I truly believe that excellent stories require excellent characters. And with so many books already out there, we’ve got to be able to deliver compelling and realistic characters to set our stories apart. How do we do it? By focusing on the details. And one of the markers that can really boost individuality and memorability for a character is their particular talents or skills.

Every person has something they’re good at. Sometimes it’s a gift they’re born with that comes naturally; for others, it’s a carefully nurtured and honed ability. Many times, a character’s talent says something about who they are: it may tie into their belief system, meet a missing need, honor an influential person in their life, or reveal associated personality traits.

But despite the many talents and skills out there, we tend to see the same ones in books all the time. Now, if your story requires your character have a certain ability, that’s fine; sometimes, we don’t get to choose their special abilities. But if you’ve got more latitude, consider one of the following techniques for coming up with a skill that’s a little more original.

Go for Something Unusual

Sometimes it’s as easy as thinking beyond the obvious options. Instead of being a strong runner or artist, maybe your character could have a talent that’s a little less mainstream, like sleight of hand, lip-reading, or a knack for languages. Do you need them to be an athlete? Consider a sport readers haven’t seen a million times, like cricket, curling, water polo, or parkour. Your skilled forager could be urban rather than rural, fishing goodies out of storm drains or dumpsters. If you’re writing in a genre with fantastical elements, you can get really creative by giving your character an extrasensory ability or something that’s specific to your fantasy or paranormal world. Their skill will obviously have to work within the overall story and the world you’ve created, but you have more choices than you know, so don’t be afraid to branch out and try something new.

Encourage Your Character to Specialize

One way to come up with an unusual ability is to take a popular one and make it more specific. If your character is mechanically inclined, they may be particularly adept with machines from a certain region, time period, or industry. A marksman might specialize in one weapon, and maybe it’s not the typical rifle (Crossbow? Darts? Slingshot?). Your assassin may prefer to work with and have extensive knowledge of poisons. Breathe new life into a ho-hum strength by narrowing the focus.

Give a Common Talent a Twist

It’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel; often, you can come up with something new by tweaking a popular talent. If musicality is your character’s thing, don’t make her a singer or piano player; maybe she really shines by writing music or crafting certain instruments. A character’s photographic memory may only be reliable for a few hours after events have happened. A person who blows off steam by knitting might use their talent to create blankets for preemies or hats for the homeless. In the latter case, the talent can also hint at personality traits (empathy, selflessness, generosity), hobbies, or other areas of passion. We get more bang for the buck when our characterization and description elements do double duty, so if a character’s skill can also say something about who they are, that’s a bonus for readers.

Pair It with an Unexpected Personality Trait

Many skills are associated with certain traits because they often go together. For instance, people who are good with numbers are usually pretty analytical. But that doesn’t mean the two have to go together. A character with this ability could be highly creative or emotional, instead, and you’d end up with someone unexpected. Likewise, you could have a gifted public speaker who is painfully shy, stumbling their way through one-on-one conversations. This trick can be especially helpful when your story requires a common talent; get creative with your character’s traits, instead, and you can come up with something new that will pique readers’ interests.

In conclusion, an area of skill is a great way to individualize a character—but remember that it can’t be random. There are reasons people embrace and nurture certain talents. They come from somewhere: a natural aptitude, a shared passion with a loved one, the desire for approval or acceptance, etc. So, a special ability shouldn’t be chosen at random. Always know the why behind it. Once you’ve ensured it ties naturally into their overall character profile, use these suggestions to take a character’s talent or skill to the next level.   

Would you like help
finding the perfect
talents and skills
for your characters?

Check out the Talents & Skills Thesaurus
at One Stop for Writers!

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 How to Choose the Perfect Talent for Your Character 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®.

This quote by Karl Lagerfeld is pretty heady. I’m still chewing on it, but what I gather is that clothing and other appearance choices are one way we interpret and reflect reality—the reality of who we are, of our passions. Sometimes, it’s the reality we want to project (as opposed to what’s actually real).

In this way, a character’s clothes can say a lot about them as individuals. As writers, we should always be looking for characterization opportunities that allow us to reveal truths about our characters in natural ways. And clothing choices, as mundane as they may seem, can be a great way to do this. Just zero in on a few details about your character’s clothes, and BAM! You’ve revealed crucial information without having to state it outright.

So, what can fashion choices tell us about a character?

Jobs and Careers

Does your protagonist have a job that requires a uniform? Have them head into the coffee shop wearing their hospital scrubs, stained mechanic’s coveralls, three-piece suit, or steel-toed boots and work belt. By referencing their work clothes, you won’t have to mention their profession overtly.

Temporal and Geographic Markers

If the story takes place in a different time or location, your character’s fashion choices can clue readers in to the where and when. Show your protagonist in crinolines and a corset, a tartan kilt and clan badges, or bellbottoms and a halter top. Use context clues to introduce futuristic, paranormal, or otherworldly wardrobe items. Let a few carefully chosen clothing details show readers where and when your character is living.

Personality

Because clothing choices are deeply personal, they can reflect certain aspects of personality. Looking at the main cast of Stranger Things, you wouldn’t define them as haute couture; they’re self-defined nerds with little fashion sense, and their clothes reflect this. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Cruella from the movie of the same name. Antisocial is her defining trait, and her fashion choices consistently fly in the face of what’s popular, traditional, and accepted.

A character who is flamboyant will dress differently than someone who is simple or traditional or lazy. Our personality absolutely influences how we dress, so know your character’s dominant traits, and outfit them accordingly. 

Identity

In specific cases, clothing can quickly establish certain aspects of identity. Traditional cultural garb, like a sari, kimono, or yarmulke, can point to the character’s heritage. The same is true if their dress associates them with a certain group of people, such as the LGBTQ+ community.

