character – Confabulator Cafe

Whispers and Running Starts

Larry Jenkins - October 15, 2012

For me, the hardest part of any story is figuring out where to begin. I think everything you write, whether it be a short story or a novel or even a chapter of a novel, has multiple points of entry. The challenge is finding that introductory sweet spot that both grabs the reader and gives […]

Failed Conversion

Larry Jenkins - October 8, 2012

(Broadcast transcript provided by Station URHI, Holy Roller Radio. Creators of the forthcoming documentary Glock and Awe: God’s plan for you and your guns.) HOST: Happy Monday, people! And thank you for tuning in to this week’s edition of The Wooly Pulpit, America’s premier destination for hairy men of God and the nation who […]

Subplots: Sexy Enough to Deserve Your Time

Larry Jenkins - July 9, 2012

Here’s the thing about subplots. They don’t have to be your best friend, but you should treat them like your best friend’s hot sister. Nobody’s asking you to spend a lot of time getting to know her. (But let’s be honest. Would they have to ask?) Just make sure the time you do invest is […]

A Comfortable Blend (Except When It’s Not)

Ashley M. Hill - March 23, 2012

I think that when we first conceive a story we all probably start with one or the other: a plot or a character. It doesn’t really matter so much as blending the two by the time you hit your final draft. I usually have a character, and sometimes a vague concept. Almost never a detailed […]

Characters occupy plot

Angela Kordahl - March 22, 2012

Last fall, when thousands of protesters descended on town squares and public spaces, was it the zeitgeist? Were we all zombies, drawn into this massive, not-well-publicized-enough plot? Or did each character individually have her own motives for participating? Did the arc towards justice articulate each of us within the plot of the year, or did […]