​What your character thinks is shown in everything she says. She may be proving or disproving some particular point or enunciating some universal proposition.  All these comments reveal her personality. Her remarks also show her moral purpose. There are things she wants to talk about or things she wishes to avoid.

Don’t confuse the reader by having your character talk about something that has absolutely no relevance to the story. Everything said must be relevant, revealing the character’s motivation, experience and attitude.

​Story is built from your characters’ goals and ambitions changed by circumstance and connected by one unifying theme.

​Pay attention to what you feel after you read. What did you learn? How did you feel?

Record the images and phrases that stick with you as you read books and newspapers or watch the world. Notice how you feel and record these sensations accurately.

​All told, the creation of a story can take less than two weeks from start to finish.

About an hour brainstorming ideas and events to include in the story;
About two days to write the outline;
About two days doing some research;
About five days to write the story;
and about three days to rewrite the story.

First, write the story and then research. Don’t get bogged down in unnecessary description. Facts for fact's sake bore readers. All that is needed is the discreet inclusion of a few authentic facts. There is no need to be an expert. Find out information that is relevant to the plot already planned.

Use research to illuminate characters and to advance the plot, otherwise leave it out.

Why have characters waste interaction just to cover, say, travel arrangements?

​In general, use dialogue to heighten suspense and tension, not to tell us what we already know.

Poor dialogue happens when the writer isn’t sensitive to the way his character talks. Poor dialogue is when characters overact and the dialogue is explicit. Poor dialogue is sometimes used to drag the story along with exposotion.

If the dialogue does not develop the plot or show the characters' personality or ambitions, then leave it out. Sometimes silence works best.

Open your notebook or your latop and take five minutes to make some notes on your story. Write brief descriptions on the following:

The story world ( history, society, houses, landscapes, art and all other matters)

Characters (names, descriptions, attitudes, opinions)

Scenes (locations, atmosphere, senses, dialogue, characters)

1. What is your character desire?
2. What is your character fear?

The dramatic tension in the story lies in the contrast between desire and fear. Something or someone must stand in your character's way otherwise there is no conflict, no tension and therefore, no story.  

Your reader wants two things - to identify with your character and to escape from their own reality.  So, from the outset, tell us what the character wants to achieve. That is our hook into the story. Now, keep the character focused on this objective. Nothing else matters. A mistake might be to allow your character to move aimlessly through the action, only reacting to events. If this is the case, then you are in danger of losing our interest.

So, force your character into action. And the more extrovert they are, the better. Extroverts just can’t help making a fuss!

You can do all the research in the world - biological, psychological, physical, political, historical – but it is pointless if it doesn’t lead to the creation of events and drama.