Interests and Hobbies

Want to show your character’s interests? Put them in fan merch from a favorite band or a t-shirt sporting a social justice slogan. Reveal their K-Pop obsession by having them show up to a block party looking like a member of BTS. One of the things that makes us each unique is our individual passions. Show those off for your character through their wardrobe.

Individuality

You can’t learn much from someone who looks just like everyone else. But if they take pains to individualize their appearance, it says something about them. Wearing colorful knee socks with a school uniform, only wearing certain colors, or making their own uniquely styled clothes are all ways to show that a character is swimming against the current. More information is needed for readers to know exactly how or why they’re different, but clothing is a good starting point for revealing this desire to break from the pack.

Financial Status

As we all know, clothes come with a variety of price tags. Some are cheap while others are wildly expensive. A character who dresses in name brands, wears only natural fibers, or shops at trendy boutiques is likely to have a bigger bank account than someone wearing hand-me-downs or generic clothes from Target.

Of course, the expensive clothes could be a smokescreen meant to convey the image of wealth. We see this with Coriolanus Snow in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

This book, like the original Hunger Games, opens on the day of a reaping, when Snow will learn which tribute he’ll be mentoring. Assignments reflect prestige and status, which is especially important for Snow because his family has secretly fallen into poverty. He’s got to maintain appearances, and we see this in the opening pages as he meticulously picks out his clothes for the big announcement. He has splurged on a black-market pair of pants, and his tired shirt is transformed with dyes, extra purloined cloth, and a fashion-savvy cousin’s needle and thread. He shows up to his meeting looking like any wealthy Capitol citizen, but it’s all a ruse that is carried off by his clothing.

This is something to keep in mind—that looks can be deceiving, and some fashion choices are meant to portray an image that isn’t real. Those false choices, in and of themselves, can be very telling to readers.

Secrets

So, while clothing can reveal truths about a character, it can also be used to conceal those truths. Fashion choices could be deliberately made to hide things, such as

• Scars or skin conditions
• Signs of physical abuse
• A pregnancy
• Their financial standing
• An aspect of their identity or heritage that they’re rejecting
• Beliefs that would make them unpopular
• Insecurity and self-doubt
• Their emotional state

Does your character have something to hide? How could you show that through their clothing?

Mental/Emotional State

Sometimes, a person’s fashion choices can hint at how they’re doing mentally or emotionally—namely, when their clothes change unexpectedly and no longer match their personality. If a fashion-conscious or fastidious character starts living in threadbare leggings and stained shirts, that’s a clue that something is going on with them. Likewise, when an emo character suddenly starts wearing bright colors and clothing with cheery slogans, readers will sit up and take notice because it doesn’t fit with what they know about them.

Final Thoughts

It’s clear that clothing can be used to reveal certain truths. But the clothes themselves don’t always allow for a complete interpretation because they can mean different things. Rumpled sweats and mismatched socks may be a sign of emotional distress, but it also could just mean the character is a slob. Or their washing machine is broken. For clarity about the why, pair clothing choices with dialogue, thoughts, body language, and environmental factors to provide context.

And lay the foundation early for readers about what’s normal for the character. Know their personality, preferences, interests, and personal identity well. Identify what they embrace about themselves and what they’ll downplay. Once you’ve really gotten to know your character, you can write them clearly and consistently for readers. Then, when their appearance changes, readers will know something is going on, and the meaning behind the shift will be more obvious.

I hope this post gives you some ideas about how to make your character’s clothes do double-duty. But, of course, it doesn’t cover everything. Can you think of other truths wardrobe choices can reveal about a character?

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 Using Clothes to Characterize appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

One worry that can plague writers is whether their characters are original enough or not. After all, readers meet a lot of characters over time, so how can writers make sure their characters are fresh and interesting? How can they make sure their story’s cast has that WOW factor that ensures they stay with readers long after the book closes?

Luckily there’s a myriad of ways to make a character stand out through their personality, belief system, struggles, interests, and more. Characters will also have their own unique backstories, motivations and needs. This is why making time to uncover their inner layers is always worthwhile.

Today, let’s look at a specific area of characterization that can help you individualize your character: Talents & Skills.

Got Skills?

In the real world, we all have certain abilities. Maybe we have strong listening skills that help us get to the heart of a matter quickly so we can undo misunderstandings. Or we can haggle well and always manage to get a better price. Whether it’s singing, skiing, welding, or transforming pop cans into an ingenious whirligigs, talents and skills help make us interesting and memorable, and can do the same for characters.

As you can imagine, there’s a cargo ship of possibilities when it comes to special abilities. Some will have a big impact on the story too, so we want to think carefully about what talents our characters might possess. Start by considering…

A special ability should originate from your character. What fits with their personality, interests, education, or environment?

Think about what will happen in the story, and the problems the character must navigate. What skills might help them get past hurdles (and hopefully encourage inner growth)?

Consider their story role. A main character will face a crucible of conflict to reach their goal, and their special ability may influence events and/or be part of their growth arc. A lesser character’s skills, however, may not have the same level of importance.

Bottom line, a character’s giftedness shouldn’t be random. Considering the different types of talents and skills and how they can serve the story can provide lots of ideas, too.

An Unusual Talent or Skill

Some abilities are rarer than others, like the ability to talk to the dead, start fires with the mind, throw one’s voice, or use mentalism to gain information and influence others. When we want a character to really stand out we often think about giving them an unusual talent. And that’s fine as long as we know there’s a trade off: unusual talents generate questions that readers will expect to be answered in the story:

*How did this talent come about?

*When did the character discover it?

*Are they alienated because of this ability, or embraced for it?

*And finally, how will their skill impact the story?

This last one leads us to another reader expectation: that this exceptional ability will influence the story in a bigger way. So, if you choose an unusual talent, make sure to follow through on this expectation.

