While it’s easy to argue that it’s the story that brings a novel to life, I consider it’s the characters you create, that conveys the delivery in your mind as a writer, to that of your reader.

How you pull that character together is another enquiry altogether.

Some writers spend endless hours writing a long thesis for each character so they’d know if the character would prefer to eat a Rossi ice cream in Southend-on-Sea or visit a takeaway for pizza or lasagne; or would they prefer their local Italian restaurant for those items?

They’ll know if their great aunt worked for the CIA and if the friend who lives over on twelfth avenue buys his Sunday paper from the local Wal-Mart or has it delivered, even if the aunt and paper boy or girl aren’t even used in the book.

Most of this detail I find unnecessary, but often little character traits are essential. Perhaps the paper delivery boy or girl will see a suspicious individual leave a house at a certain time?

Essential traits

Characters must be memorable. We all know exactly who we think of when we imagine Sherlock Holmes, especially before the recent movie (which I enjoyed but Sherlock was not the man in my recollection.) We have him pictured and understood in our memory banks. We know the type of person he is. We know his ‘special’  behavior; the way we know the character traits of those we love, in our spouse or partner.

Believable; yes they must be realistic as well. Even Spiderman is realistic in the way that we understand him in our mind. He’s three dimensional; we know the fully rounded person, not just the way he looks and the way he way he wears his clothes.

As writers, we think through our character’s lives. We don’t want to be tripped up later saying she did one thing when that didn’t fit in at all with the previous personality set we’ve introduced. We get to know how a character would react in certain situations, what’d they do and what was the most likely outcome. Of course, as writers, we’re trying to show a character arc through the manuscript so we can see what changes occur, but they’d have to fit in with the person’s general manner or possibilities.

Naming Characters

Names and locations are so difficult to choose. They should match the person or town described, but not be so common or confusing as to cause distress to the reader. How often have you got to page 55 and then had to track back to page 14 to see what someone was called because you’ve been confused by the characters or the location.

If you choose someone called George Bush, your reader will place a character trait on the person in your book without reading further. They’ll confuse your man with that of a president. If your lady is called Halle Berry then apart from a lawsuit probably on its way to you (if the legal department of your publisher hasn’t knocked it out first) you can’t portray her as a ninety year old spinster weighing 300 pounds. It doesn’t work.

Use the internet to search for the names you wish to use. There may already be people with your character’s name, but you can confirm, at least to your own satisfaction, that you’re not framing a reader’s viewpoint too quickly. My daughter has a rare name, then we met someone with the same name. Impossible, but true. It will happen. No point in giving your lead star the same name as the CEO of a rich list company. You may not know them, but many will or might.

The final note on names is to make them appear unlike all the other characters. If you choose John Smith, Jim Smythe and James Smithie you’re going to get your reader to suffer from twisted blood. Better to go for Mark Black, David Hinton and Graham Clitheroe. My apologies if these names belong to you; I didn’t check Google and you won’t be in my book.

Location, location

If you’re using real locations you mustn’t talk about London and then place Big Ben next to Wembley stadium. If your reader knows the site, they’ll place the location in their mind and if you’re not accurate, their belief in the rest of your story might falter. If you take off from Miami international airport, you can’t arrive at JFK in thirty minutes. Concorde no longer lives, but if you were in a Star Trek style story, thirty minutes might be too long.

Having said all of this, even if you call your leading lady Sandy Wiltshire, you can still picture her as Halle Berry and construct a character set that matches your chosen delight, while probably stealing a few traits from some friends of yours. So while you might be thinking of Ms Berry, your lady may be a black actress, attractive, provocative, with a nice figure, but she’ll be slightly different and your reader won’t be thinking of Halle Berry, possibly just a Halle Berry ‘type’,  but were you thinking of Catwoman or Perfect Stranger; the two are not alike at all?

PS I quite liked Catwoman, but I understand I’m in the minority.

Today’s guest post is from scriptwriter and script doctor Stephen Hall. Follow the progress of  his book Chasing The Will at StephenHallOnline.com

Writing Characters and Locations is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Let this simple deadline tip keep you on track

I pride myself on never missing a deadline. Lots of people – both writers and clients – ask me how I do it. Let me tell you a story that showed me what to do.

