Writers Helping Writers^®

Character Hobbies

How to Choose the Perfect Talent for Your Character

March 11, 2025

How to Choose the Perfect Talent for Your Character

March 11, 2025

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…

How to Hook Readers with Character Descriptions

October 24, 2024

How to Hook Readers with Character Descriptions

October 24, 2024

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…

Using Clothes to Characterize

July 4, 2024

“Fashion is a language that creates itself in clothes to interpret reality.” This quote by Karl Lagerfeld is pretty heady. I’m still chewing on it, but what I gather is…

Differentiate Your Character with a Talent or Skill

May 2, 2024

Differentiate Your Character with a Talent or Skill

May 2, 2024

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…

A Mother Lode of Resources on Talents and Skills

April 23, 2024

A Mother Lode of Resources on Talents and Skills

April 23, 2024

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…

Top Story World and Story Bible Tips

April 9, 2024

Top Story World and Story Bible Tips

April 9, 2024

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…

How to Create a Protagonist with True Depth

November 7, 2023

How to Create a Protagonist with True Depth

November 7, 2023

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…

Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

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…

Using Talents and Skills to Reveal Hidden Layers

June 8, 2023

Using Talents and Skills to Reveal Hidden Layers

June 8, 2023

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…

Introducing…The Character Type & Trope Thesaurus!

April 1, 2023

Introducing…The Character Type & Trope Thesaurus!

April 1, 2023

Character building is hard work, and when we see certain types of characters appear again, and again in fiction and film, we wonder if there’s a way to start with…