An Ordinary Talent or Skill

Some abilities seem a bit bland, like being skilled at fishing, sewing, or being good with numbers. You might be tempted to skip these and move on to something cooler like being able to hot-wire a car or throw knives.

Spoiler alert: ordinary skills can save the day, too!

*A skilled fisherman can be the only thing standing between villagers and starvation during a harsh winter in a lakeside community.

*A talented seamstress might save lives on the battlefield.

*Having a head for numbers might be how your character helps everyone survive when an Escape Room excursion turns into a psychopath’s maze of puzzles and traps.

Ordinary skills can have a big impact on the story in the right situation. They also resonate and feel realistic to readers. And there’s a message readers connect with, too: that anyone can make a difference, not just the Alphas of the world.

A Useful Talent or Skill

Most often writers choose a skill because it will help their character win. To find the right match, think about what problems the character will face and list out what abilities would help them navigate these situations. Then, challenge yourself to find options that aren’t obvious.

For example, a captive who is a skilled chess player can use strategy and out-of-the-box thinking to escape her captor. A teen who loves parkour might be the group’s only hope of climbing a cavern wall to the surface after a cave-in collapses the tunnel leading out.

“The perfect skill for X situation” can feel contrived to readers, so work to find something that fits the character’s personality, interests, and everyday life.

A Genre-Friendly Talent or Skill

Some talents and qualities show up consistently in certain genres. Billionaire playboys in romances are often charmers with money-making abilities, and tech-thrillers will have someone skilled in computer hacking. Write fantasy? Chances are your band of adventurers will have wilderness navigation, archery, lying, and leadership skills covered.

It’s okay to choose talents and skills common to your genre if you challenge yourself to twist them into something fresh. Maybe your billionaire doesn’t use his charm to bed anyone…instead he smiles his way into securing fat donations for his charitable foundation. Your computer hacker could be a Robin Hood in disguise by taking the paydays of online scammers and returning money to bank accounts of those scammed. Your adventurers can have the perfect skills for a hallmark quest but when they are transported to a foreign landscape full of unknowns, they must adapt their talents to suit.

With a bit of extra thought, there’s always a way to turn a common trope or premise into something fresh.

An Unwanted Talent or Skill

Sometimes a character has an ability they wish they didn’t have. Maybe being a natural peacekeeper means constantly being embroiled in family drama, or good intuition means less mistakes, sparking jealousy among peers. An ability to build explosives could land your character into trouble when a cruel king forces him to make bombs that kill those who stand against the crown.

An unwanted skill can also open the box to internal reflections part of character arc. The unhappiness tied to their ability causes them to think about who they are, who they want to be, and how much this skill controls how they see themselves. This can lead to finding a positive way to use their skill so they gain greater fulfillment.

A Seemingly Useless Talent or Skill

Finally, a great way to subvert expectations is to give your character a talent that seems deceptively useless. Maybe they can solve a Rubik Cube puzzle one-handed, or their steady hands come in handy as a house painter who has to tackle the window trim. Exciting stuff, right?

But what if their dexterity saves them in an emergency? Maybe to help a friend escape wrongful imprisonment they have to they have to pickpocket a key card. Or to undo a curse they must collect magical berries nestled within a thicket of poisonous thorns. Useless talents can transform your story if used the right way!

TIP: Choose a talent or skill that makes your character memorable and helps them achieve their goals.

If this is something you’d like to learn more about, you might find these resources helpful. You can also see the full collection of talent and skill entries in their entirety at One Stop For Writers, where all our thesauruses are cross-referenced and linked for easy navigation. If you’re interested in seeing a free sampling of the Talent and Skill Thesaurus and our other descriptive collections, head on over and register at One Stop!

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 Differentiate Your Character with a Talent or Skill appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Talents and skills can serve many purposes in a story by revealing truths about the character, making them more likable or relatable for readers, and contributing to story arc by helping the character achieve their goals. As such, they can do a lot of good things for our stories and characters—if they’re chosen well.

This is why Angela and I created the Talent and Skill Thesaurus at Writers Helping Writers. We wanted authors to have a resource that could help them explore special abilities they might want or need in their story. With over 60 entries, it’s a great jumping-off point for figuring out what your character might be good at.

It may not seem like it, but there’s a lot to think about when you’re making this decision for a character. So we’ve compiled a list of posts to help you learn about identifying talents and skills for your character and incorporating them into a story.

Helpful Posts

4 Reasons Your Hero Needs a Talent
7 Ways a Talent or Skill Will Enhance Your Story
Using Talents and Skills to Characterize
Choose a Unique (but Fitting) Talent for Your Character
Individualize Your Character with a Talent or Skill
How a Skill Can Liven Up a Quiet Protagonist
How to Use Hobbies to Flesh Out a Character
Add a Talent to Make a Character More Likable

Other Mother Lode Posts

If you found this collection of resources helpful, you might be interested in some of our other compilation posts.

How to Write about Character Occupations
How to Show (Not Tell) Character Emotions
How to Create Phenomenal First Pages
How to Write Conflict that Has Maximum Impact
How to Write about Your Character’s Pain
How to Write about a Character’s Emotional Wounds
How to Use Amplifiers to Stress Characters & Elevate Emotion

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 A Mother Lode of Resources on Talents and Skills appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

When we create a story world for readers, we are implanting images and sensory details. From which, the reader fills in the gaps. If we skew that world in any way, we pull the reader out of their base model. And ultimately, out of the story itself.

Examples of Oopsies:

• blue eyes turn brown
• a limp or lisp mysteriously vanishes
• the sun rises outside the west-facing window
• an ocean appears in the middle of the desert
• the MC’s house has hardwood floors, yet in the previous book they had wall-to-wall carpeting

Creating a fictional world requires creativity, consistency, and attention to detail.

