Beginner writers always ask: how can I write about something that’s already been written?
What do you do when you want to write about a magical school, but Harry Potter already exists? Or a tournament where kids kill kids but Hunger Games already exists?
The answer is easy. It all lies in the twist.
Have you ever written something and cried your eyes out, only to share it with someone else and they don’t have the same reaction?
What did you do wrong? Why didn’t they have the same emotional response that you did?
Maybe your sad story was missing one of the four crucial steps to make your reader cry!
For the vast majority of stories, the main character doesn’t die at the end.
So then why do we fear for the character’s death anyway? And how can we make sure we do it to readers of our own stories?
Let’s find out!
Last week on Tips-y Tuesday we talked about the benefit of writing your query letter’s synopsis letter before starting your manuscript. This week I’d like to change gears and talk about something completely different: cosplaying as your novel’s characters.
For those unaware, “cosplay” (portmanteau of “costume” and “play”) means dressing up like a character from a movie, video game, or TV show. For some extensive examples of cosplay, check out the cosplay-related articles on RocketNews24.
But the thing about cosplay is, not all characters are as popular to cosplay as others. Sure, the most popular characters are of course going to be from the most popular media (anime, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, etc.), but there’s also another factor: how identifiable the characters are.
A few days ago I watched a video by one of my favorite YouTubers the Super Carlin Brothers, titled “How to Fix Quidditch.” As a Harry Potter nerd I eagerly clicked it, watched it, and then subsequently disagreed with pretty much everything.
Yes, Quidditch is a completely illogical game. But that’s exactly what makes it fun to read.
