Has an editor or critique partner said, “Your character is flat” when offering feedback on your story? Or perhaps they worded it another way: “Your protagonist didn’t grab me,” or “This character needs more depth.”

However it’s phrased, being told we’ve missed the mark on a character is a bit of a gut punch. But it’s okay. Flat characters, like anything else, can be fixed.  

A flat character is one-dimensional, lacking the depth and human complexity required to feel true to life. Not only do they seem unrealistic, they also fail to capture a reader’s curiosity or interest.

Flat characters can be written as such on purpose: a surly shopkeeper unwilling to bargain on price or the nosy neighbor trying to unearth your protagonist’s secrets. These types of characters have a small role or specific function (comic relief, mentorship, etc.) and don’t need a lot of depth.

But if an important character is seen as
shallow or boring…we have a big problem.

Characters are the heart of a story. For readers to care about them, they must feel like real people. Distinct personalities, belief systems, emotions, and histories shape them and their behavior. Personal needs, desires, struggles, and worldviews give them depth. All this, and a capacity for growth, is the magic recipe that will draw a reader in. 

What Causes a Flat Character?

Characters can feel underdeveloped for many reasons, but it often comes down to one thing: something essential about them has been overlooked. Some common offenders:

Shallow Backstory

A character’s past influences who they become, how they behave, and how they view the world around them. If a character’s backstory is missing, weak, or generic, their behavior may lack credibility or be inconsistent.

The Cure: Go deeper. Explore their past, including their emotional wounds, experiences, life lessons, fears, and insecurities.

Tools to Fix Backstory Issues: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus and One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

A Too-Basic Personality

A character’s personality should contain specific traits that emerge because of their history/upbringing, the people who influenced them, and formative their life experiences, both good and bad. When writers gloss over the building out of a unique personality, they tend to give character ‘typical’ traits and so they come across as generic and unrealistic.

The Cure: People are complex, and characters will be, too. Spend time thinking about who your character is and why, and the traits most likely to appear in their personality. Be sure to also understand how negative experiences lead to personality flaws (and the behaviors and tendencies that go with them). Each character should have a mix of traits as no one is ever all good or bad.  

Tools to Fix Personality Issues: The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

Over-Reliance on Character Tropes or Stereotypes

Due to their familiarity, using character tropes (e.g., the villain, reluctant hero, or absent-minded friend) can fast-track the reader’s understanding of a character’s role. But leaning on one too hard turns them into a stereotype or cliché, which is a huge turnoff.

The Cure: Use any trope generalizations as a starting point only. Do the work and make each character someone fresh. Readers loved to be surprised by interesting and meaningful qualities that elevate the character in ways they didn’t expect.

Tools to Help Fix Overused Character Types: The Character Trope and Type Thesaurus or One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

Tunnel Vision

Characters who are only about one thing—the mission or goal, proving loyalty, success, etc.—come across as one-dimensional and unrealistic. For readers to connect with characters, they need to have relatable life layers. Relationships and social interactions. Dreams and desires. Responsibilities. Quirks, interests, problems.

The Cure: Real people can get obsessive about certain things, but they have other things going on. To give your character a better balance, imagine their entire life, not just the plot of your story. Explore how your character’s professional life or obsessions may collide with their personal life.

Tools to Help You Create Dynamic Characters: One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool and The Occupation Thesaurus.

A Lack of Drive

In the real world, it can take time for us to know what we want, but in fiction, characters must be motivated and act. If your protagonist is wishy-washy about what they want or can’t settle on a goal, they’ll come off as weak.

The Cure: Characters who lack urgency when it comes to choosing or achieving a goal need to be put in the hot seat. Raise the stakes. Add conflict and tension. Make it clear that doing nothing leads only to pain and consequences. Additionally, know your character inside and out (#1) because past trauma, fears, and negative interactions will point you to their soft spots and unmet needs.

Tools to Fix Unmotivated Characters: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1, Volume 2, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus.

Distanced Emotions

Showing a character’s emotion, even when they’re trying to hide what they feel, is one of the most important tasks a writer has. Emotions are central to the human experience, and readers expect a front-row seat to whatever the character is feeling. When someone is closed off or seems imperviable to vulnerability, readers find it unrealistic.

The Cure: Become an expert at showing your character’s emotions, even when they try to hide what they feel from others. Readers must always be in the loop to empathize and feel invested. Understand how each individual will express emotion in their own way based on their personality, comfort zone, and backstory.

Tools to Help You Show Authentic Character Emotion: The Emotion Thesaurus, The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, and The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.

Inadequate Internal Conflict

A well-developed character should have inner struggles, doubts, conflicting needs, fears, and insecurities, all of which make certain actions and decisions agonizing for them. If a writer doesn’t know a character well enough, their struggles will seem generic and readers will feel disconnected from their struggles.

The Cure: Understand your character inside and out, especially backstory and unresolved wounds that haunt them (#1). Know their life, their stresses, their pain, and how loyalty, expectations, or beliefs may tear at them so you can show powerful, meaningful inner conflict. Use psychology in fiction to show inner turmoil in ways readers recognize as they’ve experienced the same tendencies themselves.  

Tools to Help You Show Internal Conflict and Psychological Processes: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus, Volume 1, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus.

Little to No Growth or Change  

In any story, characters will face challenges—often life-changing ones. Even in a flat arc, where the protagonist remains steadfast in their beliefs, they should still learn, adapt, and navigate obstacles in a way that feels authentic. Primary characters who respond to every problem the same way, repeat mistakes without growth, or remain rigid in their viewpoints can feel unrealistic and unconvincing to readers.

The Cure: All roads lead back to characterization. Go deeper. Get to know your character, and why they think, act, and behave as they do. Choose specific conflict scenarios that force them to confront misconceptions and fears that lead to change and growth.

Tools to Help You Write About Change and Growth: For growth journeys and the path of change, try The Emotional Wound Thesaurus. The Conflict Thesaurus Volumes 1 and Volume 2 are packed with help to craft powerful conflict that will strengthen and support character arc. The Character Builder Tool will take all your character-building information and create a character arc blueprint for you.