10 Tips to Ensure a Smooth Transition from One Book to Another

Create an overarching series bible and a story bible for individual book(s). The story bible contains things like:

• Description of main characters, including the correct spelling of their names
• Description and names of secondary characters
• Description of villains, including epithets (if applicable)
• Victim profiles (if important)
• Characters’ professions
• Killer(s) MO and/or signature (if applicable)
• Pets, including deceased pets (if applicable)
• Tattoos or piercings
• Scars—emotional and physical
• Favorite jewelry
• Marital status/relationships
• Important dates (birthdays/anniversaries)
• Family ties
• Themes
• Setting
• Backstory
• Housing
• Favorite scent (cologne/perfume/shampoo/body spray/lotion)
• Accent (if any)
• Home décor and architecture
• Cherished treasures/family heirlooms
• Timelines
• Main plots
• Subplots
• Future scene ideas

In the story bible for each book, focus on minute details. Did you describe the MC’s home? Include the passage. Does the MC read a lot? Include book titles, if mentioned in the novel. Did you describe the town or the MC’s favorite breakfast joint? Include the passage.

The series bible should include details about the story world and generalized descriptions of the characters.

No need to repeat the descriptions of main and secondary characters unless they’ve changed in some way i.e., MC got a small ankle tattoo in the last book. Or she now has a scarred cheek from an automobile accident. Breast implants, liposuction, collagen lips, Botox, or other plastic surgery.

Do include theme, subplot, setting, ringtones, pets, updated backstory to include previous books, new characters, new fears, or old traumas resurfacing, new or perfected skills, favorite foods, favorite cocktail(s), food allergies, jobs, etc. etc. etc.

We forget. A lot. With multiple books in a series, our recall worsens. If we write in more than one series, it’s even easier to forget minute details.

Tips to Create Story Worlds

• Establish a Core Concept

What is the concept or theme? Is the book set in a post-apocalyptic world? Dystopian future? Historical time? When or where does the story take place? Even if you never include the month or year in the WIP, knowing the approximate date helps to establish weather patterns, sunrise/sunset times, etc.

• Geography

Develop physical landscapes, landmarks, cultures, and traditions. What are the residents like in this town? Stepford-esque? Back-country rural? A bustling city? Beach/island community?

• History

Even if you never use these details in the WIP, you should know the history of your world. Did a major event cause an upheaval? Are there lingering effects? What are the natural resources? What is the terrain and climate like? Any landmarks?

• Culture and Society

Who inhabits your world? What is the culture like? How is the diversity? Does the culture and/or society cause conflict? How so? What’s the transportation like—horses, vehicles, taxis, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, or do most people drive mopeds or golf carts on the streets?

• Languages

What is the predominate language of your world? Any secondary languages? Do language barriers cause conflict for the MC?

• Societal Norms and Taboos

What are societal norms for your world? Is there an Amish community? Is there a robust Indigenous community? Do their traditions and culture conflict or complement the MC’s background? Any taboos?

• Leave Room for Changes

Don’t describe your story world in so much detail that it doesn’t allow for deeper exploration in later books. You may love it today, but ten books later it could hamstring you.

We can either create a story bible during the writing process or after. I prefer to do it once the first draft is complete. If I stop to scrawl notes during the drafting stage, it slows me down. Do whatever works best for you. These are guidelines, not rules.

Did I miss anything? Please share.
Any other advice from your experience?

SUE COLETTA - Resident Writing Coach

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs at the Kill Zone (Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers”). Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3), Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-7 and continuing). Sue’s appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. Find out more about our RWC team here and connect with Sue below or at www.suecoletta.com.

The post Top Story World and Story Bible Tips appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Some characters are so dynamic, we feel immediately close to them. Everything they say, do, and think is consistent with who they are, they have a past and present, and as we share their experiences, we never have to guess at what they feel, want, or need.

This authenticity happens when the author does the deep work to understand the character inside and out. And, I’m betting they did something else, too: created a reference file about the character, a.k.a., a Character Bible. This is a great way to avoid unintentional inconsistencies and mistakes.

And mistakes do happen, because we forget things —Does Emma fear lizards or birds?—or we change our mind mid-book, and the love interest, Liam, goes from being a skateboarder to the king of parkour. Oh, and name changes? Don’t even get me started!

The point is that nothing pulls readers out of the story faster than when details shift, so implementing a way to keep each character straight in our minds is key.

The Character Bible: A Writer’s Best Friend

A character bible document will contain important details about a character, everything from their appearance, personality, and preferences to their backstory wounds, goals, needs, and secrets. It has a trio of benefits:

1. It pushes you to explore a character’s inner layers to figure out who they really are and what’s driving them in the story
2. Once complete, the bible serves as a reference tool for you to ensure everything about the character is consistent
3. Writing is easier because how the character thinks, acts, and behaves will be second nature to you.

How detailed your bible is depends on how important the character is. Some things you may wish to capture:

Appearance

What does your character look like? Do they have any interesting features that act as clues to readers as to the type of person they are? For example, hair: is their go-to a messy bun, is it chronically unwashed, or is every curl carefully tamed? Or do their clothes suggest a style preference or level of wealth? Do they have scars, marks, or defects that hint at an experience or trauma? Chosen well, specific details do a lot more than just help readers imagine what they look like.

Backstory

Your character’s past affects the present, in good ways and bad. So, who has influenced them to date, either supporting them or limiting them? What personal challenges have they worked through? What negative experiences (emotional wounds) are unresolved, leaving behind fear, biases, and false beliefs about themselves and the world?

Answering these questions will give you a good sense of what their past was like, and the most likely things they will carry forward, like emotional baggage, a sense of duty, a compulsion to fix people, etc.

Personality Traits

Every character will have a unique personality made of positive traits (strengths & identity markers) and negative traits (flaws that keep people and situations at a distance so the character can avoid being hurt by them). Think about both halves – this character’s defining positive qualities, and those that create friction with others.

