A character in a story is an action figure . . . a fun, functional component necessary to a story. Just like literal toys, characters have pieces and joints, edges and options, a fixed appearance and range of motion that begs to be played with
When it comes to acknowledging what hurts us, the old saying, Deny, deny, deny! comes to mind. It’s no different with our characters, and in both cases, refusing to deal with wounding events carries a steep price.
[The following is an excerpt from the book Maim Your Characters by Samantha Keel] which originally appeared on ScriptMedic: A Medical Consultant for Writers] An…
By Chris Mandeville Many writers begin their careers with short stories—they’re easier to tackle and faster to complete. But not me. I dove into novel writing…
by Chris Mandeville Arts and crafts, anyone? Get out your old magazines, some scissors and glue, and a poster board because—believe it or not—creating a…
By Chris Mandeville Some writers don’t worry much about naming. They slap a label on a character and run with it. Other writers dive down the rabbit hole…
by Felicity Heaton Kobo asked me to write about creating characters who will steal the hearts of readers after hearing about my readers’ passion for Snow,…
Romance novels and films are not supposed to mimic real life. Forget small talk about movies and music. Instead, give your characters something to do that pits them against each other or gets in their way.
We learn to talk as toddlers, we do it every day, you’d think it would be a snap to write, right? Not so fast little author,…