You can fix a flat character. It’s worth the effort because once readers bind themselves emotionally to a character, they’re hooked. If you’re lucky, they’ll enjoy your characters so much they’ll seek out your next book, too!

READ NEXT: How to Write a Protagonist with True Depth

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post How to Avoid Flat Characters in Your Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character is…

Pregnant

ABOUT THIS SECRET: While pregnancy is often cause for celebration, a character who becomes pregnant accidentally or under adverse circumstances—as the result of an affair or a rape, without a partner’s support, or even against her own wishes—might be desperate to keep it a secret. She might struggle with fear or shame, not only about the pregnancy itself but also by what could follow if the news gets out.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Becoming a Parent, Being a Burden to Others, Being Capable of Harm, Being Judged, Being Unable to Achieve a Dream, Change, Humiliation, Losing Autonomy, Losing Financial Security, Losing the Respect of Others, One’s Genetics, Regret, Relational Commitment, Repeating a Cycle of Abuse

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Having to avoid close friends and family (because they’re the most likely to notice something has changed)
Losing access to the people who would offer advice and support; having to go through the situation alone
Not being able to pursue desired career opportunities
Being consumed by guilt and shame (for being pregnant to begin with, from constantly lying to loved ones, etc.)

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Wearing baggy clothes
Running the tap in the bathroom to mask signs of morning sickness
Embracing future plans that would be difficult for a pregnant person (scuba diving, extensive travel, etc.)
Not making pregnancy-related plans (buying maternity clothing, taking prenatal vitamins, etc.)

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Gaining weight
Giving up smoking or alcohol
A pregnancy test being found in the garbage
The character suddenly wanting a commitment from her partner

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Having to change clothes in front of others (in a locker room, hotel room, etc.)
Canceling a big event that will take place after the baby is born (one that will be hard or impossible to attend with a baby)
Developing a pregnancy-related condition that requires bedrest or hospitalization
Sharing the secret with someone who proves to be untrustworthy (the boyfriend, a close friend, a family member, etc.)

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still in development, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Being Pregnant appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character is…

Is Safeguarding Someone’s Secret

ABOUT THIS SECRET
Sometimes characters are secret-keeper for others, either because they have been asked to, or the character learned something by accident and has chosen not to share it. They could have many reasons for doing so, including a desire to respect the other person’s privacy, protect them from harm, or not wanting to become personally involved in something that could bring them unwanted scrutiny, risk, or danger.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Abandonment, Being Attacked, Being Capable of Harm, Being Labeled, Being Responsible for Others, Being Taken Advantage of, Being Unsafe, Conflict, Letting Others Down, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Social Standing, Putting Oneself out There, Relational Commitment

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Struggling with having to lie to protect the secret
Having to take risks to help the person avoid exposure
Experiencing anxiety or fear over what to do (if the secret is dangerous or harmful)
The secret shattering a close relationship (over knowing what they did) and mourning that loss

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Shutting down gossip that involves the person and/or what is being hidden
Watching for threats (nosy people making connections, etc.) that could endanger the secret
Steering the conversation away from anything that might lead to discovery
Using misinformation, false rumors, or lies to keep people from learning the truth

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Being caught in a lie
Not attending an event the character was expected to but cannot due to the secret
Emotional volatility around the party at fault (e.g., being unable to rein in anger and judgment around the abusive partner of a friend who is keeping her bruises a secret)

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Wanting to offer advice but knowing doing so will alert people involved
Wanting to warn someone when that person is unaware the character knows their secret
If suspicions are raised and the danger increases for the character
When keeping the secret means crossing a moral line

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Is Safeguarding Someone’s Secret appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character is…

Hiding a Sexual Relationship

ABOUT THIS SECRET
In general, characters don’t discuss who they’re intimate with, but occasionally it becomes a guarded secret as discovery could mean difficult or painful consequences. An age gap, being from different societal classes, a forbidden pairing due to a feud, danger, or a taboo might all be reasons others would condemn and seek to end this relationship. This entry covers scenarios where the characters involved are happy with these encounters and wish them to continue.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: A Secret Being Revealed, Abandonment, Being Attacked, Being Judged, Being Labelled, Being Separated from Loved Ones, Being Unsafe, Humiliation, Letting Others Down, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Never Finding Happiness, Persecution

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Creating distance in important relationships to avoid accidental discovery
Carrying the weight of guilt (if the character knows this secret will hurt others)
Being unable to talk about something that brings joy
Stress over telling lies, manufacturing excuses, and courting the danger of discovery

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Arranging meetups for times when other people are busy or absent
Having an activity near the partner’s location to have a legitimate reason for being there
Cultivating trust with others to allow for freedom of movement
Following a protocol (going out when the family is asleep, avoiding the same hotel, etc.)

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
An observer overhearing a conversation, especially one that contains suggestive innuendo
Being caught somewhere the character shouldn’t be
Being caught purchasing a gift intended for the partner
Losing track of time often, causing others to notice a pattern of absences

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Increased scrutiny of the character
Being caught in a lie
Being discovered half-dressed or in bed together
Parental expectations that it’s time to “settle down with someone”

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Hiding a Sexual Relationship appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character…

Coveting Someone Else’s Life

ABOUT THIS SECRET: Few things are equal, including advantages, opportunities, burdens or struggles. So, when others have more luck, support, or success, it’s easy to envy them and what they have, even to the point of bitterness. If anyone finds out though, pity follows, so your character will try to keep what they covet a secret.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Becoming What One Hates, Being Judged, Being Pitied, Being Unable to Achieve a Dream, Failure, Having No Purpose, Humiliation, Losing the Respect of Others, Mediocrity, Never Finding Happiness

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Being unable to appreciate the good in life because they can only see what is lacking
Causing loved ones to feel “not good enough” because the character is never happy
Creating a self-fulfilling prophecy from the belief that their life can never be as good as another’s
Becoming increasingly pessimistic
Not living their own life because they’re obsessed with someone else’s

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Avoiding the person who has what the character wants
Changing the topic if the conversation begins to highlight the great life someone else has
The character deflecting questions that could reveal insecurities
Working hard to control their emotions when the other person is around

