Tag: writing

How to choose your character names – Free course on Skillshare

LittleFears8 Comments

Linky: https://skl.sh/30xrMHv

Coming up with a great name for your characters is one of the hardest things to do as a fiction writer. The decision that’ll shape entire characters can often paralyze writers before they’ve even started writing a story.

Now, you may not want your name so bland, ordinary and pedestrian that they’re forgotten the moment the slip of the page. A good name, the right name, can complement or enhance a character’s personality. It can help a reader identify with your protagonist.

But, if you go too far the other way, creating a whacky or creative name, you can distract your reader. If it’s too far out of the genre or setting, a bad name can pull your character right out of the story. Too many similar names, and you’ll leave your reader playing a game of guess who.

So finding the perfect character names can be tricky.

Sometimes, you’ll know the name of the character before you know anything else about the story, set or plot. Other times, you’ll know everything about the character, right down to the colour of their underwear, except for his or her name. This course is for those times.

The course is broken down into three parts. For the first part of this course, we’ll be focussing on names from the real world. For the second part of this course, we’ll explore other genres. For the third part of the course, we’ll cover some naming conventions that cover both the real world and beyond.

So, I hope by taking this class, we can figure out your character’s name together.

How to choose your character names. Follow the link, hit sign up, skip anything that asks you to subscribe, and enjoy. Linky: https://skl.sh/30xrMHv

If you love what I do and want to say thanks with some pennies, you can buy a tee on Threadless. A cup of tea over on Ko-Fi. Hit me up on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. I also have an Etsy store and a book series on Amazon.

Cheers, gang! You’re all awesome.

Cheers to Bruce Campbell, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage.

Bounce

LittleFears18 Comments

“Is that the Grey Moon pub?” asked Sprite, shielding his eyes from a sun hanging low in the sky.

“Looks like it,” replied Lucy. “And that looks like Yuffie’s horse outside.”

“You don’t sound happy about that,” said Sprite.

“She’s been a bit aggy with me recently,” grumbled Lucy. “I replaced her bed with a trampoline before I left for the isles.”

“Oh, aye?” said Sprite. “How did that go?”

“She hit the roof,” chuckled Lucy.

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Road

LittleFears34 Comments

“Could you go ahead?” asked Sprite. “See if you can catch him?”

“The wind’s dropped,” sighed Lucy. “I can’t move any faster than you. I’ll go with you though.”

“Cheers,” sighed Sprite. “I know life ends for all of us someday, but…”

“Yeah, I know,” replied Lucy. “Yuffie and I lost a dear friend a few months back. She covered herself in lard a few days before she died.”

“Why?” asked Sprite.

“Not sure,” sighed Lucy. “But she went downhill fast.”

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Invisible

LittleFears38 Comments

A gust of wind blew up the road, and lucy floated down beside Sprite. “Missing your bro?” she asked.

“Yeah,” sighed Sprite. “I think he’s taking the road to the afterlife. I’m trying to catch up to him, but I think he has a good headstart on me.”

“Well, I’ve just dropped out of the sky, and you’re the only figure I could see for miles,” she remarked. “Although I’m sure I saw the footprints and the invisible woman, man, and their children.”

“Hang on,” said Sprite, “They had kids? What are they like?”

“Well,” chuckled Lucy. “They’re nothing to look at.”

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Playlist

LittleFears27 Comments

Sprite looked up the road and knew where Spectre had gone and that he may have a significant headstart. He put his headphones on, cracked open Spotify and started Sinéad O’Connor greatest hits. For a moment, he pondered how long it had been since he last heard this playlist.

It’s been 7 hours and 15 days…

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Empty

LittleFears12 Comments

Sprite awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. He was sitting on a road, and in every direction, all he could see was sand. The trees, the wall and Spectre, who were all here when he went to sleep, were missing.

“Cripes alive,” said Sprite. “This place is emptier than a Tory promise.”

Today’s the last day my Skillshare course, Start publishing on Medium.com, is free. From tomorrow, it’ll be available only to premium members. If you enroll today though, it’s free for life. Linky: https://skl.sh/2N9RejV

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Black Sands

LittleFears11 Comments

(The story thus far. This series runs until October, so check back, Monday to Friday for the rest of the tales. In October, we’ll have a new series to coincide with Inktober.)

The Fears face unfamiliar horrors with a familiar sense of humour, as we find them washing ashore on a stretch of islands in the lands in-between.

Black Sands is our current series, with new tales published five days a week. Monday to Friday. Check back daily for updates.

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To be continued…

Check back every day, Monday to Friday in July, for further tales from the black sands.

Without Patreon, cups of ko-fi, Threadless sales and all the other links below, I wouldn’t be able to make you all groan every day and create series like this. So thank you, everyone, for all the support. May the groans and grimaces I cause give your face laughter lines and your scalp grey hairs. Thank you.

As always, shout out and thanks to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Forget

LittleFears17 Comments

“So I’m trapped on this island until human-kind forgets about me?” cried Meria. “I’ve been here for fifty years. Surely they can’t still remember me.”

“They’d almost forgotten,” said Lucy. “But your mother, who you murdered for just £12, was a good friend of mine. About the only human, I ever loved. So imagine my delight when I sold my story to a film studio a few weeks back.”

Meria let out a howl as Lucy’s body turned to smoke. As the wind picked up and lifted her off the island, she noted, “I hear there’s going to be a book too.”

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Answer

LittleFears18 Comments

“So, why am I here?” asked Meria. “Why have I been stuck on this island for as long as I can remember?”

“Sometimes the dead and their ideas, hopes and dreams can live on in the world between the living and dead until they’re forgotten entirely,” replied Lucy.

“What’s that got to do with me?” asked Meria.

“Well, first of all, you’re dead,” replied Lucy. “Furthermore, you’ve been remembered for over fifty years for the murder of your mother.”

Free course for the next four days, Start publishing on Medium.com. Linky: https://skl.sh/2N9RejV

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.

Clue

LittleFears23 Comments

“Listen,” said Lucy. “You keep asking me why I’m here, have you ever wondered why you’re here? Do you even remember how you got here?”

“I…” stammered Meria, “I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“Good grief,” chuckled Lucy. “It’s like watching Boris Johnson standing up in parliament.”

Cheers to Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren for the continued $10 Patronage. You can find me on Ko Fi, Patreon, Etsy, Amazon, Skillshare and Threadless.