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Character motivations: 6 questions on what drives your characters
Character motivations make characters' paths credible. When a character's behavior reveals their deeper drives, urges and impulses, they feel fully human. Read 6 questions that will help you work out characters' motivations: 1. What is their history or backstory? Backstory is your characte...
September 20th, 2018
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5 ways to subvert character clichés and archetypes
This guest contribution by the team at Reedsy explores ways to subvert character clichés for a less predictable story. Creating the next Harry Potter or Holden Caulfield is no easy feat! When writing secondary characters in particular, it’s easy to fall back on clichéd archetypes and stock ch...
September 6th, 2018
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Describing characters' first appearances: 6 tips
Think back to the first time you met someone you now know well. Can you remember what you noticed about them first? Describing characters' first appearances effectively is key to building characters who linger in the mind. Here are 6 tips on how to describe your characters at first introduction:...
November 5th, 2018
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Character arc template: 5 steps to strong character arcs
Writing character profiles and brainstorming main characters' arcs helps establish story direction. A good character arc template includes facts about your characters' goals, high points and low points. Here are 5 steps to building a dynamic character journey With character arcs you also, of ...
November 12th, 2018
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How to Write a Main Character: Tips for the Perfect Protagonist
Is your protagonist in danger of becoming a side character in their own story? The best main characters are the ones that are captivating and relatable — after all, if you want your readers to spend over three-hundred pages with your protagonist, they need to be compelling. This post will walk you through four handy tips to take your main character from two-dimensional to a fully-fledged protagonist worth reading.
February 28th, 2025
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Character development: 9 tips for arcs with depth
Character development gives fictional characters depth. Like us, characters grow, change, make mistakes and learn (or don't). Read 9 ways to make your characters grow and take readers on a great character arc: How to take character development deeper: Plan characters' goals and motivation...
February 28th, 2019
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Indirect characterization: Revealing characters subtly
Indirect characterization is writing that paints in character detail by showing rather than telling. Rather than only tell readers about characters’ personalities and values, you can reveal them subtly through dialogue, actions and appearances. Read these tips and examples: 1. Use il...
April 10th, 2019
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How do you write good character description? 5 techniques
In classic stories, characters often step off the page from their first introduction, fully realized. How do you write good character description that reveals enough to hook readers? Try these 5 techniques: 1. Give character description via action Writer's who are still developing their cr...
March 4th, 2019
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Character tropes: 5 tips to avoid stock types
Character tropes (common stock characters) have their place in stories. Satires and spoofs, for example, use types such as the 'cool mom' or 'orphan who must save the world'. Yet character tropes quickly dull a story when characters read as too predictable. To avoid tropes: 1. Know your chara...
March 25th, 2019
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Character Backstory: What Is It? And How to Write It
Whether you're an aspiring writer or have a few novels under your belt already, integrating backstory into your narrative takes practice. In this article, we’ll pin down exactly what character backstory is and provide you with all the tips and tricks you’ll need to achieve a well-balanced backstory.
February 21st, 2025
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Creative points of view in character writing: 5 examples
The different points of view - first, second and third person POV - each offer creative ways to convey your characters' voices and personas. Read 5 tips with illustrative examples from novels: First: POV definitions Point of view, often abbreviated POV, is a crucial element of fiction writ...
July 4th, 2019
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Writing background characters: 5 uses
In a novel, film or stage play, not every character needs to take center stage. Some characters play a minor role. Some add passing humour, obstacles, important advice or information. Read 5 ideas for writing background characters: 1. Try writing background characters for habitation Often ...
July 1st, 2019
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