Moral & Spiritual Beliefs

All characters, even the baddies, will have a moral code. Do you know what beliefs your character hold to so strongly they make decisions and are willing to sacrifice other things to stay true to them? Where is their line in the sand, and what ideas are important enough to them to protect?

Emotional Range & Behaviors

Each person expresses themselves in their own way, and characters will too. Think about your character’s individuality – are they open and communicative about feelings, or keep them inside? Are they demonstrative, or more reserved, extroverted or introverted, or somewhere in the middle? What are their quirks and comfort zones? Understanding a character’s typical emotional range helps you choose emotional responses that feel authentic.

Fears and Misbeliefs

Every character has fears that result from negative experiences, because that dark seed is planted that the same sort of hurt could happen again. So, what fear is making your character a prisioner in some way, shaping their view of the world, themselves, and holding them back from being truly happy? Do they believe they are unworthy or incapable because of this fear, and this destructive lie is one they must cast aside to achieve their story goal?

Talents, Skills, and Abilities

A character should have a few things they are good at, or an ability that make them unique. Giving your character a talent or skill that aids them when it comes to their goal (even in an unexpected way!) will create a sense of synchronicity for readers.

Likes and Dislikes

What are some of your character’s preferences…and why? Will these preferences steer their behavior in the story in good ways and bad? (Yes, the answer is yes.)

Hobbies, Interests, and Passions

What does your character enjoy doing? For a character to be realistic, they should have a few personal interests that make life more enjoyable. These may not even tie into the bigger story, but they do humanize your character to readers.

Current Situation

Just like a character has a past, they have a present, too.  Note a few details about where they live, what their family situation is like, what job they do, the vehicle they use to get around, and any routines or habits that might show up in the story. Knowing your character’s life better will give you ideas on how you can poke their soft spots (people and places they are attached to) and choose conflict that will come with personal stakes attached.

What They Want Most

Every character wants something – a goal that will make their situation better and leave them happier or more complete. This is what your character is striving to do or achieve in your story.

This goal should be something tangible or quantifiable, so readers know the character has done what they set out to do.

What They Need

Sometimes what your character wants and what they need are a bit different. Maybe your character wants a new girlfriend to get past the pain of their latest breakup, but what they need is time to love themselves better and understand why they keep choosing toxic partners. Thinking about what makes them feel incomplete and why can set them on the path of a goal that will help them grow and make them feel more complete.

Secrets

Every character has a secret (maybe more than a few!) so think about what they hide from others. Is there something that could create big problems for them if it was revealed, or does it tie into their unresolved emotional wound? (Readers love secrets, and a hint of one will keep them flipping pages.)

Worldview

How do they view the world – do they believe most people are good, or untrustworthy? Do they put others first, or look out for number one? Do they have biases, avoid certain places and experiences because they have preconceived ideas about what will happen, or refuse to listen to certain opinions that go against their own? If so, try to understand how this might tie to their backstory experiences.

Insecurities & Sensitivities

Life is not always gentle, and experiences where your character’s ego was bruised, or their emotions upended may have left them feeling insecure or easily triggered. If there are emotions your character tries to avoid feeling, or situations they stay away from because they make them feel weak, inept, or emotionally volatile, make a note. These are pointing to past pain, and you might wish to use them in the story to push them to become more self-aware so they can start a journey to healing.

This may seem like a lot to know about someone, but think of how easy it will be to write this character’s thoughts, decisions, and actions. And by writing when you down these details, you’ll have a character bible to reference when you need it!

A Tool that Creates a Character Bible for You

It takes time to uncover a character’s inner layers, we know, so we built a tool to help with that: the Character Builder at One Stop for Writers. Using psychology, it asks you the question you need to know about a character and collects the details into a profile that can be saved to your computer or transferred into certain software programs like Scrivener.

The Character Builder makes brainstorming characters faster and easier because it pulls characterization options from a giant database and shows you how choosing one detail about a character (like their job, or a personality trait) can help you brainstorm other details that naturally connect to that first detail. For example, if you decide your character is a teacher, the Character builder will show you a list of positive traits and skills that a teacher will likely have. With a click, you can add these traits or skills to the profile.

One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder will help you plan your character’s backstory, behavior, skills, goals, personality, fears, and everything else you need to know about them.

This profile is easy to update if you want to tweak something about them, and you can even clone the character profile and adapt a second one if you are thinking about this character and how they change in a series, keeping core details in place like their backstory and personality, but changing their goal, motivation, and perhaps an unresolved wound of set of fears that will play a big part in this new book.

Here’s a Character Bible I created so you can get a feel for what all the Character Builder can help you brainstorm. If you’d like to try the tool for yourself, just start a free trial. Happy creating!

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 Create a Protagonist with True Depth appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What are writers chronically short on? Time.

There never seems to be enough of it as we try to get the next book written, research our publishing options, keep up with marketing, work on our platform, etc., and that doesn’t even factor in what’s happening in other areas of our life. And as we juggle, the one thing that can help us succeed more than anything else is often neglected: education to help us improve our storytelling skills.

Introducing Mini-Lessons

You guys know Becca and I have a lot to say about description and how showing the right things in the right way means readers are pulled in and will care deeply about characters and what’s happening in their lives. We’ve written books on many description elements and have even more of these in our THESAURUS database at One Stop for Writers.

This summer, Becca and I have recorded a mini lesson for each of our thesauruses, helping you better understand that story element, what its superpower is in your story, and how to activate that detail through description.

Each video takes you through a thesaurus in the One Stop for Writers database, but you don’t need to be a subscriber to benefit from these lessons or use our thesauruses (although they are very helpful for brainstorming). But if you are someone who uses them, this will broaden your understanding so you get even more value from each brainstorming list.

