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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

character development

Find Character Motivation Thru His Past and Fear

October 14, 2011 by Kathy Steffen 6 Comments
character motivation character mask character fears

The underneath is where a reader connects and empathizes with your character. Although a reader may not be privy to this skeleton from the start of the story, she can sense when it’s there and will look forward to peeling back layers of the character until she gets to the truth.

Posted in: Characters, Writing Craft Tagged: character development, character fear, character motivation

Getting to Know Your Young Adult Characters

October 7, 2011 by KristiCook Leave a Comment
Football players and cheerleaders

There’s nothing more exciting than opening up a brand new document, typing ‘Chapter One’ across the top of the page, and starting fresh with a new story.  New characters to meet, a new plot to hammer out–it’s challenging, and at times overwhelming, but it’s a lot of fun, too.   I love getting to know … [Read more…]

Posted in: By Genre, Characters, Writing Craft, Young Adult Teen Tagged: archetypes, character development, teen books

Character Development: Acting and Becoming Your Characters

September 30, 2011 by Kathy Steffen 4 Comments
character development using acting

If you want your reader to experience your story, experience it yourself. You (with the invaluable help of your character) will bring your prose to life. So grab a page from acting and start writing!

Posted in: Characters, Inspiration, Writing Craft, Writing Life Tagged: acting, character development, inspiration

Tools For Developing Characters: Must-Haves for Your Writing Book Shelf

September 9, 2011 by Kathy Steffen 7 Comments

I’m going to share a few books that help me with the biggest and best part of my creative writing process—building characters. Take a look at these books and see if they have something to offer your writing process.

Posted in: Book Reviews, Writing Tools Tagged: character development, character traits, writing resources

Character Motivation to Drive Your Plot

December 13, 2010 by Kathy Steffen 2 Comments
character motivation goals

Character motivation gives your character the power to drive his story, but a properly motivated character will also take your writing far beyond plot. Character Motivation, the Why Do you ever watch a movie and scream in frustration at the screen, thinking why are you doing that? You idiotic character, that makes no sense! The … [Read more…]

Posted in: Characters, Plotting, Writing Craft Tagged: character development, character motivation
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Save The Cat!
by Blake Snyder

A book on screenwriting that is great for novelists too! Another must have for your How To Write library.

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Techniques of the Selling Writer 
by Dwight V. Swain

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

Classic book on how to write books that readers will want to read!

This is one of the foundation books that all novelists should have on their bookshelf.

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