Creating godlike super heroes who still feel human Every writer wants to create sympathetic characters, but when you’re writing a super hero with godlike powers, the wrong origin story can make them unrelatable. Unstoppable Man may have witty dialogue and original powers, but if he doesn’t feel like a real person, readers just won’t care. One of the foundational super […]
So you have a story idea. Maybe a pizza shop is struggling to stay open, or aliens are invading a toy store, or reverse vampires are injecting people with too much blood. Now you need a main character! To start creating a great protagonist, ask yourself three questions: The answers to these questions will help guide your other character development
The Three-Question Method to Creating a Great Protagonist Read More »
Is it writer’s block or an underdeveloped character? Sometimes writer’s block is due to a lack of character development. You’ve named your character and… that’s about it. If you get to a point in a story and can’t figure out what a character would do next, it may be helpful to go back and develop their personality, interests, skills, and
At their heart, all great stories are about characters going through change. Characters in fiction will either resist change or fight for change, depending on their function in the story. To build a great story, you have to understand these different character functions and how they interact. Beyond heroes and villains, what types of characters will fill your world? What
Types of Characters in Fiction: The Ultimate Guide Read More »
Introduction Writing dialogue can be very frustrating. We spend our lives listening to people talk, so new writers often assume that dialogue should be the easiest thing to write. Not so! Writing dialogue that feels natural and motivated is a real skill that takes time to develop. The first step is understanding this simple secret: If your characters sound like