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Moodiness (especially when the other person is around or mentioned)
A habit of minimizing the other’s accomplishments by attributing them to luck
Overcompensating; being overly warm or complimentary to hide envy
Trying to force opportunities in hopes of changing their life to be like another’s
Passive-aggressiveness (talking behind the person’s back, sarcasm, back-handed compliments)

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Falling in love with that other person’s partner or spouse
Seeing luck favor the other person and the perceived unfairness of it carrying the character to a breaking point
Discovering the person they envy is a fraud or unworthy in some way (disillusionment)
Suffering yet another disappointment that seems unfair or unjust

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Coveting Someone Else’s Life appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

I think we can all agree that characters are the heart of a novel. We build worlds around our story’s cast, spend dozens of hours plundering their psyche to understand needs, motivations, and beliefs, and even envision complete backstories. Then, of course, we go on to produce tens of thousands of words about their vulnerabilities and strengths as they rise, fall, and rise again on the path to their goal. We also revise, dedicating yet more hours to ensure readers understand and care about our characters as much as do.

Yes, it’s fair to say we work hard to make sure our characters live and breathe on the page. But here’s the irony…in all that effort, many of us overlook or underutilize another important area of character description: their physical appearance.

It’s true, a character’s features and physicality can be hard to convey. We may not have a strong mental picture of them ourselves, or if we do, how to sum it all up economically. After all, at the start of the story when we need to provide details on a character’s appearance, we’re also juggling everything else we must show like the action, setting, circumstances, plus the character’s motivation, underlying problem, emotion, and so on.

So we find ourselves asking, does the character’s looks really matter? Isn’t it what’s inside that counts?

Yes…and no.

Obviously, we want to start a story with action, pulling readers in by showing what a character is doing and why. But including some physical description is also necessary, too. Without it, readers may fail to create a mental image and struggle to connect with the character.

Avoiding physical description and leaving it up to the reader will also create a minefield for the writer because if they mention a physical detail (like a character’s pink hair) later on in the story and it clashes with the image the reader has created on their own, well, it breaks the storytelling spell. Worse, the reader loses confidence in the author’s skills and may be unable to fully suspend disbelief from that point on.

The Goldilocks Approach

We all remember that break-and-enter deviant, Goldilocks, right? Well, to take a page from her book, just like avoiding porridge too hot or too cold, we want to avoid both descriptive sparseness and information overload. Dumps of description of any kind hurt the pace and cause readers to skim, so we should make it our goal to offer enough to point readers in the right direction and then drip in more as needed. The rest they can fill in themselves.

Even more important than quantity is the quality, however. If we choose the right details, we open a gateway to great characterization and hook readers at the same time.

Choose Details that Do More

To avoid disrupting the pace it can be tempting to just give a quick overview of a character’s general features and move on, but unless the character is unimportant to the story, this wastes a valuable opportunity to show-not-tell. Whenever description is needed, we want to think about how to ‘spend’ our word currency in the best way possible. Even with physical description, we want to choose details that will push the story forward, reveal characterization, and show readers what’s hidden.

Try using your character’s appearance to allude to…

Personality

Is your heroine the type to wear bright yellow to a funeral? Does your groom show up to his wedding in a tux t-shirt and flip-flops? Is it a toss-up between which is tighter – the pearls strangling Aunt Edna’s wattle or her disapproving glare as a neighbor’s children run amok? Written with purpose, details about your character’s clothes can say much about their personality and attitude, priming readers to see them in the exact light you want them to.

Occupations and Interests

Does your protagonist have the perma-stained grease hands of a mechanic or the meticulously clean ones of a model or physician? Is there a smudge of paint above one eyebrow or a clod of potter’s clay in his hair? Small details can hint at what a character does for a living and the passions they may have.

Perceptions and Self-perceptions

Does the hero fixate on his beard so much he carries a comb and smoothing gel with him everywhere he goes? Does his socially oblivious sidekick have a habit of scratching his leg with too-long toenails at the beach, grossing everyone out? Does your heroine ask friends what they plan to wear before choosing herself or does she throw on whatever is clean? The time and attention a character gives to their appearance can show how comfortable they are in their own skin and whether they care about the opinions of others.

Health

Is your character disconcertingly underweight, does she have a bluish tinge to her lips, or is she always hiding her hands so others don’t see the tremors? Does she carry an inhaler or epi pen? A well-placed detail about her appearance can hint at an underlying condition, hereditary health issue, or lay the ground for an unfortunate diagnosis that will upend the character’s life.

Hidden Lineage

Does your character have a unique eye color, rare skin condition, or sun sensitivity? A physical peculiarity can help you set the stage to reveal your character is the long-lost descendant of a royal family, lead them to finding their birth parent, or shock them with the discovery that they belong to a race of magic users believed to have died out long ago.

Pedigree, Station, Education, and Wealth

Rather than a hidden lineage, your character’s appearance can show-not-tell their importance within society. Wearing colors only a sect of assassins is sanctioned to use, the quality of their garments or adornments, observing the latest fashion, or showing a character’s bearing, posture, and manners can allude to their upbringing, economic status, or caste.

Secrets

Whether it’s a dried blood drop on the face of their watch, a strange tattoo behind their ear, or the fact they are carrying a concealed weapon at a bridal shower, details that are mysterious or out of place show readers there’s more to a character than meets the eye.

Backstory Wounds

Does your character have an odd bite mark on one shoulder, a chemical burn scar, a missing finger, or they walk with a limp? You can be sure that if it’s important enough to describe, readers will be intrigued about what happened that led to that peculiarity and want to read on to find out. 

Talents and Skills

Does your villainess have throwing knives strapped to her sleeves, chest, and back? Or does your hacker protagonist always carry a backpack full of electronic gadgets and a laptop? If a character’s skills require certain supplies, tech, weapons, or tools, it’s likely they will keep them on hand, a neon sign to readers that they have a special talent.

