Personification is one of the more commonly used figures of speech. It is giving human attributes such as feelings, actions, thoughts and habits to non-human things (animals, objects or ideas).

If you've written for any length of time then you know characterization is important to shape your characters so that the readers either love them or hate them.

The debate rages on between alpha, beta, and now gamma heroes regarding which one is the best hero. Personally, I'm partial to tall, dark, and handsome alpha males.

What's your perception of the word - heroine? Is it someone who's done something heroic, or is it simply the female protagonist in our stories? Must they be the same?

Does your Main Character Change or Remain Steadfast? A lot of writers think a character must Change in order to grow.

Character Development is core to good storytelling. After all, characters are whom readers connect to and if they are stagnant and unchanging, the story can fail to hold reader’s interest.

Developing characters can be a daunting task. Sure, you may start out with a character type in mind; you might see him, know his mannerisms, hear him speak.

Backstory (exposition or flashbacks about the lives characters have led prior to the start of a book, story or movie) has a bad reputation out there in writer-land.

I was thinking about how often we refer to good dialogue as ‘sparkling’. For some reason, thirst perhaps, the word sparkling immediately made me think about my favorite beverage’champagne.

Create a plot where there is plenty of scope for action. An old man is sitting on his wheelchair, watching television.