Several years ago I was working as the editor of a monthly magazine. The editorial staff consisted of me, a sub editor and two writers, as well as the managing editor, who didn’t do much writing. Three of us were great with deadlines, but one of the writers was not. We had regular deadlines set in advance and he seemed unable to keep up with them, putting the rest of the schedule in jeopardy. I decided that when I was setting the deadlines for the following year, I would take things in hand.

Our deadlines were set based on the cover date and our printing slot, but that didn’t mean they were carved in stone. I moved every deadline on our printed editorial calendar back two days so that even if things were late there would be no need to panic. I also gave this particular writer his own – even earlier – deadline. That meant that even when he was late I would still receive work by the time I really wanted it.

That lesson has stayed with me, and it’s the secret of my deadline success. I ask my clients when they need a piece of work, but in my calendar I put a date one or two days before that. I also put a note of when I need to start work on the job in my to-do list. The upshot of that is that all my work is delivered on time.

But what about special circumstances such as illness or accidents, I hear you ask. These things happen and there have been a few occasions when I realise that I will find it difficult to make the deadline. In those cases I either outsource to a trusted colleague so I can meet the original deadline, or contact the client and renegotiate the deadline. I haven’t had to do this many times, so clients are understanding when I do. And renegotiating a deadline isn’t the same as missing it, is it?

(Photo: ciro@tokyo)

How To Keep Deadlines Every Time is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

A guest post written by Barbara Plotkin

The year was 1996. The place, a prominent media company that just laid off its entire catalog division. In one day I lost everything—my job, my insurance, my livelihood.

The timing was perfect.

Something was underfoot. Something so big and powerful that it would change the world as we knew it. That something was the Internet.

And I just smiled and went on with my life.

Print was my thing. Direct marketing copy was my specialty. What was once known as below-the-line advertising was now a respected and viable industry unto itself, on its way to generating billions of dollars. And I was a DM expert.

After a few years, the Internet slightly piqued my interest. I branched out a bit with a few websites. My first was for a financial services firm, followed up by a 500-page educational website. This was before anyone even knew what SEO copywriting was.

I did continue to seek new challenges, and through the years I’ve worn many hats: VP/creative director, marketing director, director of customer relations, senior sales consultant. I thought this was pretty powerful stuff for a copywriter to have under her belt.

Then I looked around and what I feared most had come true. I was no longer relevant. Not because of my age. As a friend of mine told me rather emphatically, “you still have another few careers left to go if you want them.”

I was no longer relevant because I hadn’t opened my eyes. A whole new world had taken over and I hadn’t seen it being built.

The irony is, direct marketing is such an integral part of Internet marketing that the transition should have been smooth, even fun. But I didn’t bother to learn along the way. New terms were not only being floated around but were entrenched in every day culture. Saying I could write really great print copy just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

Taking a course on SEO copywriting seemed the logical thing to do. But which one? It seemed there were hundreds, ranging from $49.00 to thousands of dollars. I had no idea where to turn or which one to take. I’m still stuck on this one. Too bad there isn’t a resource that “grades” courses on online writing. If there is one, please let me know.

The good news is, there are incredible people on the Internet from whom you can learn without spending a dime. You’ll need to find them yourself and see who you “click” with.

A good starting point for me included: Brian Clark of Copyblogger, Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online, Dean Rieck of Pro Copy Tips, Seth Godin for daily inspiration and a kick in the head, Steve Errey the Confidence Guy for a good dose of, well, confidence and Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb for the latest in web technology and social media trends. I don’t understand half of what Richard says but when I do I feel very important.

Getting there from here will take some time, but if you’re in the same boat as me, let’s make it happen. Of course, a lot of this journey will be driven by attitude. Okay, all of it will be driven by attitude. If you’re open to learning and doing and succeeding then it’s all there for the taking.

Are you ready to take some?