Emotional Mindset and Comfort Zone

Body language, mannerisms, posture, and the buffer of space the character keeps around them (or not) will all help readers understand what a character may be feeling and how comfortable they are in a location. A character who feels utterly uncomfortable may be pulling at their clothes, sweating, and choosing dark corners over conversation. A character standing tense and watchful, ready to grab the knife at his hip is clearly expecting danger. Someone who loves to be the center of attention will be doing exactly that, confidently working the crowd, smiling and telling jokes, making people feel welcome and basking in the attention.

Motivation

A character who tests the release button on his poison ring before heading out to shake hands with his enemy makes it clear what his goal is, just as a grieving widow will by practicing tearing up in the mirror so she’s ready for her police interview to go over where she was when her husband was mugged and killed. Mission-oriented people dress, behave, and act in alignment with their goal, so describing them in the moment will focus the reader’s attention right where you want it to go.

This is by no means a complete list, but it hopefully gets the idea ball rolling. So, the next time you need to describe a character’s physical features, use it to reveal something extra that activates a reader’s need-to-know mindset, hooking them to read on.

Do you find it easy to write physical description, or is it a bit of a struggle? Let me know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post How to Hook Readers with Character Descriptions appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

“I read your pages,” said my critique partner. “And I think it’d really increase the tension if you tore the one page out of the book that your main character needs.”

It was a great suggestion. My main character was poring over hospital records, searching for a clue about her daughter’s disappearance. In my original draft, she discovered that the records for the day in question simply didn’t exist. But if that crucial page had been torn out instead, the stakes and tension would skyrocket.

I thought about it for a few days, and finally decided against making the change. Why?

Because adding tension for tension’s sake can backfire, creating a shallow narrative that doesn’t resonate with readers.

Avoiding the Trap of the “Plastic Novel”

We’ve all read them. Stories that don’t quite hold together. They feel lightweight, with no substance. The characters are paper-thin, and the plot is easily breakable.

In psychological thrillers, the last thing you want to do is write a “plastic novel”—a story that feels artificial, breakable, and lacking substance. This genre demands depth. Readers expect stories that dig into the human psyche, unearth dark secrets, and explore emotional turmoil. A plastic novel may hook readers temporarily, but it won’t keep them invested, leading to poor reviews, lower sales, or disinterest from publishers.

So how do you avoid this trap? By ensuring your thriller has depth, complexity, and, most importantly, substance.

The Pillars of a Suspenseful Thriller

To craft a thriller that not only has substance but also that unputdownable quality of bestsellers, several key elements are essential.

Let’s dive in.

Atmosphere

Weather has a lot of sway with readers in a suspenseful thriller. Why? Extreme conditions amplify tension. A lingering heatwave frays nerves, pushes characters to their breaking points, and creates an undercurrent of unease. Often, this oppressive heat will culminate in a climactic storm, breaking the tension alongside the story’s dramatic finale.

Incorporating weather into your story is like adding a character—one whose sole purpose is to amplify the conflict. Freezing temperatures add physical risk. Approaching storms introduce a ticking clock element, adding urgency. Heat breeds impatience and irritation. Even drought can symbolize a slow burn of desperation. Use weather to mirror and heighten the emotional stakes of your story.

Fast Pacing

While some suspense novels build slowly, creeping under your skin (thinking of you, Silence of the Lambs), most thrillers pick up speed quickly and never let go. Pacing in thrillers should never stall. A few ways to maintain a breakneck pace?

• Shorter chapters: This encourages readers to keep turning the pages.
• Staccato sentences:  Quick, punchy language mirrors the intensity of the unfolding action.
• Every scene drives the story forward: No wasted conversations or unnecessary exposition—every word should push the plot toward its climax.

High Personal Stakes

When I first started writing thrillers, the main conflict always ended in the threat of physical harm for my main character.

But in psychological thrillers, the danger is often more insidious. The true threat lies in the character’s mental and emotional state. While the body can heal, a fractured mind may not.

So, what vulnerabilities does your character have? What emotional wounds could the antagonist exploit to torture them on a deeper level? Target these areas and it will immediately increase the personal stakes for your character.

Secrets

In an earlier post, I covered in detail how to layer secrets into your suspense to increase tension, so here I’ll just cover it lightly.

Secrets are the lifeblood of suspense, particularly in the early stages of the story. Your first Act should be packed with them, creating intrigue and setting the stage for revelations later on. Act 2 gradually unravels these mysteries, offering tantalizing hints that keep the reader hooked. By the time you reach Act 3, the secrets should be exploding into the open, transforming the story and its characters.

Unreliable Characters

Trust no one in a psychological thriller. Assume that your characters, even your protagonist, are always lying or withholding the full truth. Readers of this genre expect deception, so take advantage of their mistrust. Who in your story is clearly untrustworthy? Who appears honest but has hidden layers? Play with these expectations to keep your audience guessing.

A Masked Antagonist, With A Relatable Agenda

One of my favorite parts of writing in this genre is creating an antagonist that is irredeemable yet relatable. The more human and understandable they are, the more chilling their actions become. To deepen the suspense, often the true identity of the antagonist remains a mystery until the middle or end of the story. In some cases, there are multiple suspects, and part of the challenge for the reader is to figure out the villain’s identity before the protagonist does.

Conclusion

An unputdownable psychological thriller needs more than just surface-level tension and twists. It requires depth, substance, and a careful balance of fast pacing, high stakes, and well-crafted characters. By focusing on atmosphere, secrets, unreliable characters, and a chilling yet sympathetic villain, you’ll create a story that truly is unputdownable.

CHRISTINA DELAY - Resident Writing Coach

Christina Delay is an award-winning author of psychological suspense, as well as mythological-based fantasy written under the pen name Kris Faryn. A wanderer by heart, Christina’s latest adventure has led her and her family to the southwest of France. When not planning their next quest, Christina can be found writing in her garden, hosting writing retreats, sneaking in a nap, or convincing her patooties to call her Empress. If you love books about complex characters who never know when to quit, with a good bit of will-they or won’t-they tension, check out her books.

The post How to Write Unputdownable Psychological Thrillers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain hidden?

This is some of the important information you need to know about your character’s secrets—and they will have secrets, because everyone does. They’re thorny little time bombs composed of fear, deceit, stress, and conflict that, when detonated, threaten to destroy everything the character holds dear.

