We’re all on this writing journey together! Each month I take a moment to pause and share things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the adventure as a busy writer.
I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging!
Article Spotlights: Character Arcs
The Oxford Living Dictionary defines character arc as “a strand of narrative dealing with the change and development in the personality of an individual character.”
Basically a character arc is how a character grows and changes over the course of a story.
Here are a few useful blog articles regarding character arcs and how to write them.
- Helping Authors Become Writers: How To Write Character Arcs
This is an extensive overview of character arcs including links to more in depth information.
- Mythcreants: Ten Movies With Strong Character Arcs
Featuring fabulous examples such as Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog!
- Fiction University: Growing Up Already: Creating Character Arcs
A quality post as always from Fiction University going over how to create character arcs.
- Veronica Sicoe: The 3 Types of Character Arc- Change, Growth and Fall
Exploring various types of character arcs.
Book of the month: Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
In the YA novel Moxie, Jennifer Mathieu brings us a powerful story exploring the struggles and triumphs of teenagers learning to stand up for themselves, others, and what is right.
(Warning: Readers should be aware this book covers sensitive topics including rape/sexual harassment.)
This was a quick read for me and a both enjoyable and thought provoking look at relevant issues of harassment and learning to take action to do what’s right.
Here’s a quote from the main character, Vivian: “This is what it means to be a feminist. Not a humanist or an equalist or whatever. But a feminist. It’s not a bad word. After today it might be my favorite word. Because really all it is is girls supporting each other and wanting to be treated like human beings in a world that’s always finding ways to tell them they’re not.”
This book is about a school’s journey, specifically the girls of the school, coming together to stand up for themselves and each other in the midst of a negative and oppressive environment.
Something I found beautiful in this book was that Vivian is such a relatable person, she’s not some superhuman fighter or fearless individual. Yes, she is strong. No, she is not outspoken or aggressive. She gets scared and she has doubts. She struggles to know what the best thing to do is. And throughout the book we see her grow as a person and as a leader.
*Hem* This growth is called character development and may or may not be related to the topic above… 😉
And it wasn’t just Viv! There were so many rich and wonderful characters between these pages in this book and I found myself rooting for them and wanting to see them succeed. They were real and they were powerful. This book reminded me of the struggles we all face in standing up for what is right in our daily lives and it renewed my enthusiasm for taking a stand even when it’s hard.
And of course, Go Moxie Girls!
(Comment below if you’ve read Moxie- I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’m also always looking for new books to read if you have any recommendations though I will warn you my list is already a mile long…)
Recipe of the month: Chicken Tortilla Soup
This is a quick recipe to throw in the crock pot, tweak as you’d like with what you have on hand, and then later garnish with your favorite toppings and enjoy. I usually don’t even bother cooking the chicken before putting it in the pot, it doesn’t get much easier than that! It’s one of my standby favorites for both ease and flavor- after all, anything with both cheese and cilantro is pretty much guaranteed to be delicious <3
Self Care Spotlight: Thankfulness Journal
Self care is important! Take a moment or two and write down ten things you’re thankful for.
Writing Prompt: Character Sketch
Imagine if there was a girl who could only speak lies. What if she wanted to help someone? What if she fell in love?
Cuteness Quota: Kitten Love <3
Quote:
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
–Benjamin Franklin
I am saving the tortilla soup recipe, it will be great for fall!
I love soup in the fall! 🙂