When Barbara isn’t taking, she’s giving advice to her two teenage children, which isn’t always taken. She also has 25 years of direct marketing experience and is learning to take it all to the next level. She can be reached at baplotkin9 at gmail dot com

Are You Still Relevant? is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Guest post by Andy Hayes

About this time of year, a lot of people go into reflection mode, wondering what they did right and wrong last year and how they can fix it this year.  Let me be honest: you should be monitoring, measuring, and changing course regularly throughout the year.  But I respect tradition, so if you are still giving new year resolutions some thought, how about these for your list?

Get Some Feedback

Regardless if you’re an old hat writer or a newbie, feedback is essential.  If just the idea alone makes your skin crawl, then you reallyneed to get some feedback.  But asking your mother or brother is not good enough unless you can trust them to be honest with you.  Some ways to get feedback:

• You could just ask your customers.  This might make you (and them) slightly uncomfortable, but do check in with them, as there might be tiny annoyances that you could fix for them but they haven’t mentioned because, well, you didn’t ask.
• You could partner with a peer in your industry and review each other’s work.  Just make sure it’s not someone who you would call a competitor, but someone you trust and someone whose work you like and respect.
• You could pay someone for feedback.  Sometimes it really is best to just have someone give an objective-as-possible, non-judgemental opinion, and those are not always free – especially if you’re looking at product sales pages or lengthy texts.

Read a Book

Get Paid to Write Online is your number one resource for up-to-date insights into writing, of course.  But we’d be silly to tell you it’s the only resource.  So in the new year, why not get a second opinion?  My suggestion is to get away from that laptop, go to your library and get a book.  You know, those dusty things with paper and ink?  Whether it’s a classic from Napoleon Hill or a hard sell marketing book by Dan Kennedy, choose something that feels a bit distant and out of your “zone.”  Not everything will apply, but see what resonates with you that you can take away back to your own work.

Get Organised

Another way to protect yourself and your business is by getting organised.  Consider:

• Are you missing out on new work because you don’t have a proper contact management system to identify clients to follow-up with?
• Are you tracking your time so you know your profitability (or in other words, how much you get paid per hour)?
• Where do you track deliverable dates so you know each day what you’re working on – and more importantly, what is due?
• What about your to do list – is it just a series of scrawls on a whiteboard or notepad somewhere?

I’m not saying you need to go out and spend thousands of dollars on software.  But if you want to grow your business and therefore your profits, you need a stable structure for everything to run on.

Tips and Tweaks

If you’re struggling for tips and tweaks and want some no-nonsense advice, be sure to check out Sharon’s thumbs up for my online writing guide, Write Right Online.  It’s the perfect companion to any new year’s resolutions.

Andy is the Managing Director of Travel Online Partners (TOP), the go to resource for small businesses looking for help with online technology.  Be sure to connect with Andy on Twitter.

Improving Your Writing in 2010 is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Writing goals are good. Staying on track and reaching your goals is very fulfilling. They’re good if you’re a freelance writer and if you’re a fiction writer, and they’re also good if you write as a hobby as well. Whether you need to meet monetary goals, want to hit word count goals for a personal challenge (such as NaNoWriMo), here’s some help:

Write it Down

The first step to meeting writing goals is setting them.  What is it that you’re after? If it’s freelance writing for pay, you might have a dollar figure per month that you want (or need) to hit. In that case, once you break it down by day, it becomes easier. If you’re trying to write a whole 50,000 words in the month of November, you’ll have to figure out how many days you want to dedicate to writing and what the word count per day you should strive for.  Setting big goals is good but setting manageable goals is better.

Here are some helpful tips:

• Write it down. Tracking goals on a piece of paper or spreadsheet and then tracking your results is a good way to measure your success. Rather than just keeping a number in mind, many writers feel something is more concrete if it’s actually written down. If you’re a Gmail user, there’s a handy task list you can use to set reminders and to mark things off as they’re done.
• Turn off the distractions if you’re lagging.  You probably know what your biggest potential distractions are. Everyone has them. For some it’s Facebook, for others it’s MSN, and for some it’s the phone or television. Buckling down and avoiding temptation is the best way to meet your goals.
• Add a buffer. If you know you can complete 5,000 words in a day you might set your goal at 4,000 so that if you have unexpected things crop up, you can still manage to meet your goals and if you go over your goal number, you can pat yourself on the back. The same applies to money. You might set a primary goal of a dollar amount but add a stretch goal and plan for a reward if you hit that number.
• Give yourself a pat on the back or a small reward (such as: chocolate, a glass of wine, a fancy new pen, a night out, etc.) when you reach goals
• Give yourself a break once in a while. Setting aggressive and challenging writing goals is good but don’t burn the candle at both ends for too long or you’ll extinguish your energy and creativity!