So, of course, you should assemble them. And we can’t wait to help.

This thesaurus provides brainstorming fodder for a host of secrets that could plague your character. Use it to explore possible secrets, their underlying causes, how they might play into the overall story, and how to realistically write a character who is hiding them—all while establishing reader empathy and interest.

Maybe your character. . .

Using a False Identity

ABOUT THIS SECRET: A character who has made regrettable choices may need to distance themselves from their old life through a false identity. Perhaps they’re wanted by police, they tried to shake down a vengeful enemy, or they’ve adopted an alter ego to hide criminal behavior. This entry will focus on nefarious reasons for living under a false name.

SPECIFIC FEARS THAT MAY DRIVE THE NEED FOR SECRECY: Being Attacked, Being Judged, Being Returned to an Abusive Environment, Being Unsafe, Death, Government, Losing Autonomy, Losing One’s Social Standing, Losing the Respect of Others, Persecution

HOW THIS SECRET COULD HOLD THE CHARACTER BACK
Being unable to have open, honest, and trusting relationships (lest someone finds out)
Needing to avoid certain places, people, and situations where they might be recognized
Never feeling truly safe or at ease (always looking over their shoulder)
Being restricted to activities that will not require a thorough document check
Having to choose a job for its anonymity rather than an interest or skill

BEHAVIORS OR HABITS THAT HELP HIDE THIS SECRET
Changing their appearance
Being skilled at lying and deception
Aligning with the expectations of others
Moving from place to place, being nomadic
Moving far away from where they used to live

ACTIVITIES OR TENDENCIES THAT MAY RAISE SUSPICIONS
Odd behaviors (a tendency to not touch things, pay only with cash, etc.)
Becoming morally flexible when certain opportunities come up
Being caught in a lie, especially over something that seems silly to lie about
A vice being discovered (such as gambling or drug use) that doesn’t fit who they claim to be
Pointing out things the average person wouldn’t know: See that guy? Stay away from him–he’s a pickpocket.

SITUATIONS THAT MAKE KEEPING THIS SECRET A CHALLENGE 
Marrying into a family who have members in law enforcement
Witnessing a crime (or being the victim of one) and being questioned by police
Winning a prize unexpectedly, becoming the focus of local attention
Running into someone from their old life

Other Secret Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, then give our Free Trial a spin.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Character Thesaurus Entry: Using a False Identity appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Have you been in a situation where someone acts erratically, and not in a good way? It takes you by surprise, doesn’t it? Imagine this scenario: you’re sitting around the lunch table with coworkers and pop out a joke. Instead of a wave of laughter, one of your tablemates begins to sob. Or they jump up, shove the table, and walk out.

Your emotional response? Befuddlement (What just happened?) Guilt (What did I say?) Judgement (Wow, she’s unstable.)

It’s always a bit uncomfortable when we can’t follow the logic of cause and effect. A joke should prompt laughter, head shaking and a grin, or maybe if poorly delivered, an awkward beat of silence. These are reactions we expect.

Cause-and-effect is very important in the real world.

*This sequence helps us navigate life. When we know what to expect, we know what to do.
*Study for a test to pass it.
*Pay the mortgage to have a safe place to live.

It also helps us know what not to do.

*Drinking too much causes a hangover.
*People who leave a paper trail get caught.
*If I tell the boss what I really think, I’ll be fired.

Cause-and-effect helps us plan and gives us a sense of control over our lives.

Guess who else is hardwired to notice cause-and-effect? Readers.

What helps us navigate life also helps readers navigate the story. In fiction, this means paying attention to your character’s behavior. How they react to situations in the story is EVERYTHING. Their decisions, actions, and choices will tell readers what’s really important, what the character wants and needs, who to root for, and what outcome is ideal.

As authors, we want to make it easy for our audience to “read” our character’s behavior. If a reader is confused about why a character does or says something it might pull them out of the story, or they could grow frustrated or even lose interest.

So how can we always “know” how our characters will behave? By understanding them down to their bones: what they care about, who they are. What they want and fear. What they believe in. By exploring a character’s deeper layers, we learn everything we need to know to determine what they will logically do in any situation. (And knowing this?  WRITER’S GOLD. Your story will practically write itself!)

So, whether you like to plan up front or prefer discovery drafts where characters start out as more mystery than flesh, here are important factors that greatly influence how your character will behave.

Emotional Range

Every person has a baseline when it comes to emotions: reserved or expressive, share feelings openly or keep them to themselves, things like that. Characters are the same. Understanding what this looks like helps us know the difference between “typical reactions” and “escalations.” After all, conflict and friction will push the needle, causing your character to be more emotionally reactive. It’s great for the story too; emotional extremes push them out of their comfort zone, lead to missteps and mistakes, and create MORE tension and conflict.

To figure out your character’s baseline, imagine everyday situations. How do they express emotion when they feel safe and when they do not? What do everyday emotions (contentment, nervousness, joy, worry, and fear) look like for them?

Once you get a feel for how they show typical emotional responses, this serves as a baseline, and when you add a nice dose of pressure or raise the stakes, you will know what more extreme behaviors and reactions should look like. (More on Determining Emotional Range.)

Personality

Traits that make up your character’s personality steer their behavior. Take Paul Graham, a character I built using the Character Builder at One Stop for Writers. After choosing his personality traits I went through the lists of behaviors and attitudes associated with each to choose ones that fit my vision of him.

Personality traits reveal a character’s moral code, impact how they interact with other characters, how they view the world, and how they go about achieving goals. Here’s a partial screenshot of some of behaviors associated with Paul’s personality traits (via the Character Builder):

Planning Paul’s positive traits helps me see what behaviors will help him solve problems in the story, and his negative traits (especially his primary flaw) shows what behaviors and attitudes hold him back and keep him from his goal. I can also see what he must change about himself (character arc) if he is to achieve his goal. (More on Planning Personality Traits)

Backstory

We are all products of our past, and characters are too, meaning a character’s history is a huge factor when it comes to their behavior. The people in their lives before the story began acted as either positive influencers (people who taught the character to be self-sufficient, imparted knowledge, and boosted their self-esteem) or negative influencers (people who made your character doubt themselves and their worth, manipulated them, or hurt them in some way).

