characters

Is Your Story Plot-Driven or Character-Driven?

Should you start with a well-crafted plot? Or with a memorable character? You want to start typing, but you have no idea where to begin. Many writers debate whether to start with a plot or character; there is no “correct” answer to this dilemma. Your decision impacts not only how

Understanding Cause & Effect

When we write fiction, we see the story in our mind long before it’s down on paper. We know why our characters are acting the way they do because we are familiar with their past and in control of their future. We understand the significance of every event in the

VIDEO: Writing Coach Teresa on the 5 Things You Need to Know About Your Characters

Before your readers get to know your characters, you need to understand them inside and out. Here's how!

Teresa, our Expert Guide At-Large, is the owner of Teresa Funke & Company and Victory House Press, which offer products, programs, and resources for readers, writers, teachers, and

Crafting the Female Protagonist

Bart Heird via Compfight

Those of us of a certain age cut our reading teeth on Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, and other books starring teenage heroines. They were great. I wanted to be just like Nancy. I wanted to solve mysteries with her. Mostly, I wanted to look

Ordinary Characters, Extraordinary Feats

I admit it. I love superheroes. I love their super strength, super powers, super intelligence, and super good looks. However, I don’t write about superheroes. I write about ordinary people doing extraordinary things despite insurmountable odds. Is that not the measure of true greatness?

Exercise: Establishing a Character’s “Normal” Life

In order for the reader to understand the impact of the story’s conflict on your protagonist’s life, you first have to show the character’s “normal.” But this normal needs details that have the potential to lead to something much more unstable and interesting.

Before the Story Starts – Building

Exercise: Is Your Protagonist Worth Writing About?

Part One: Spend a few minutes with a notebook in a public space where children and families are present. Simply write down a few notes about some of the children you observe, what they’re doing, and who they interact with.

Part Two: Pick one of the children to be your

Creating Realistic, Well-Rounded Primary Characters

If you’ve studied fiction writing you know that characters rule. Above all, your protagonist must leap off the page as a living, breathing being. Your antagonist (the force working against your main character) must be similarly real. But if you’re writing an adventure story, or a thriller with a breakneck

To Create Excitement, Mess With Your Characters!

Want to get your story buzzing with excitement? Give your characters a hard time! Here are some specific ideas….

Crafting a Worthy Foe

You've built your protagonist. Now it's time to throw in the big roadblock — your antagonist! Booo! Hissss!

Writing Exercise: Developing Secondary Characters

There’s an art to creating minor characters. This exercise will show you the way!

To Build Your Protagonist, Peel Back One Layer at a Time

Early in my writing career, a mentor suggested that I compare characterization to an onion. With each succeeding layer peeled away, more of the real character is revealed.

Video: Laura on Creating Your Protaganist’s Backstory

Here's Laura with some quick and powerful tips to provide your main character with a compelling history.

Character Building Exercises

Get your brain cells jumping with these fun exercises about developing your main character.

Understanding the Hero’s Journey

It’s a vital archetype of fiction, yet rarely is it fully understood. Here’s how it works…

Video: Write for Success! 7 Tips For Children’s Book Writers

In this video, we share 7 things you can start doing right now to improve your chances of children's writing success!

VIDEO – Great Technique to Help You Think Like a Kid

Trying to figure out what today's kids want to read? Check out this simple way to uncover some inside info!

Meet Your Audience: How to Learn What Kids Want in a Book

As a volunteer tutor, Fightin’ Bookworm Debby Johnson has learned what young readers like. Here’s what she’s discovered….

characters

Before the Story Starts – Building Read more

Before the Story Starts – Building