Category: Character Development

• August 21, 2023

  Side characters don’t consider themselves side characters

  Today’s post is something that once wrote about on my old blog, but that was a decade ago. It’s lost in the cyber void now, and I have a different spin to put on it. Today I have two things for authors to consider when creating those side characters we all love: Side characters don’t…
• August 18, 2023

  Frodo Baggins: heroism without glory

  

  That Frodo Baggins is a great hero shouldn’t be a hot take, but it is. Samwise is a hero too. I’m not claiming otherwise. But too many people give Sam ALL the credit, all the glory. Why don’t enough people recognize Frodo’s contribution? That’s what I want to explore in today’s post, because as writer,…
• August 16, 2023

  What motivates a good villain?

  

  Villains can be some of my favorite characters . . . Hans Gruber. Saruman. Sauron (of the Silmarillion era) is probably my favorite villain ever. Gaston of Beauty and the Beast is an interesting villain just because, in a lot of ways, he’s an everyman. A narcissist, sure. But an everyman. Lots of different things…
• August 14, 2023

  Successfully writing and editing a novel takes a marathon mindset

  

  Now, for most people, especially people who have written or are trying to actually write a novel, this is intuitive and rather obvious. Still, I hold it can be very useful to break down the obvious things that we seldom take the time to pick apart and analyze. There is wisdom there. Reminders. motivations. So,…
• August 8, 2023

  Character motivations in fiction

  

  Today, let’s talk character development. One of the most critical aspects of creating a deep, memorable, and relatable character is understanding what motivates him or her. We are all motivated by different things to some degree, and sometimes to a great degree. Here are a few things to keep in mind or to ask yourself…
• August 1, 2023

  The one trait every heroic character must have

  

  Before I reveal the character trait this post is about, I want to distinguish between a protagonist and a hero. There are some fun protagonists who I wouldn’t call heroes. Ok, that said, what is the one trait every heroic character must have? drumroll please… Humility is the mother of giants. G.K. Chesterton Yes, it’s…
• July 25, 2023

  On Setting, Part 2: Characterization

  

  It’s almost trite at this point to tell writers of fiction that they should “show, not tell” what’s going on around their characters and in their minds. One way to do this is let setting do some of the heavy lifting of characterization. This is especially doable if you have early scenes set in a…
• July 20, 2023

  Thankful Thursday: Thankful for how my characters rejuvenate and inspire me

  

  This Thursday, I am thankful to get back to writing and editing after a crazily busy promo week from June 10-14, when I wasn’t able to write. I found myself more distracted than I would have liked last week–to some degree, inevitably–by the marketing aspects of the promo and the emotional rollercoaster of it all.…
• July 17, 2023

  On story ideas: I must have a very creative guardian angel!

  

  I honestly wonder from time to time if I simply have a very creative guardian angel. I say this because my ideas for my stories come to me, for the most part, out of nowhere or from odd places. For instance, the original inspiration for a resistance group fighting against a sorcerer who’s taken over…
• July 10, 2023

  Jane Austen showed me the trait that will make any character unlikeable

  

  Mr. Collins will bloviate about Lady Catherine de Bourgh and things that interest no one, completely incapable of taking a hint that he should shut up. Elizabeth Elliot will casually dismiss any thought of her middle sister, Anne. “It’s just Anne, she doesn’t matter.” She never once wonders how this might appear to other people–Anne…