Feel free to share your goal setting (and goal reaching) tips. Are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? If so, how are you doing?

Tips for Reaching Writing Goals is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

There’s a fine line between research and plagiarism. How often have you researched a topic only to find that someone else has already said it in the best possible way?

When that happens, the temptation is to rewrite and disguise it, but use it anyway. The trouble is, that’s not creative. It’s like adding water to powdered milk – reconstituting something that already exists.

The temptation can be overwhelming, particularly when deadlines loom. But powdered milk writing does a disservice to both you and your client. As a writer, you want to showcase the qualities that your client is paying for:

• Originality
• Facility with language
• Good research skills

In order to do that properly, you need to do more than regurgitate what someone else has said. Note that I said regurgitate. I have no problem with writers getting information from several sources, synthesizing and adding their own creative flair to make it original. That’s called research.

If you have ever done a rewrite you will know what I mean. I haven’t done them for a while, but I did a few when I started out in freelancing, because that’s what some of my clients asked for. I always found it easy to research and write an article, but more challenging to spin it twice or three times more. That’s because there was no originality and no creativity. It may have been what the client wanted, but it tasted like powdered milk to me.

What’s your take on this?

(Photo by Roebot)

Is Your Writing Like Powdered Milk? is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Today’s guest post has been contributed by Julie-Ann Amos of ExquisiteWriting.com

HubPages is, like Helium, Constant Content, Squidoo and any number of others, an online community to post articles. The idea is you post content and the site rewards you in some way. In HubPages’ case, you get the Amazon income from your pages, the eBay income and a profit share of the AdSense income. You can also add affiliate links as well but it’s discouraged unless it’s not too many or often.

Can you make a good income from it? You bet you can!

Optimising your content for good search volume, low competition and high AdSense revenue can net you a decent amount of income per month. I earn 4 figures a year from AdSense and more from Amazon and eBay on HubPages ALONE. And that’s after one year of membership. If that’s whetted your appetite, you can sign up here.

Of course, everything takes time, and to build up a decent traffic, fanbase etc doesn’t happen overnight. Plus you need to do some work promoting your articles by social bookmarking etc and creating backlinks. But, the clever folks at HubPages have created a way to get people signing up off to a good headstart.

It’s called HubChallenge, and came out of an idea raised originally by Courtney Tuttle of The Keyword Academy which not only endorses HubPages but teaches how to maximize your learnings and earnings potential when publishing Hubs. There’s a team of experienced Hubbers that includes myself, who help people get started and participate, with a common goal for each person to publish 30 Hubs in 30 Days. Why? Because the stats show that 30 Hubs are critical mass to start earning income from this type of idea.

30 in 30 days? Yes. One Hub a day, or you can spend a week writing them publish them faster. Your timescale. If you’re a writer, you probably have enough material lying around to do some without too much effort, and the HubChallenge team will help and support in the Forums and if mailed individually.

So what are you waiting for?  Sign up now at this link- using this code will ensure I’m notified of your signup as part of the HubChallenge team, and I’ll be in touch personally to see how I can help you get off to a flying start and get you plugged into the system instead of learning by trial and error (which took me WAAY too long!). I write and publish a LOT of hubs for clients too, so it’s a good line of business if you’re a writer! Yes, I get PAID to write hubs by clients, then earn income from them so long as they stay in my account! What could be better?

