on to something when she said not to talk to strangers. Just because somebody doesn't look dangerous, doesn't mean they can't effectively cause you to blind yourself before they steal your stuff.

Being young and impressionable is no excuse. If you get warnings from your own mother to help guide you safely to your destination, you might want to think about those warnings, and then actually heed them.

Mother is always right (sometimes).

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments! 

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TMCL: Mother's always right, right? Do your character heed their parents' advice? (Click to Tweet)

Things My Characters Learned (the Hard Way) #4

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week while I wrote their story. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). It also serves to act as a way to share vague plot devices: what are the many ways you can get your characters into trouble? Read on to find out.

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Project: THE HOLLOW MEN

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Thriller

Lesson Learned: Secrets don't make friends, but friends actually do make secrets. It makes it really hard to trust people, don't you think? The thing is, everyone's hiding something, and sometimes it's the least likely person who has the biggest and most shocking secret of all.

Do you know all your characters' secrets?

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments!

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TMCL: Friends make lots of secrets. Do you know the secrets your characters keep? (Click to Tweet)

Things My Characters Learn (the Hard Way) #3

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week while I wrote their story. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). It also serves to act as a way to share vague plot devices: what are the many ways you can get your characters into trouble? Read on to find out.

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Project: WISHING STAR

Genre: Short Story

Lesson Learned: Be aware of how easily opportunities can disappear, whether it's to spend time with someone you love, take the next step in your life, solve a mystery that's been troubling you, etc. The chance you have now to make things right can disappear entirely, which means you've lost your window of opportunity.

Which means you'll need to be really creative to make up for it...

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments!

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TMCL: Missing that window of opportunity means your characters have to be really creative to make up for it (Click to Tweet)

Things My Characters Learn (the Hard Way) #2

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week while I wrote their story. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). It also serves to act as a way to share vague plot devices: what are the many ways you can get your characters into trouble? Read on to find out.

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Project: THE HOLLOW MEN

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Thriller

Lesson Learned: If you're sneaking out in the middle of the night and breaking into a secure area, and the person you're sneaking in with gives you very small answers that aren't answers at all? Odds are things aren't going to end well.

Ask questions first, and stay out of trouble, later.

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments!

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TMCL: Sometimes, asking questions later doesn't work as well as your characters might think (Click to Tweet)

Things My Characters Learn (the Hard Way) #1

This is just the week of new things, isn't it? My second (and last; for now) new blog feature that I'm excited to introduce is a weekly feature called:

That's right. Every Friday, I'm going to share with ya'll a lesson my characters have learned sometime earlier that week. Because we all know that sometimes the best lessons are ones learned in a more painful way than not (usually). So what did my characters learn the hard way this week? Read on to find out.

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Project: THE HOLLOW  MEN

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Thriller

Lesson Learned: Guns are dangerous. If you've never handled one before, odds are that grabbing one and attempting to threaten an enemy is going to wind up with somebody shot. And dead. On accident, maybe. But still dead.

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Do you write? Can your characters relate? Have your characters learned an important life lesson this week? Leave me a note in the comments!

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Things My Characters Learned (the Hard Way): blogger @Rae_Slater breaks out another new blog feature. With a bang. (Click to Tweet)

@Rae_Slater's characters learned about firearms and their lethality this week. What did yours learn (the hard way)? (Click to Tweet)