Authoring & Playwriting

Many writers find themselves overwhelmed when it comes to crafting a diverse cast of characters, often neglecting the importance of side characters. In this video, author Jenna Moreci provides tips on what side characters are, how many you should have, and how to make them unforgettable!

Do you have any tips or tricks for writing side characters in your stories?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foefra3Cmvo

I've posted in the past about Xtreme Saga. This year, there has been a number of pitfalls in the project, mostly due to politics, both within and outside of the company that owns the IP. I was sad to learn that they decided to heavily focus on the web comic and hired a different writer to take over the franchise for reasons I'm not currently allowed to discuss publicly.

All that said, it was decided that we will ultimately do an extremely limited physical printing of the full-length novel I wrote for the IP. I've had to manage this myself, which has allowed me to learn a number of new skills, such as how to obtain an ISBN number in Taiwan. I'm happy to say that we are almost ready to go to print and have already found a printer. While the novel probably won't end up getting wider distribution, unless a great deal of demand is voiced, I will at least finally have one of my novels in printed form. And I won't have had to foot the bill myself! And, because of how Taiwan ISBN and copyright law works, a copy of the novel will be admitted into the National Library of Taiwan.

Hopefully, the first printing will be completed before Christmas this year.

I came across this clip from The Power of Myth series and wanted to share it with the community.

Do you have a sacred space to retire to, where you can stop invasive media thoughts, or you can shelter from the cares of your life? This seems to be a great method or practice for a writer to have.

https://youtu.be/XbHJeLbwg7c

https://storycharmedlife.kit.com/posts/lists-lizards

Hey, Writers!

I was just watching this great video where author, Sara Cannon is sharing her 10 steps for brainstorming and developing a new novel idea.

Do you have any tips of your own that help you brainstorm at the very start of your writing process?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PWcP2BTQGMo

Perfect Deception

Prologue

Alex is a genius technologist cum medical expert whose innovative services were once rejected by a prestigious bank due to reasons ranged in bias and prejudice. The reputation was at stake, but more significantly, a burning desire for revenge was born that day. Determined to show his worth and exhibit his skills to the best of his abilities, Alex minutely plans the greatest airport heist of all time.

Act 1: The Plan

Detailed Observation: Alex takes months of studying the layout of the airport, the working procedure of the bank, and the officer who goes to collect this money. Using his technological wizardry, he hacks into airport security systems, obtaining live feeds and other security protocols. He then also conducts aerial surveillance with the help of flying drones and creates fake identities for himself and his crew.

Reconnection: In the process of planning, Alex reconnects with Emma, a brilliant cybersecurity expert at the bank. They had previously met at a tech conference a couple of years ago and were associated in a brief, fierce romance. Their feelings reignite, and they start rekindling old love. Unbeknownst to Emma, Alex is using this opportunity to gather inside information about the bank’s security systems.

Conflict of Interest: In the process, Alex finds himself increasingly attracted to Emma, which creates a conflict of interest in balancing his revenge with his new feelings for her. He realizes that involving Emma in his plan will expose her to some danger, yet at the same time, he really needs her expertise to ensure the heist goes well.

Team Assemblage: Alex puts together a team of professionals, each with a very important role to play. Then there is Marcus, the diversion expert; Sarah, the tech whiz; and Leo, the man for logistics. They will discuss things on encrypted communication channels, meaning no person will know what they are planning.

Disguise and Mimicry: Alex uses his medical knowledge to create a perfect disguise to impersonate the officer. He observes the physical features of the officer, his voice, his traits, and practicing them until he is able to imitate them.

The Genesis of Haven: Alex and Emma sit and talk in one of those quiet moments. They talk about how it all began at the tech conference where they shared dreams and aspirations over coffee, naming their ultimate future “Haven”-the place where they could find some semblance of solace and, in turn, happiness. This becomes their secret code of sorts, symbolically entreating their dream shared and ultimate goal.

Act 2: The Heist

Involuntary involvement: Emma begins to suspect that Alex is hiding something. She finds out about his plans but, instead of telling him, she confronts her boyfriend. Alex explains his motives and how the bank had rejected him in the past. Torn by the love towards Alex and her conscience, Emma decides to help him; she believes the bank’s corruption must be brought into the light.

Collaboration: Emma utilizes her position in the bank to provide Alex with critical information on security protocols and the pattern of the officer performing his rounds upstairs. She also assists him in fine-tuning his escape plan to ensure that it does not have any weak links.

Perfect timing: The day of the heist, Alex’s team makes traffic diversions to delay the actual officer. Disguised as an officer, Alex arrives at the airport and finds himself three minutes ahead of the scheduled pickup time at the bank. He collects the cash and exits the airport via a route that he has previously chalked out to evade detection.