Do You Write For HubPages Yet? If Not, Why Not? is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

by Andy Hayes

You may have heard all about the latest trend of becoming a Location Independent writer. It seems great – and in fact, it is – being able to work wherever you want. But even if you aren’t cutting ties and taking your writing business on the road, there may be times when you will want to work while on the road. Here are a few tips for ensuring that you can keep enjoying freelancing and keep up your productivity habits while on unfamiliar ground.

Work on your Time Management Process

Do you have a diary where you record all major deadlines? This should be your number one priority while on the road – at the end of the day, if you’ve been delayed in travel or ill or otherwise, drop the marketing and other nice to haves and ensure that your paying clients receive what they asked for. On-time with an apology about further revisions needed is better than late with no follow-up.

Beyond your major deadlines, establish your to-do list. I use a white board at home to keep me right, so when on the road I have a Microsoft Word-based version that does the same thing. For extra security, put everything onto Google Docs, so in the event you have laptop issues and need to access from elsewhere.

Speaking of which…Backup, Backup, Backup

This is a case of do as I say, not as I do. Backup all your stuff. You’ll want to be prepared in the event of disaster: your laptop gets crushed under the wheels of a bus (hey, you never know), it is stolen from your hotel room, or you have an otherwise catastrophic technology failure. Again, Google Docs can help you here as a nice safety blanket.

Test Your Technology before you Go

Make sure that everything works the way you want before you go. Easy way to test? Spend the day in a local cafe. Maybe you’ll be going somewhere without Wifi or easy internet access – so go to a cafe without it. Otherwise, if you’re sure you can get online, then go somewhere with the Wifi and make sure that detached from your home creature comforts.

Take Advantage of Your Surroundings

It’s not just us travel writers that can take advantage of our surroundings. Are you a laser-sharp copywriter? See if a new locale inspires a new way to incorporate the call to action in your client’s copy. Fiction writer? People-watch and see if you can find a new charcter for that hard-to-position antagonist.

Decide Your Work-Enjoy Balance

I’m not a fan of work-life balance because I think you should enjoy what you do. So instead, decide your work-enjoy balance for your trip – in other words, how many hours do you need to work? If you’re location independent or on the road, part of the reason is to enjoy yourself. Don’t forget. If you’re only showing your laptop a new cafe or hotel room, then stay home – what’s the point?

What are your tips for having fun while working on the road?

Photo courtesy of novecentino

Keeping Up With Your Work On The Road is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

It’s a long time since I’ve done a post roundup. Although I’ve streamlined my RSS reader, there are still quite a few posts that hold my attention. Here are 14 of the best I’ve read recently:

15 Applications No Online Business Can Live Without

Why Personal and Business Branding Work Best Together

7 Tips To Get The Best Out Of Gmail For Freelancing Digital Nomads

How Not to Promote Your Blog: Top 10 Broken Blog Promotion Strategies

What Freelancers Must Know About Ergonomics

Freelancing vs. Full Time Telecommute

Why You Should Go Back to the Day Job

35 Online Tools That Make Your Freelance Career Easier

30 Days to Become a Freelancer

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words (A Lesson on Writing)

The Naked Writer

Six tips to avoid being an overworked writer

How To Make Your Business Look Good Online

Location Independence: What’s In It For You (Yes – You, You & Even You!)

14 Great Posts On Writing And Blogging is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

The Location Independent Group Writing Project was great fun, generating several posts that sparked good discussion on the topic of location independence. While there are a few common elements about people’s views of the location independent lifestyle, there are also many different ways to enjoy this independence, expressed beautifully – and sometimes poetically – by writing project participants. Here’s a round up of what was published by the closing date.  And for those who still want to take part – some of you have emailed me – just add your links to the original post when you’re ready.

Lifestyle of the Digital Tinker, Mitchell Allen

Wild Workshifters, Deb Brown

Location Independent Group Writing Project, Susan Jeffels

Writing on Vacation – Thoughts on my Location Independent Career, Katherine Huether

Patria Ubi Bene – Alina Popescu

The Challenges and Rewards of Living Adventurously - Cody McKibben

How To Run A Location Independent Business – Brooke Ferguson

Developing A Writing Habit – ManekiNeko

The Portable Writer – Sharon Hurley Hall

Location Independent Group Writing Project Roundup is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.