It’s time for another Character Under A Microscope post where I dig deep into character development. While most people pick up a story for the plot, they stay for the characters. Therefore, you want to make them as realistic and interesting as possible. Today, I want to discuss character mannerisms Read more
A while back I was asked a question about character backstory, and it’s stuck with me. I’ve done a post on initial characterization, but I want to zoom in and focus specifically on backstory today. It’s a crucial part of developing a story, but it’s also often misused. Let’s talk Read more
Our post today in the Character Under a Microscope series is about liars. Regardless of how good humans try to be, we all lie. What kind of lies people are willing to tell defines part of their character. I’ve divided the world into six levels of liars, and I want Read more
Last week we discussed your character’s subjective image of himself, and now I want to talk about how and when to expose your character’s core self. We all have an ideal self-image we try to portray to the world, but in moments of high pressure, the truth will slip out. Read more
In this week’s Character Under a Microscope post, I want to zoom in on a character’s image. Specifically, her self-imposed image. While everyone has a persona that society sees, it’s not always the truth. Let’s look at a person’s subjective image and five categories to consider when you are creating Read more
Let’s dive into character development once more for our Character Under A Microscope series and talk about how your characters receive and show affection for each other. It’s commonly accepted that there are five love languages for people in the real world, and that can spill over into your story Read more
When you write in any point of view that isn’t omniscient, you get to write a story through the eyes of a biased character. Every word of the book is filtered through the POV character’s eyes. The best part is that you can make your prose fulfill two roles: description Read more
It’s time to dig back into the nitty gritty details of character development again. In this post, I want to go into how your characters deal with confrontation. In any book, characters will clash with other characters, hopefully more than once! Let’s look at different ways your characters can approach Read more
The last character detail I’m going to cover this round for Character Under A Microscope is manipulation. That’s right, I just went there. Every person, regardless of how good he is, manipulates other people to get what he wants. It’s part of being alive. Even animals do it. Why does Read more
This week, let’s take a deeper look at character motivations. What makes the characters act like they do? Writers are often told to give characters goals, but along with those goals come motivations. Why do they want those goals? The reasons characters act the way they do will not only Read more