Both groups have taught your character how to solve problems, in good ways and bad, which will carry forward to your story.

Another huge aspect of backstory are the character’s past experiences. Good ones give them a positive outlook and worldview, and negative ones create emotional wounds. These painful negative events are transformative: who the character is before a wounding event and who they are afterward are very different. Paul’s wound was finding out his wife was not who she thought she was, and this was the fallout:

Because an emotional wound makes a person afraid that they could be hurt the same way again, they protect themselves by changing their behavior, often in negative ways that we call Emotional Shielding. These dysfunctional behaviors and attitudes are meant to keep people and situations at a distance so they cannot hurt the character. Unfortunately, emotional shielding also keeps a character chained to fear and ultimately gets in the way of what they want most. Here’s a partial list of Paul’s dysfunctional behaviors and attitudes:  

Reading through these, you can see how they are dysfunctional and will cause problems for Paul. Past hurts always reveal emotional sensitivities and fears, which influence a character’s actions.

Character Motivation

While a character enters the story with a lot of baggage and “set” behaviors, one factor can change everything: their motivation. What they want most in the story is powerful. Their goal, if achieved, can fill the hollowness inside them and erase the unmet need that keeps them from feeling happy and complete.

No matter how many hurts your character has endured, what they fear most, or how jaded they are at the world, they can and will change if it means getting what they want most. Here is a sampling of common character motivations:

A strong story goal should not be easy to obtain, and will require the character to transform their mindset and behavior to achieve it. So knowing the goal will also help you know how they will behave, especially as they grow and evolve.

Bottom line, readers want books written by authors who show authority. This authority comes from knowing a character so intimately that every action, choice, and decision rings true. Readers should have no trouble following cause-and-effect.

If you need help seeing how all the character pieces fit together, try the Character Builder.

It contains the largest character-centric database of information available anywhere and prompts you to go deeper step by step, making character building much easier.   

As a reader, does it bother you when characters behave in a way that isn’t explained? Let me know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Does Your Character’s Behavior Make Sense? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Are you struggling with a boring main character? Are you afraid that he or she is limiting your story’s potential?

This happened to me with my most recent release, “The Curse of King Midas.” Here’s how I not only fixed the problem but created a character powerful enough to spawn a whole series of historical fantasy books.

I Was Stuck with a Boring Main Character

I wrote “The Curse of King Midas” because a friend asked me to.

Usually, my main character is already there when I write a story. But this time, it was different.

My friend was thinking of creating a musical on the well-known Midas myth. But he knew that the best musicals were based on books. Having read some of my previous novels, he asked if I might like to write it.

I told him I’d give it a try. I was concerned, though. I didn’t care for King Midas. In the myth, he’s not a very likable character. Driven by greed, he wishes for the touch of gold, but soon discovers it’s more of a curse than a gift. Ultimately, he begs for the curse to be lifted. The god Dionysus agrees, and all is well.

Ho-hum. Who wants to write about him? Not me.

Looking for inspiration, I researched the myth. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that King Midas was a real person who ruled the Kingdom of Phrygia in the 700s B.C. That blew my mind! Suddenly my main character had a lot more to him.

I uncovered many more historical treasures about this real king and dove confidently into the story.

Unfortunately, my troubles with Midas weren’t over.

My Main Character Was a Ghost

In the beginning, I loved writing the story. The characters came to life: King Midas’ two children, his three advisors, his sworn enemy, and the wandering rogue with a secret connection to both kings.

It was all happening on the page in a fun and exciting way, with King Midas at the forefront.

Except he wasn’t. He was like a paper doll, thin and faceless. He was fashioned after Sean Connery. Then Ed Harris. Then Daniel Craig. Then Christian Bale. Nothing worked.

I kept writing scene after scene, but Midas only went through the motions, as hollow as a bamboo tree.

By the end of the first draft, I was getting worried. Despite my best efforts, Midas wasn’t coming through. He was the main character, but the only one who felt soulless on the page. I didn’t care about him, which meant the reader wasn’t going to care about him either.

What Finally Brought King Midas Out

Here’s what helped me—three steps that brought King Midas into the light.

Observe him interacting with other characters.

I don’t outline my stories. I discover the plot and the characters as I go. So despite my troubles with Midas, I just kept writing.

That meant that Midas was regularly interacting with these other characters, even though I wasn’t sure who he was. The other characters, meanwhile, were delightfully clear. They came through like people I’d known all my life, fully fleshed out and real.

Writing and editing the scenes where Midas appeared with these other characters helped to gradually woo him out of the shadows. It was as if their authenticity was forcing him to be more authentic, too.

Figure out what he really cared about.

In the myth, Midas cares about wealth. But I couldn’t relate to that, and we all know that we can’t write convincingly about things we can’t relate to—particularly not for an entire novel.

That left me to figure out what my Midas cared about. The first thing had to be his daughter. He cares about her even in the original myth, so I started with that.

As king, he provides for his daughter and wants to keep her safe. I built a few convincing scenes showing his real feelings for her, but it wasn’t enough to fully understand him. His relationship with his daughter was only a small part of him.

I turned to his interactions with his son. That helped too, because I learned how much Midas cared about his son and wanted to see him prosper.

But it still wasn’t enough. When not interacting with his son or daughter, King Midas still appeared on the page as a stand-in rather than the main act.

Determine what I really cared about.

The author Willa Cather is quoted as saying, “The creative writer can do his best only with what lies within the range and character of his deepest sympathies.”

In other words, we can only write convincingly about those things that touch us deeply. Greed isn’t one of those things for me. Neither is the desire to provide for family or grow an empire.

But personal loss does.

I don’t remember quite how it happened—the idea for the prologue. But one day, somewhere in the middle of draft 3, it was just there—a slice of King Midas’ history when as a child. In a tragic attack, he lost everything he cared about.

Suddenly my flat and boring King Midas was a wounded, angry man who despite having risen to great heights, was consumed with the desire for revenge against the man who had stolen everything from him.

