Category Archives: Fear
How Your Character’s Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth
So, failure. Ugh, right? Well, I was feeling like a failure today, like I’d let the team down because an idea of mine went sour. It sucks when that happens, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I found myself retracing … Continue reading
Grow Reader Empathy By Showing Your Protagonist’s Vulnerable Side
As writers, we all want to encourage a powerful bond to form between our audience and the protagonist so that readers care about the hero or heroine and root for them to succeed. How we do this is through empathy, … Continue reading
How Your Hero’s Past Pain Will Determine His Character Flaws
Authentic characters are usually modeled after real people. I don’t mean pulling traits and quirks from those we know (say, taking Aunt Judy’s laughter and blending it with the overly-smiley bus driver who takes us to work on Tuesdays and … Continue reading
Planning a Novel: Character Arc In A Nutshell
So, you’re ready to sit down and plan a new book. Are you excited? I hope so. You’re about to create a new reality! Can you imagine it, that fresh page that’s full of potential? Your main character is going … Continue reading
Inside One Stop For Writers: Unique Templates & Worksheets
A Look Inside One Stop’s Templates & Worksheets As you can imagine with an online library, there are many nooks and crannies to explore. One of my favorite places is up in The Stacks where we keep our Templates and … Continue reading
Why Is Your Character’s Emotional Wound So Important?
Emotional wounds hold incredible power, steering a hero’s motives, actions, and beliefs. They damage their sense of self worth, filter how they view the world, and dictate how they interact with other people, making it harder for them to achieve … Continue reading
How To Uncover Your Character’s Emotional Wound
To build a compelling character (and write them convincingly) we want to make them real as possible, and that means developing a backstory that lets us understand them on a deeper level. This brainstorming time allows us create their unique … Continue reading
The Importance of Grounding Characters in the Reader’s World
We all know how important it is to build fully-fleshed characters by digging at their core. Exposing their attributes, flaws, morals, emotional wounds and fears that revolve around their basic human needs will influence their goals and desires within the … Continue reading
Vulnerability: The Key to Compelling Romantic Relationships
The connection between two characters is one of the most magnetic forces in storytelling, especially in romance novels. Whether they welcome the relationship, fight it, or fall somewhere in between, emotional friction creates an energy that leaves readers anxious to … Continue reading
Personality Traits: Building a Balanced Character
If writing the Positive Trait & Negative Trait Thesaurus books have taught me anything, it is that compelling characters are neither good nor bad, perfect or fundamentally flawed. Instead, they are all of these things. Each has a set of … Continue reading