Bite-sized learning is a perfect match for busy writers

Life can be hectic, making it hard to carve out big blocks of time for learning. With these videos, you need about 5 (ish) minutes. Totally doable! Whether you want to learn how to describe a character’s emotions, activate the power of your scene’s setting, or understand character motivation better so plotting becomes easier, a helpful mini-lesson is waiting for you.

Here’s the playlist, or choose the topic you’d like to know more about below.

Happy writing and learning!

Grow Your Skills with Becca & Angela

How to Describe a Character’s Appearance

How Emotional Trauma Affects Characters & Their Arc

How to Use a Character’s Fears in Storytelling

How to Create a Character Readers Will Love

How to Give a Character Flaws that Will Hold Them Back

How the Right Setting Details Make a Scene More Powerful

How to Create a Memorable Character Using a Talent or Skill

How to Show What Your Character Is Feeling

How to Use Conflict to Power up Your Story

How to Write Your Theme and Use Effective Symbolism in Fiction

How to Use the Weather to Build Mood and Generate Conflict

How to Find the Right Job for a Character

How to Bring Readers Into a Story Using Textures

How to Create Vivid Description Using Colors and Patterns

How Describing an Object’s Shape the Right Way Strengthens the Story

How to Build Strong Characters & Arcs

How to Amplify Your Character’s Emotional State

Need more help as you plan, write, and revise? Join us at One Stop!

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 Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

When you’re creating a well-rounded and realistic character, there are many factors to consider: their backstory, personality traits, fears, desires…the list goes on. Each is important because it plays a part in defining and fleshing out the character for readers. But there’s another aspect of characterization that authors overlook—one single element that can reveal multiple hidden layers about who your character really is: a talent or skill.

At first blush, this may not make sense. Why does it matter that my character can bake or read people or throw their voice? These are things they do. What does a talent or skill tell people about who they are?

I’m so glad you asked .

Personality Traits

Let’s say your character has been dancing since they could walk and their star is on the rise. They’re an accomplished dancer, sure, but as such, there are certain things you can also infer about their personality:

• They’re likely to be disciplined—not only in the hours spent practicing, but in their diet and the things they give up to devote so much time to the art. 
• To achieve this level of skill, the character is going to be incredibly driven.
• Their work ethic is no joke.
• They may be a bit of a perfectionist.

Many talents and skills can give readers an overview of who the character is personality-wise. Revealing a talent in the story’s opening is a great way of showing this information to the reader instead of telling them. Then it’s just a matter of reinforcing the associated traits as the story goes on.

Other Strengths and Abilities

Not only can a talent reveal personality, it can also hint at other aptitudes that are common or even required for that activity. If your character is skilled at hot-wiring cars, for instance, they’re also going to be good with their hands, have knowledge of wiring and how electronics work, and be adept at blending in and avoiding notice. They might be mechanically minded overall, and this specific talent is just one piece of their skillset. 

Knowing how other abilities coincide with a talent or skill can give you realistic ideas of what else the character might be able to do and how those aptitudes could play into your story.

Values and Morals

How the character uses their talent can tell you something about their moral code and belief system. White hat hackers, humane hunters, and serial killers who only prey on people who have caused great harm—these are examples of characters using their skills in ways that hint at deeper values. When it comes to using skills to characterize, the how and why can matter even more than the what.

Motivation and Backstory

Speaking of why…the reason your character chooses to pursue an activity can provide valuable insight into what’s driving them. Sometimes it’s as simple as them enjoying that hobby or reveling in something they’re good at. But the reasons often go deeper.

Let’s say your character is a gifted boxer. A passion or aptitude for the sport is only one of many reasons she may have taken it up. Consider the following possibilities:

• She started taking lessons after a physical assault as a means of self-defense.
• The character has difficulty expressing her emotions in a healthy manner, and boxing allows her to do so without hurting herself or others.
• Her dead father, who she idolized, was an amateur boxer, and this is her way of honoring him.
• She’s sticking it to her mother, who despises the sport.
• The instructor is hot.

The reasons behind your character’s pursuit of a talent or skill can reveal a lot about their fears, wounding events, healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and motivations. But those connections only work if you’ve taken the time to understand who your character is, why they are that way, and how a skill ties into their history. 

People Skills

Talents can also give you an indication of your character’s people skills. Someone with a knack for manipulation, mentalism, or making friends is going to be good with people. They’re able to read others and know what to say or do to gain their trust. On the other hand, a character who spends the majority of their time alone and has turned fishing or gaming into an art form, may be more comfortable on their own than with others. This information can give readers a hint about whether your character is an introvert or extrovert, as well as their level of social aptitude.

Readers won’t be able to figure this out for sure from just a talent or skill. But combine it with personality traits, how they choose to spend their time, and a glimpse into their interactions with others, and the audience will be able to put the pieces together.

A Little Extra Help

A talent or skill can provide a window into who the character is. It’s also a natural vehicle for showing, which allows you to reveal important information with an economy of words. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out which abilities make the most sense for your character.

Get Help from One Stop for Writers

The Talent and Skill Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers is a great resource for brainstorming possible areas of giftedness and exploring how each might contribute to your story.

The Character Builder enables you to organize all of a character’s details—talents, traits, wounds, motivations, physical appearance, and more—to create a complete picture of who they are so you can bring them to life for readers.

What other hidden elements of characterization can a talent or skill reveal?

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 Using Talents and Skills to Reveal Hidden Layers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

I’m talking about using archetypes and tropes — characters who play a specific role in a story or who have a blend of characteristics that make them instantly recognizable: the Rebel, the Bully, the Hot Billionaire, the Chosen One…you get the idea. Readers recognize these types of characters and may even expect to find them in certain stories.

So, our job is done, right? Pick an archetype or trope, put some clothes on them and shove them into the story. No, ‘fraid not. Character types and tropes can provide a skeleton, but to avoid a stock character or overdone cliché, they must stand on their own and mesmerize by being unique.