Diversions and Decoys: Marcus sets multiple diversions in town, calling in numerous false alarms of other heists and even planting decoy getaway cars. The diversions are to stretch the police force’s reach so Alex could buy himself some precious time.

Escape Route: Alex is to make his way to large service tunnels and secret passages, out of the view of law enforcement, dressed as an airport employee. He knows the way around the airport to maneuver quickly without being seen.

Haven of reassurance: Alex and Emma use the word “Haven” throughout the heist, typically to refer to when things are going right or for reassurance during a time of high tension.

Alex: “Haven, Emma. We’re reaching the end.”

Emma: “Haven, Alex. Keep safe.”

Act 3: The Chase

Initial Escape: Alex’s team believes, through the decoy escape plan, that he really is attempting to flee the city. They follow along with it, creating a number of false trails and misleading digital footprints.

The Double Bluff: Alex mounts a mock capture scenario. He intends to have a decoy (a lookalike or a doll) “caught” by the cops at a pre-arranged location. This decoy will contain false evidence related to the decoy escape plan. The captured mock capture is leaked to the media in a frenzy, and the cops end up misunderstanding that the mastermind has been caught.

Hidden in Plain Sight: While the police are busy with the fake capture, Alex uses his medical and technological skills to disguise his appearance once more. Alex disappears into the city, into his safe house already set up.

Emotional Stakes: Emma joining the heist brings in an emotional stake within the actual theft. She is forever concerned about the safety of Alex and what could happen to them if apprehended. Such a high-stakes situation will really put their relationship through its paces.

Betrayal and Trust: Tempted by all that money, one of Alex’s team members decides to betray him. It would be Emma’s fast thinking and cybersecurity skills which help in outmaneuvering the traitor, thereby reinforcing their trust in each other.

Act 4: The Mystery

Observation: From his safe house, Alex observes the authorities’ moves and the attention of the media. With this, he can take appropriate measures so as not to get caught.

Dissipation: Over the following days, Alex incrementally divests of the money stolen outside the city through the issuance of several small and imperceptible transfers. He makes sure to use trusted intermediaries and untracing means of divesting the money which shall never lead the investigation to him.

Emma’s Part: Emma remains in the bank, maintaining her cover. She uses her position to subtly influence the investigation by ensuring that any leads concerning Alex are discredited or deflected.

Final Message: After the heist was pulled off and Alex had been able to get away safely, he went into hiding and was able to send Emma a secure, anonymous message: “Haven. We did it.”

Epilogue

No Trace: With the faked capture and well-hidden safe house, Alex makes sure that no trail of the heist will point to him. His team is kept in the dark as to his true whereabouts; this was because they’d bought into the decoy escape plan.

National Mystery: The heist becomes a part of national intrigue, and media, along with people, try to make various guesses as to who the mastermind behind this is. The police just remain baffled without having any clear-cut answers or leads.

New Life: The ghost in the system, Alex, was content to remain in the background and watch the world’s reaction to his perfect deception. He had proven his worth, he had avenged himself, and all that time, he had remained untouchable and unseen. Emma also continued working in the bank, subtly neutralizing any potential threats to Alex’s anonymity.

Legacy: The heist remained a mystery in the nation, and Alex’s perfect deception went down in history. Emma and Alex may go their separate ways, but they shared the secret and the common victory over the system that victimized them. “Haven” became symbolic of their triumph and their bond that no one could break.

Hello guys I'm working on this story titled Perfect Deception and I need some critics and how I can improve on the character development I have only developed the main character but not much I started the story a few days a go and I really need support working on it

My current WIP was supposed to be 60 - 80K words. I'm currently on chapter 19, and I'm confident this will end up being 90 - 95K words. Longer than I wanted for an Urban Fantasy, but not so long that people will flat out ignore it before considering the story.

Every book I've written comes out much longer than I planned for it to be, even though I outline very thoroughly before writing.

Do you count picture pages in the page number count?

Imagine chapter 1 is 12 pages of text. You start at page 1 on the right side with a blank left page 0, as usual.

Chapter 2 starts on page 13 and would normally be on the right side right next to the end page of chapter 1 (page 12).

But say you have an entire page dedicated to an image between the end of chapter 1 and the start of chapter 2. Not an image in the text, but a picture page that exists outside of the world of the book. More specifically, it's an artist's full-page rendering of a scene from the previous chapter.

Do you put the picture on what would be page 13 and start chapter 2 on page 14? If yes, do you call it page 14 or still call it page 13?

Or do you add a blank page between the image and start of chapter 2 so that it remains as page 13 and on the right side page?

I don't have any books with full page pictures to reference, so any help would be appreciated.