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Why Your Character’s Goal Needs to Be 1 of These 5 Things
Every story comes down to just one thing. Know what it is? Conflict’s a good guess (“no conflict, no story” and all that), but before a story can offer conflict, it has to first offer something else:...
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Three Secrets of Three-Dimensional Antagonists
He saunters through the fog with a black cape flapping about his heels, shoulders back, chin tucked so he can fix you with a sinister glare. When his eyes catch yours, you can’t help but shudder at the...
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See How Easily You Can Track Your Character’s Emotional Arc in a Scene
Most authors try to understand what a character is feeling at a particular moment: He’s angry here. He’s happy there. Many authors also consider how the character’s emotional arc changes over the...
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Are You Being Too Much of a Control Freak About Your Characters?
Every writer eventually encounters characters that becomes very real. Our imaginary characters actually start to come to life. They become real, living, breathing people floating around in our heads....
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For Writers on the Verge of Writing Spectacularly Complex Characters
The most ironic thing about complex characters in fiction is that the essence of what makes them so wonderfully complicated is actually incredibly simple. Complex characters are complex for one reason:...
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A Sure-Fire Shortcut to Create Unique Characters
I answer a lot of questions from writers, and if I had a nickel for every email I get asking about how to write unique characters and original plots—well, I’d have a lot of nickels. The quest for...
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Show What Your Character Is Feeling and Thinking (and Do It Like a Writer,...
This week’s video offers some thoughts on less-than-effective techniques you might using to show what your character is feeling and thinking and how to avoid falling into the pitfalls of our...
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Afraid Your Book Is Boring? Your Characters May Not Be Doing This One...
This week’s video shows one of the top reasons it’s possible your book is boring your readers and offers the easy (and fun) solution. Video Transcript: Honestly, I think the single scariest word any...
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How to Make Readers Love an Unlikable Character—And Hate a Likable One
This week’s video discusses one important make-or-break way that can influence readers’ opinions in deciding whether you’ve created a likable character or an unlikable character. Video Transcript: As...
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Craft Dynamic Antagonists Your Readers Will Love—in Just 3 Steps!
Recently, I stumbled across a discovery: there’s nothing like dynamic antagonists to get readers hooked to a story. Sure, talking about evil characters can seem a little old-fashioned in today’s...
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The Only Thing You Need to Know About Writing Strong Female Characters
This week’s video tells you the only true definition of strong female characters—and how you can use it to make your own heroines even more compelling and interesting. Video Transcript: An issue we...
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Revealed: The Secret to Creating Unexpectedly Awesome Supporting Characters
This week’s video offers an important reminder about the single most important aspect of great supporting characters—and how you can put it to work in your own stories. Video Transcript: What’s the...
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The Hardest Part of Writing Good Character Arcs—and How You Can Make It Look...
Character arcs are easy, right? Somewhere in between the beginning and the middle of the book, the character changes. What could be simpler? And yet, when we get right down to the nitty-gritties,...
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4 Ways to Write a Likable Protagonist at the Start of His Character Arc
Do you know what I struggle with more anything when it comes to character arcs? Creating a likable protagonist right from the get-go. And I’m not alone. In their desire to create deep, expansive...
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Let Toy Story Show You the Key to Subtle Character Development
This week’s video shows you how to make character development easier thanks to one fundamental rule. Video Transcript: Good character development is easy. Writers sometimes approach it as if it’s the...
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Warning: Poor Choice of Your Character’s Goal Is Killing Your Story
This week’s video talks about the crucial difference between your character’s goal in the overall story and within individual scenes–and how getting the two mixed up can irremediably endanger your...
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Warning: Make This Mistake and Readers Will Hate Your Protagonist
This week’s video offers tips and an example to help you avoid the pitfall of alienating readers from your protagonist by taking it for granted they’ll always think he’s in the right. Video Transcript:...
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How to Make Your Hero’s Self-Sacrifice Even More Heartbreaking
I don’t know about you, but I have a major thing for stories that include a hero’s self-sacrifice. In the stories that deeply move or affect me, heroic self-sacrifice is the consistent element. It’s...
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Worried Readers Won’t Like Your Character? This Trick Equals Insta-Adoration
This week’s video talks about the secret sauce you can use when you’re worried readers won’t like your character. All you have to do is add love. Really! Video Transcript: Sometimes it’s easy to get...
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The Easiest Type of Character to Write (What I Learned Writing Storming)
This week’s video shows you why this particular type of character takes much of the burden out of writing your story’s First Act. Video Transcript: Welcome to the second video in my month-long series...
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