Finally, he became real. This man, I could care about, which meant that finally, I had created a character that readers could care about too.

Bring Your Boring Main Character Out of the Shadows

If you outline your story before you start, you may be able to create a character based on a set of characteristics and run with that. As a discovery writer, though, I lose interest in that approach and struggle to achieve the originality I desire. I have to write my way through to figure out who my characters are.

Usually, they come through fairly easily. This time was different because I was assigned a character to work with—a character I normally would not have chosen. I’m so glad, though, because by using the three methods listed above, I found my way to a new and original King Midas that I’m proud of.

Don’t give up on your boring main character. Give her time, watch her interact with the other characters, and dig deep into her emotions—and yours—and gradually, she’ll come out of the shadows as a much more authentic and interesting person.

Note: August is Colleen’s birthday month, so in celebration, she’s offering The Curse of King Midas ebook for only 99 cents! Get your copy here at that price for a limited time.

COLLEEN M. STORY - Resident Writing Coach

Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, writing coach, and speaker with over 20 years in the creative writing industry. In addition to writing several award-winning novels, Colleen’s series of popular success guides, Your Writing Matters, Writer Get Noticed! and Overwhelmed Writer Rescue, have all been recognized for their distinction.

Colleen offers personalized coaching plans tailored to meet your needs, and frequently serves as a workshop leader and motivational speaker, where she helps attendees remove mental and emotional blocks and tap into their unique creative powers. Find out more about our RWC team here and connect with Colleen below. Free chapters | Master Writer Mindset

The post How to Fix a Boring Main Character and Save Your Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Being able to write realistic, consistent, multi-dimensional characters is vital to gaining reader interest. Doing so first requires we know a lot about who our characters are—you know, the obvious stuff: positive and negative traits, behavioral habits, desires, goals, and the like. But it’s not always the obvious parts of characterization that create the most intrigue. What about the things your character is hiding?

Everyone hides. We hide the goals we know are wrong for us, opinions that may turn others against us, or feelings and desires that make us feel vulnerable—basically anything with the potential for rejection or shame.

The same should be true for our characters. When characters are cagey out of a need to protect themselves from emotional harm, readers understand that. It makes the characters more authentic and can pique your readers’ interest as they try to figure out the secret or worry over what will happen when it comes to light.

7 Things Your Character Is Hiding

To add this layer of depth to your characters, you first need to know what’s taboo in their minds—not only what they’re hiding, but why. Here are some common things your character may feel compelled to conceal from others.

1. Desires

Desires are an important part of who your characters are. These desires drive their actions and decisions in the story. While these wants are often transparent, there are situations in which the character may not feel comfortable sharing them.

Maybe she’s secretly pining for her sister’s ex, or she longs for a career forbidden by her parents, or she wants to fight her boss’s unethical behavior but is afraid of losing her job.

Forbidden or dangerous desires can add an element of risk, upping the stakes for the character and making things more interesting for readers.

2. Fears

Everyone has fears. Many of those fears are perfectly acceptable, which makes it safe for us to share them. It’s the ones that make us feel weak or lessen us in the eyes of others that we keep in the dark.

Think about uncommon fears, such as being afraid of a certain people group, physical intimacy, or of leaving one’s house.

Unusual fears like these should always come from somewhere—maybe from a wounding event or negative past influencers. Make sure there’s a good reason for whatever your character is afraid of.

3. Negative Past Events

Speaking of wounding events, we each have defining moments from the past that we’re reluctant to share with others or even acknowledge ourselves.

What’s something that could have happened to your characters that they’ll go to great lengths to keep hidden? What failures or humiliating moments might they alter in their own memories to keep from facing them?

Wounds are formative on many levels, so it’s important to figure out what those are and how they may impact the character.

4. Flaws and Insecurities

Being flawed is part of the human experience. There are things about ourselves we don’t want to examine too closely and which we definitely don’t want others to know about.

For characters, these flaws often manifest as insecurities or negative traits (such as being weak-willed, unintelligent, or vain). Whether these weaknesses are real or only perceived, characters will try to downplay them.

But part of their journey to fulfillment includes facing the truth and acknowledging the part their flaws play in holding them back. To write their complete journeys, your need to know what weaknesses they’re keeping under wraps.

5. Unhealthy Behaviors

Sometimes characters exhibit behaviors or habits they know aren’t good for them. Maybe these behaviors stem from a wounding event or an unhealthy desire. Maybe they really want to change, but they don’t know how.

Whether it’s a promiscuous lifestyle, a gambling addiction, or a compulsion to self-harm, they’ll expend a lot of energy to keep these behaviors hidden.

Revealing these behaviors to readers, while hiding them from other characters, is a great way to remain true to the human experience while also building reader interest.

6. Uncomfortable Emotions

While it’s healthy to embrace and express a range of emotions, characters are not always comfortable with all the feelings. This may occur with emotions that are tied to a negative event from the past. It may be an emotion that makes the character feel vulnerable or is culturally unacceptable.

The character will want to mask any uncomfortable emotions, often disguising them as something else: embarrassment is replaced with self-deprecation, or fear manifests as anger. This duality of emotion is important because it humanizes characters for readers and adds a layer of authenticity that might otherwise be missing.

7. Opinions and Ideas

Everyone wants to be liked. To gain the respect of others, we often go so far as to sacrifice honesty.

If an opinion isn’t popular, your characters may keep it to themselves. If they have good ideas others won’t appreciate, they won’t share them—or they’ll get the ideas  out there in a way that allows them to avoid taking ownership.

Peer acceptance is important to everyone; that need, and the secrets that accompany it, is something that every reader will be able to relate to.

***

Deception—whether deliberate or subconscious—is part of the human experience. When your characters hide things from others, they become deeper and more layered and avoid turning into clichés. They’ll come across as more authentic to readers, who will be able to relate to them. It also can build empathy as readers see the character headed the wrong direction. A lot of good can result from taking the time to discover what your characters are hiding. So put on your Nosy Pants and get to work!

