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HOW DO I CHARACTERIZE MY STORY? By Arthur Zulu

If art is a reflection of life, then there should be people in your story. Because in life, people make history. Either for good, or for bad.

It is just as easy to create characters in a story. Now, look around you. Are there not people whose attitude interests or puzzles you? Or do you remember reading of one strange character in a storybook?

So, using your sources you may have developed some characters for your best seller.

Now, in characterization (for that is name they call it), there are two types: real characters and stereotypes. And these characters may either be good or bad as in real life situation. Some are going to play principal roles, while others will play minor roles, also as in true-life situation. Again, they may be of different backgrounds and nationalities.

The following questions will help you to make effective characterization.

1.Who Should Be a Character? That depends on nature of your story. Anything could be a character. In Bible, a snake and a donkey spoke (Do they still talk?) And trees were characters in a mock drama. (Someone says they still do speak to those who understand them.) Even Devil himself had a conference with God. (I don’t think they are still in speaking terms).

So, your characters may be humans (DAVID COPPERFIELD by Charles Dickens), witches (MACBETH by William Shakespeare), animals (ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell), or Devil (SATANIC VICARS by Arthur Zulu.) You may even wish to make yourself a character in a fiction as some writers have done. Such ones are often heroes, or heroines –- they play most important part, and they never die. I am thinking of Thor, in KONTIKI EXPEDITION by Thor Hayerdall.

2.How Should They Be Named? First, their names should not be two long and foreign that your reader finds them difficult to remember. Abbreviated names, as in Shakespearean works, also cause problems.

Second, use revealing titles like Dr. and Prof., King and Queen, to help your reader grasp them easily. Historical names are beyond compare in this regard. Like Adolph Hitler. Or Winston Churchill. Your reader may have known about them, thus making understanding easy.

Third. The names of your characters may be used to provide clues to your reader. Like Christian and Morality in THE PILGRIMS’ PROGRESS by John Bunyan.

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DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TITLE YOUR STORY?

By Arthur Zulu

If you saw a beautifully painted house with a well kept garden of bright and sweet smelling flowers, would you not like to turn back to get a second look? Of course you would. And this outside impression would give you a favorable image of inside of house. But if house were otherwise, it would probably not attract your attention.

So it is with books. But here, I am not talking about a beautiful book cover (which though is important). I am talking about first thing to have in mind when writing your best-seller. And what is it?

The Title of Your Book How you title your book is most important. Because it is gateway to your book. Because it is your best chance to invite a reader to take a second look. And because there are many titles out there, begging for attention. How do you though get a title for your book?

You should know that your title must reflect topic of your book. You are, therefore, to guard against writing a misleading title.

To choose a title is very easy. After you have gotten your subject area, narrow it to a topic suitable for your writing.

Let’s take Cloning for example. That’s a wide subject. Now, break it down into topics, and you have a list that reads like this: Origin, types, advantages, disadvantages, and so on. You could still pick any of these topics and narrow it still further. But advice is; do not write on a wide subject area because you will end up with an unwieldy book, and do not narrow your topic so much that you do not have something to write about.

Now, how do you title your book? First, your title should be short. You may use a word, (CORIOLANUS) by William Shakespeare, a phrase (A TALE OF TWO CITIES) by Charles Dickens or a sentence (THE BEAUTIFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN) by Ayei Kwey Armah (I am not sure if I got spelling of Ghanaian name right).