From the category archives:

Characters

Your Greatest Character Has Already Been Created

Characters

Did you know that the greatest character you could ever write about has already been created?  I can assure you, with 100% confidence that he or she hasn’t been given birth by another author.  Not at all.  You’re the author and the character is… (drum roll please)
You
While you ponder that let me tell you a little [...]

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Setting As A Character

Characters

I was on a business trip once that took me to a very nice city.  A beautiful city in fact.  It was warm, sunny, and the ocean was only a mile away.  Perfect walking distance.  Every morning however I woke up in a funk.  Why?  Because of the hotel I was staying in.  It was loud, [...]

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Playing the Name Game

Characters

I love coming up with character names.  Especially main characters.  I usually struggle with naming minor characters not because they are more difficult but because I don’t want to waste a good name on one.  Now that sounded harsh didn’t it?  Poor minor character…  

So how do you do it?  How does one create memorable [...]

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Heroes Don’t have to be Perfect

Characters

I was watching the trailer for Will Smith’s summer movie Hancock.  He seems to be a very troubled andconfused super hero right?  Is this new?  No. Batman is troubled on a deep level, and Spiderman’s alter ego Peter Parker is awkward socially.  Even Iron Man has issues.  My favorite all-time literary character and anti-hero Sydney [...]

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What if Dr. Watson Never Existed?

Characters

At first I wasn’t Dr. Watson’s biggest fan.  I didn’t see the need for Sherlock Holmes to have Watson in his life.  What need did Watson fulfill both in Sherlock’s life and in those who followed his adventures?  Why a sidekick?
Do heroes need sidekicks?
Not always.  But a good sidekick does provide a very useful tool.  [...]

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A Villain to Remember

Characters

I love villains.  Some of my most favorite characters in literature are villains.  I’m using the term literature loosely here so that I may include protagonists like Dr. Doom (Marvel Comics), Darth Vader (Star Wars), and Ernst Stavro Blofeld (James Bond’s nemesis).  What makes a villain memorable?  Why do we love to hate certain bad [...]

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What Makes Your Characters Stand Out?

Characters

Have you ever read a book and found that you were having a hard time telling one character from another? These “vanilla” characters have peppered novels for ages. Yet there are those characters who stand out from the crowd. And why is that? What makes them so special? Why do [...]

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Characters Who Come to Life…

Characters

Have you ever created a character and watched them come to life before your very eyes? I don’t mean due to your own masterful design and diligence. I mean on their own. A character who once unleashed on paper does whatever they want? Let me give you an example. I [...]

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