As I’m editing my book, there are a lot of tasks on my plate: smoothing plot, seeding suspicions. But one of the most important things I’m doing is crystallizing the character of my protagonist, Kitty.
It’s a lot of work. When I started out I had a vague idea of who she was: [...]
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I wanted to expand a bit on my “Character is about constancy” statement from a few weeks back–mainly because it flies in the face of all conventional storytelling wisdom. My writing group is always talking about character change: “What changes for this character?” “Yes, but how is he changed by these events?” [...]
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
It’s time for another character from the Deck of Many Things.
Virtue: Crafty
Flaw: Insipid
Dude, what is the deal here? Last time I pulled Skilled/Incompetent? And this time it’s Crafty/Insipid?
Not to be deterred, I soldier on.
Jamie Lynn Jameson
Sixteen-year-old blonde bombshell and pageant queen. Loves kittens, curling irons, and unicorn stickers. Extremely good at manipulating pageant [...]
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I do so love a good villain. Who doesn’t? In some stories, they’re more captivating than the hero. But how do you go about making a villain great?
I was recently reading a post on Murderati that suggested I begin by just listing my favorite villains, then looking to see what they had in [...]
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
A while ago I talked about my method for creating characters: (1) Choose two Defining Characteristics, (2) Select a Major Mannerism that exemplifies both of them, and (3) Some other stuff.
I don’t have a pressing need for any new characters right now, but one likes to keep one’s hand in. Which is why I’ve [...]
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Characters are arguably the most important part of writing, especially for someone who’s hoping to be a series author. So, naturally, I do a lot of thinking (and analyzing and obsessing) about them. I think I’ve finally arrived at my Grand Unifying Theory of Character.
Step One: Two Defining Characteristics. They don’t have [...]
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Yesterday I talked about character flaws. Today I’ll talk about character virtues.
While a character can have any number of virtues, there are a few that are nearly universally essential. These break down into two categories: Capability and Good-Guyness.
Capability
If your character is capable, he can get things done. The main virtues in this [...]
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I’ve been thinking a lot about character lately, and it seems to me that I’ve arrived at a Great and Important Truth:
We love characters not for their virtues, but for their flaws.
Imagine if you will a light beaming down from heaven and illuminating the world around you, while simultaneously an angelic chorus lifts their voices [...]
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