It carries on from an earlier discussion about characters and deals with the ‘great’ character. Writers will differ on how to create characters, some will approach the task methodically with lists of background facts etc, others will hone in on the essence of a character. Both are right, most writers use a mixture of the two.

But what turns a character into a great character? For me, it is that the character dominates the stage whenever he or she is on it. And let me say straight away that a great character does not have to be a Hamlet or a Macbeth. It could be a humble person but one who is nevertheless a great character because they are so beautifully drawn. I am working with a writer whose central character is a meek, mild, almost fearful character, but by God, he dominates every stage he is on because he so real. And all those who have ‘met’ him love him for it.

And yes, I use the word stage advisedly. I know we are talking prose here but I always think that writers should approach their characters as if they were on a stage. Are they powerful enough to dominate the auditorium? Can they hold the audience? Does the audience (for which read reader) follow them wherever they go? Do they feel real? Do they feel as if they could knock on your door at any moment and walk in? Do you, the reader, believe?

There are so many things you could say about creating characters (anyone booking into our mentoring scheme will be sent a copy of our e-book on writing which includes some thoughts on characters) but the question is this. Have you created a great character, not a good one, but a great one who people will remember long after they have stopped reading the story?

And if so, introduce us to them!

John Dean

The flash fiction competition running on the storyworld site has made a slow start and we hope it will pick up. Depending on how March’s competition goes we may try further ones.

Delighted to be talking to a few people about our mentoring as well: the message we are putting out is that it can be as flexible as you like. The nature of mentoring is that it can be tailored entirely to people’s needs.

If any of these things interest, you can contact me through this site, the storyworld site or at john.dean@certys.co.uk

John Dean

It’s excellent advice. Elmore Leonard has always argued that writing should be about getting on with the story and not getting sidetracked on elements of writing, such as excessive description, that do not take the story on.  It’s what we should all be doing, I would suggest and it is certainly something I have worked hard on as I have developed the craft of writing.

John Dean

Want to discuss the issues raised in these blogs - or find out about our mentoring of writers and our new flash fiction competition? Then go to www.storyworld.ning.com where you can register for free and join our growing community of writers

What has become clear from the inquiries we have had about the mentoring is that each person’s needs are different so we will be as flexible as we can.

If you want help with novels then we can help with that, if it’s about structuring short stories we can help with that. Whatever you want we can help with, helping you along every step of the way.

The flash fiction competition is only two or three days old but we have already a few inquiries and a few stories entered - if you want to find out more on either initiative do drop me a line at john.dean@certys.co.uk or through our social networking site at www.storyworld.ning,com

John Dean

But what is so special about flash fiction? Well, I reckon that it allows the writer to pare down a story to what is important - with so few words to play with you end up asking questions about the way you describe your places and your characters and about what really matters in the story. The best flash fiction creates a story that still has a beginning, a middle and an end and still involves the reader despite the shortage of space.