And that’s where this thesaurus comes in.

Characters need layers, full stop, so trope or not, we want to dig for what makes them an individual, give them a soul, and make adaptations that will challenge a reader’s expectations.

What this thesaurus will cover:

A Trope or Type Description and Fictional Examples. Before we can think about how to adapt a trope, we need to know more about who they are. This overview and examples will help you know if this baseline character is right for your story.

Common Strengths and Weaknesses. A character who aligns with a trope or type tends to have certain positive and negative traits, so we list those as a starting point. But don’t be afraid to branch out – personality is a great place to break the mold.

Associated Actions, Behaviors, and Tendencies. Because tropes have a mix of traits, qualities, and a worldview baked in, you’ll need to know how to write their actions, choices, priorities, and certain tendencies…so you can then decide how to break with tradition.

Situations that Will Challenge Them. Every character faces challenges in a story that are extra difficult because of who they are, what they believe, fear, and need. A trope or type character is no different. We’ll cue up ideas to get your brains whizzing on what this can look like in your story.

Twist This Type With a Character Who… is where we give you ideas on how to break expectations, so you deliver someone who has fresh angles, and isn’t a typical stand-in.

Clichés to Avoid is where we alert you to some of the overdone versions of a type or trope so you’re aware of them as you develop your characters and plot your story.

Readers are hardwired to look for patterns and familiarity

Which is why we see tropes used so often, but good storytellers know that in 99% of cases, using one is the starting point only. We want rounded and dynamic characters, not flat ones. So, unless you require a stock character to fill a background role, any character who starts as a trope should be as carefully developed as those who did not. Readers want–and deserve!–fresh characters, so dig into those inner layers and bring forth someone unique.

Join us each Saturday for a new entry, and if there’s a character type or trope you’d like us to cover, add it in the comments here, and we’ll add it to the list of potentials!

Here are all the types and tropes we’ve covered so far.

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 Introducing…The Character Type & Trope Thesaurus! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What now? you say. How is that possible? He (or she) is the baddie, after all!

Indeed. And we know it. But just like a protagonist, the antagonist can have something special about them too. It’s not a hollow quirk, catch-phrase, or great sense of style that draws us in. No, it’s something deeper, something attached to their identity or life experience. We see this part of them and relate to it because it reminds us of something we’ve seen or experienced in our own real-world journey.

Is relatability only for protagonists?

A lot of airtime is devoted to building a relatable protagonist because it makes the character accessible to readers in a meaningful way. Relatability is a rope that ties the two together – in some significant way, readers see the hero or heroine is like them. Maybe they’ve both felt the same thing, been in the same situation, experienced the same heartache or sting of failure. This common ground helps a bond of understanding and empathy to form, and the reader becomes invested in what happens to the character. They root for the protagonist and care what happens to them.

We don’t see as much written on the subject of relatability when it comes to the antagonist or villain because writers are supposed to nudge the reader into the protagonist’s camp, not the antagonist’s. Unfortunately, though, this can send the wrong message about the importance of our darker characters, leading to some writers glossing over their development so they end up with cliché, yawn-worthy villains.

Antagonists should be as developed as protagonists.

They should have understandable motivations (for them), have a history that shows what led them down the dark alley of life, and an identity, personality, and qualities that make them a tough adversary for the protagonist to beat. The more dedicated, skilled, and motivated the antagonist is, the more of a challenge they will be, leading to great friction, tension, clashes, and conflict.

So, just as we want to show readers a protagonist’s inner layers and give them ways to connect and care about the protagonist, we should encourage readers to find something good or relatable about the antagonist so it causes the reader to be conflicted. They may not agree with the antagonists’ goal or how they go about getting it, but maybe they understand why this story baddie wants what they want, or they admire certain qualities they have.

When readers are torn over how to feel, they become more invested in the story.

Life is not always black and white, is it? So it’s okay if a tug of war goes on inside them over who is right and who is wrong in the story, or if they care enough about the villain to hope they will choose to turn from their dark path, and redemption may be possible.

So how do we make an antagonist relatable?

Common human experiences, especially ones that encourage moral confliction, are a great way to show readers they have something in common with the antagonist. For example, consider temptation.

Haven’t you ever been tempted to cross a moral line?
Did you ever want to make someone pay because they deserved it?
Have you ever ignored society’s rules because they don’t make sense, are unfair, or were built to benefit a select few?

Temptation is something we’ve all felt, and wrestle with. Sometimes we remain steadfast, other times we give in. So having a darker character be tempted in a way readers relate to will cause them to identify with the antagonist’s mindset.

Another way to use temptation is to get readers to imagine the what if, which can be another area of common ground:

• What if you could easily let go of guilt and do what feels right for you?
• What if you could break the law for the right reasons and serve a greater good?
• What if you could go back in time and erase someone who really deserves to be erased?

This can work well if you tie the antagonist’s desire to embrace the dark side because of a past trauma. For example…

• Maybe they do whatever feels right because they were enslaved by a cruel master as a child
• They break the law because those who make them are corrupt and entitled
• They go back and erase someone because that person killed their beloved and unborn child

Can’t we all relate to these dark motivations just a little? Don’t they help us understand where the character’s behavior is coming from? We may not morally agree with what the antagonist does, but we do feel some connection to them.

And I’m convinced this last one is the key because antagonists and villains have an Achilles heel: their role. As soon as it’s clear they are cast as the Bad Guy or Gal, readers put them in a box. They must be a jerk, a sore loser, a narcissist, someone who’s all about power and control. They must be unlikable.

And I don’t know about you, but when the antagonist or villain turns out to be exactly those things, I’m disappointed. Why? Because it’s expected: good guy faces off against typical bad guy, good guy wins. Yawn.

Relatability makes it okay to like the antagonist, even though they do bad things.

