“If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." –Anton Chekhov
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun)
[http://inkslingerediting.com/blog/2010/01/18/kurt-vonnegut-the-art-of-fiction-the-paris-review-interviews-vol-1/](http://inkslingerediting.com/blog/2010/01/18/kurt-vonnegut-the-art-of-fiction-the-paris-review-interviews-vol-1/)
[http://www.parisreview.com/viewinterview.php/prmMID/3605](http://www.parisreview.com/viewinterview.php/prmMID/3605)
[http://www.parisreview.com/viewinterview.php/prmMID/4867](http://www.parisreview.com/viewinterview.php/prmMID/4867)
"I like to think of what happens to characters in good novels and stories as knots--things keep knotting up. And by the end of the story--readers see an unknotting of sorts. Not what you expect, not the easy answers you get on TV, not wash and wear philosophies, but a reproduction of believable, emotional experiences." –terrymcmillan
Journal#16
`Write a brief description of your all time favourite character from fiction books or movies. Explain what makes this character so believable, compelling, etc.`
Sammykeyes
Thepigman
Breakfast at tiffany’s
Nate the great
Journal #14
Respond to the short stories both positively and negatively. Your critiques should be focused on stylistically elements. Look at them through the eyes of a writer.
Richard North Patterson –no.38-
I agree with this writer’s statement. A character should not be constricted in development. It has to have room to grow and expand its characteristics and traits. There is no such thing as a formula for making a character believable because such formula would only make it two dimensional. If you want it to be believable, then treat it like a child. Give it room to grow and learn on its own....