BECCA PUGLISI

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post What’s Your Character Hiding? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Conflict is a powerful tool for storytellers, allowing us to place roadblocks, challenges, adversaries and more in a character’s way so the road to their goal is much more difficult. Deployed well, conflict creates tension and intensity for reader, capturing their attention for the length of the book.

So what does deployed well mean?

For conflict to have a strong foundation, we need to focus on three things. First, readers need to feel connected to a character for them to care when something bad happens to them. For example, if a car hits a dog-kicking, old-lady-scamming protagonist and breaks both his legs, will your audience be upset? Not at all…in fact they may actually cheer. But if the protagonist is a single mother of three who scraped and saved to go to night school and create a better life for her family, seeing such a terrible event happen to them will really rip your readers up. So, building flesh-and-blood characters readers will connect to is crucial for scoring a strong conflict hit.

The second thing conflict must do is present a character with a problem that’s not easy to resolve. A danger or threat that can be avoided if the character simply does one thing will feel like a cop-out to readers (unless you’re purposefully luring the character into a trap so it leads to spectacular, unexpected fallout).

The third component of well-written conflict is that it will be original in some way, giving readers something they’ve not seen before. And this is where some writers trip, especially if they’re working with a conflict scenario found in many stories, or it’s common within a genre. Romance readers will have experienced plenty of stories where a romantic competitor enters the scene, Fantasy readers know that at some point, an adventurer will get injured, and anyone who reads superhero stories has seen more than a few characters discovering they have unwanted powers.

The thing is, readers expect to see these conflicts, so we need to include them. But we shouldn’t copy what others have done. Instead, we should find a way to make the situations fresh…and hopefully more difficult. Here are some ideas:

Make the Outcome Uncertain

To keep readers from easily predicting the result of a conflict scenario, sow some doubt—a.k.a., don’t go easy on your protagonist. Put them at a disadvantage—or, if you’re feeling evil, give them an easy win that isn’t a true victory. Maybe a character with friends in high places gets a big promotion, only she doesn’t realize her “friends” are setting her up as a scapegoat for their criminal behavior. Winning can also trigger unforeseen consequences. If your character doesn’t pay now, make her pay later.

Withhold Something the Character Needs

When a character has everything—information, financial backing, a mentor, the support of others—it’s an easier skate to the finish line, and what’s the fun in that? Think about what your character needs most to succeed, and take it from her. If she needs medicine, put it in a glass vial that, at a critical point, will shatter. When she needs a map to navigate, let it be ruined by a dunk in the river. Knowledge, a way to communicate, a weapon…characters who are forced to act when they don’t have what they need often screw up, leading to more conflict.

Make the Stakes Personal

Every story should have high stakes, where something is at risk if the character fails. But when the stakes are personal, winning becomes more crucial because of what they could lose. Get to know your character and the people, places, and things they hold dear. Then endanger them: a child’s life, the character’s job, their reputation, or their marriage. Most characters will walk through fire to protect the people and things they cherish.

Consider a No-Win Situation

The most heart-wrenching times for your character are when they have to make a decision in which someone will pay regardless of their choice. These story moments take courage because the character must decide between two equally bad outcomes. Do they save their daughter if doing so means abandoning their son? Do they stay and risk capture, or run and risk death by exposure? No-win scenarios create obvious tension for characters but also for readers, who recognize an impossible situation when they see it and wonder what choice will be made.

Keep Your Character Moving

Did you know that if sharks stop swimming, they’ll die? This is a lesson we can apply to storytelling because when a character settles down for too long, the tension flatlines. So, keep them moving. If they find a haven, fill it with hidden dangers that compel them to leave. If a romantic relationship is becoming routine, introduce a disruptor—a secret being exposed, a hopeful ex-lover showing up, or a complication that forces a physical separation.

This goes for inner movement, too. If the character isn’t moving forward and resolving their internal conflict, create a crisis that jeopardizes everything they’ve worked for. Remind them that they need to keep evolving to get what they want, even if this means facing hard truths or examining old wounds.

Shake Up the Team

If your character is relying on others, find a way to introduce dysfunction and friction. Disagreements, misunderstandings, egos, rivalries, or a sense of entitlement can shake the foundation of a relationship, create a power struggle, and leave your character without their much-needed backup.

Tighten the Timeline

There’s nothing like a ticking clock to pile on the pressure, so think about how you can shorten a window of opportunity, move up a deadline, force the character to wait, or give them an ultimatum. Characters who rush can get sloppy and make mistakes, compounding the conflict.

Pull the Trigger

All characters carry some baggage from the past. If they’re navigating a change arc, they’ll have an unresolved wound, and chances are, they’ve buried it deep. The problem is, for them to move forward, they need to deal with whatever is holding them back. A well-placed trigger can cause that wound to resurface.

Maybe your character Tamara has been avoiding her cousin who captained the boat the day her sister drowned. But now she must work side by side with him to save their family’s business. Or your character must perform a wellness check on someone who lives in the building where her abusive parents raised her. Exposing your character to fears and painful memories can awaken them to the realization that the past is holding them prisoner.

Include a Sacrifice

A character facing a challenge that’s beyond her must make some hard choices if she wants to avoid losing everything. Maybe she must abandon one goal to put more energy into another, or give up on a passion to stand by a friend. Sacrifices are meaningful and will cause readers to care, so don’t be afraid to use them.

Turn to Your Genre

Every genre will have specific opportunities to ramp up conflict. Does your character live in a historical time when certain illnesses were prevalent, or their rights were restricted because of their race, gender, or religion? Is there a specific technology that is hampering your character’s ability to move undetected in a future world? Pull organic conflict from the very bedrock of your genre by considering the character’s reality and the challenges they might face.

Don’t Make Violence Your Go-To

As you seek ways to power up conflict, it can be tempting to use violence to hammer home a threat. Sometimes this is warranted and fits the scenario, but other times it’s used as an easy way out. Before going to this extreme, pause to see what’s best for the story. If you decide to use it, don’t make it the only tool in your bag of tricks. Writers should also think twice about using gratuitous violence to characterize, especially in situations that directly target women or children.

Need more ideas for story conflict? Check out the 225 scenarios covered in the GOLD and SILVER editions of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Conflict.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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