So, to recap and offer a few more ideas…

Craft a backstory that’s as well-drawn as the Protagonist’s. As the author, you need to know why they’re messed up and take the dark path. Use a past tragedy to help readers understand what led them to their role. Maybe you can even reveal this in a way that causes readers to wonder if they would be any different had they been in the antagonist’s shoes. 

Give them a credible, understandable motivation. Even if their goal is a destructive one, they should have a good reason for wanting it. (For ideas on what this could look like, check out the Dark Motivations in this database.)

Give them a talent, something helpful or interesting. Just like a protagonist, your antagonist likely is skilled in some way. What talent or skill will help them achieve their goal? And you can always make this an interesting dichotomy, like an antagonist with a talent for healing who takes in hurt animals but lacks the same empathy for humans. 

Give them a quality or trait that is undeniably admirable. It’s easy to paint a villain as being all bad, so skip the cliché and give them a belief they live by. Maybe they keep every promise or hold honestly in the highest regard and so are always truthful, even if it makes them look bad. Of course, the dark side might be that they don’t suffer lies of any kind, and punish them severely.

Make them human. Sometimes writers can go on a “power and glory” tear and forget their antagonist is as prone to “Average Joe” problems as anyone else. Does their roof leak, do they have visitors show up at an inconvenient time, do they get sick?

Antagonists can have a hobby or secret, struggle over what to do, or regret words said in haste just like the rest of us. So while you highlight their dark ways and volatile emotions, remember to also show how in some ways, they’re just like anyone else.

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 Writing Antagonists Readers Can’t Help But Like appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

I didn’t think hard about their career because I didn’t think it mattered.

And I was WRONG.

Far from being an afterthought, a job or career is an opportunity to show readers who your character really is.

If you think about it, in the real world, work is a big focus for all of us. Consider your own job. How many hours a day do you spend working? Do you bring it home with you, obsess over it, spend hours thinking about it? Is your work rewarding and fulfilling? Or does the stress of the day impact your mood, interfere with your ability to enjoy activities, and cause problems in your relationships?

The work we do impacts our mental state, powers goals, and shapes each of our lives in multiple ways. To feel realistic and authentic, characters are mirrors of us, so work will be a big part of their reality.

This is also why “assigning” them any old job just doesn’t cut it. Logically they would do what we do: choose a job they’re interested in, are good at, and it will pay the bills. So when it comes to this detail, writers should think deeply and choose their job with care, especially as it will become a goldmine of characterization and plot opportunities.

Show-don’t-tell is king: making each detail work harder for your story.

Here are some things a job can reveal about your character:

THEIR PRIORITIES: 
Jobs almost always shed light on what your character cares about and will sacrifice for. If they work two jobs, forgoing sleep, time off, hobbies, and socialization, there’s a reason for it. Maybe they are supporting their family as a single parent, are trying to put themselves through school, have younger siblings to support because their parents are deadbeats, or something else. So, ask yourself: is my character all about money? Do they crave power and influence? Whatever it is, make sure their job choice reflects this.  

THEIR PERSONALITY TRAITS:
Certain traits make it easier for someone to succeed at their job, so when a reader sees a character working in a specific field, they’re going to naturally draw conclusions about their personality. A character who is a server in a restaurant likely relies on tips to supplement their income, so a reader would expect they would be friendly, respectful, and hard-working. Likewise, if you introduce your character as a pickpocket, right away a reader will start imagining someone who is observant, calculating, opportunistic.       

THEIR ABILITIES:
Obviously natural abilities and skills can make someone good at what they do. A surgeon will have steady hands. A psychologist will be a reader of body language. A police officer will notice details and be able to recall them immediately, on duty or off. Skills not only make someone unique; they can also help a character achieve their goal. For example, if your special needs teacher is taken hostage, maybe her experience with deescalating volatile situations and ability to persuade might help her convince her captor to let her go. 

THEIR MOTIVATION: 
Characters, like people, are driven by unmet needs. An occupation can represent a steppingstone to what they want (a personal trainer who is working to become a professional weight lifter), or even be a sign of an emotional wound (a bounty hunter who brings criminals to justice because his parents were killed and the murderer was never caught). 

THEIR HOBBIES AND PASSIONS:
Careers may grow from a favorite activity. Does your character love stand-up comedy and so makes a career of it? Do they have a passion for dollhouses and so they build a business that sells dollhouse-making supplies? 

THEIR PHYSICAL DETAILS:
A construction worker is going to be rugged and strong. A mechanic will have stained, calloused hands. Whether it’s the uniform or expectations that go with the job, an occupation can provide many unspoken clues about how a character looks and behaves at work. 

THEIR LIKES AND DISLIKES:
What does your character’s job say about their preferences? A professional athlete will enjoy exercise, being part of a team, and setting stretch goals….and they probably wouldn’t like to be around people who are lazy, unmotivated, and whine about how tough life is. 

THEIR ETHICS, VALUES, AND BELIEFS: 
Did your character choose a job that aligns with his deepest beliefs? A military career communicates patriotism and respect for one’s country. A doctor or judge will have strong ethics. Careers can be a great way to shed light on the character’s beliefs system and moral code.

THEIR EDUCATION LEVEL:
Some occupations will give readers a good idea of your character’s education. For example, a scientist, educator, doctor, geologist, or nurse clearly has a great deal of education. Likewise, a cab driver, bartender, or retail worker may not. (Note the may; plenty of situations exist where someone with a higher education chooses a job that requires less: a career pivot to something less stressful or that aligns more with their interests, a character who has trouble finding work, etc.

As you can see, you can get a lot of show-don’t-tell mileage from your character’s job choice!

So, don’t make the mistake I did long ago. Take your time when choosing their career. (This list will get you started.)

If you would like to explore more ways to utilize a character’s career, check out The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers.

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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