Just a quick description tip

This little thought just sneaked into by head while grocery shopping. Don't write what the character is wearing everyday, leave it up to the reader's imagination. Otherwise the imagery of this person feels too forced. Give a little taste of their style to show some of their character.

Trait Bars!

Remember a little while back when I mentioned I was working on a little "something-something"? Well, this is it! I call them trait bars. Here's how they work. First, choose a character. Then look at each trait and mark how significant they are on your character on the bars to the right, sort of like a rate on 1-10: 10 being the most significant and to the right. The other portions of a character (the ones with a line before the bar) work a little differently. On that line, you write what falls under that category. For example, say you're on fear. You would put what his or her fear is and, like always, put how significant it is. And I'm also sorry that the bars aren't interactive. Out of the 875+ gadgets I can add on blogger, there wasn't anything I could use to make this. So again, I am so sorry, but you'll have to either print it off or copy it.

Finding an idea that's original

This is possibly the most misunderstood part of writing. Great ideas have been pushed away all because the authors think "it's not original enough" or "it's too much like this book". The truth is, there are no entirely original ideas. What makes an idea yours is how you view it, your spin on it and how you portray it. Feels good now that you know doesn't it?

Having trouble creating a character?

Creating a character is a hard thing to do when you're starting from scratch, especially since the human brain is a complex labyrinth. Don't get me wrong though, you don't need a PhD in psychology to write. Just know that everyone has a strength, a weakness, a fear, a problem, a story, a talent, a friend, an ambition, a secret or inhibition, general personality, an internal conflict, an external conflict, and an enemy. If you are planning to wing-it then edit it, external and internal conflicts are a little hard to point out so find them after you write. An easier way is just to base a character off of someone you know. Change them up if you have to: there is no limit to creativity. Unsure if this works? My friend's aunt wrote a book, got it published, and even got a book signing in Chapters and she based her characters entirely off of her nephews and nieces. I'm even working on a little something-something, but I'm not sure if it works just yet. But hey, it's all about experimenting and finding what's right for you!