Category Archives: Backstory

The Author’s Guide to Redeeming Villains

Posted on February 4, 2021 by BECCA PUGLISI

Have you ever fallen in love with a story villain? Or at least found yourself liking him or her somewhat against your will? Seems a little weird, experiencing all the happy feels for this character, but I think we’ve all … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Basic Human Needs, Character Arc, Character Flaws, Character Wound, Characters, Endings, Fatal Flaw, Villains, Writing Lessons | 4 Comments

Your Character’s Job May Be More Important than You Think!

Posted on December 17, 2020 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Confession time: when I was a newer writer, I didn’t think much about my character’s occupation. In fact, if they needed one, I’d pretty much assign the first thing that came to mind. I didn’t think hard about their career because … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Character Arc, Character Hobbies, Character Traits, Characters, Conflict, Description, Motivation, Occupation Thesaurus Guide, Stereotypes, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writing Craft | 5 Comments

10 Steps To Revise Your Nano Novel

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Writing Coach

by Lucy V Hay So, you did Nanowrimo and you made it to 50K! Congratulations, but you still have work to do. That’s right, now you need to revise … But where to start?? If you are feeling overwhelmed, then … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Basic Human Needs, Character Arc, Characters, Editing Tips, Focus, Motivation, Motivational, NaNoWriMo Strategy & Support, Plotting, Revision and Editing, Story Structure, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writing Craft, Writing Lessons | 6 Comments

Stuck in No-Man’s-Land: Your Novel’s Middle

Posted on November 19, 2020 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

If you have hit the point in your draft where you’re looking out at the vast landscape of your novel with no idea where to go next, congratulations…you’ve probably made it to Act 2. I know, I know, there’s an … Continue reading →

Posted in Action Scenes, Backstory, Basic Human Needs, Character Arc, Characters, Conflict, Fatal Flaw, Middles, Motivation, One Stop For Writers, Pacing, Plotting, Tension, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writer's Block, Writing Craft, Writing Lessons | 1 Comment

Determining Your Character’s Emotional Range

Posted on November 17, 2020 by BECCA PUGLISI

I firmly believe that while readers sometimes do connect with our stories, they more often fall in love with our characters. If we want to really pull readers in, we’ve got to make each protagonist relatable and easy to connect … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Characters, Emotion, Emotion Thesaurus Guide, Writing Craft | 2 Comments

Dropping Breadcrumbs: How to Show a Character’s Emotional Wound Through Behavior

Posted on November 5, 2020 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Emotional wounds are transformative and have the power to re-shape a character in many negative ways, impacting their happiness, their self-worth, and causing mistrust and disillusionment to skew their worldview. This critical piece of backstory is key to understanding their … Continue reading →

Posted in Action Scenes, Backstory, Basic Human Needs, Character Arc, Character Flaws, Character Wound, Characters, Conflict, Emotion, Emotional Wound Thesaurus, Fatal Flaw, Fear, One Stop For Writers, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized, Writing Craft, Writing Resources | 3 Comments

How To Research Mental Health and Trauma For Your Characters

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Writing Coach

Giving a character a trauma or mental health backstory seems like an easy way to add internal conflict to our characters – and it is. But where do you start that research? What should you be looking for? No one … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstory, Character Wound, Characters, Flashbacks, research, Resident Writing Coach, Writing Craft | 14 Comments