Writers Helping Writers^®

Character Traits

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I love reading books where the author encourages me to draw conclusions that are wrong. Case in point–untrustworthy characters who I trust anyway. Like…

Will Readers Find Your Protagonist Worthy?

June 23, 2015

Will Readers Find Your Protagonist Worthy?

June 23, 2015

As we juggle the different pieces of characterization with the goal of building someone truly exceptional, one of the biggest jobs is to make sure readers connect to the protagonist,…

The Importance of Grounding Characters in the Reader’s World

April 2, 2015

The Importance of Grounding Characters in the Reader’s World

April 2, 2015

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…

Why Should Characters Have a Talent or Skill?

March 10, 2015

Why Should Characters Have a Talent or Skill?

March 10, 2015

As many of you know, Angela and I are have a Talents and Skills Thesaurus that includes many aptitudes that a character might have. We started this thesaurus because we…

Writing 101: Building a Balanced Character

January 7, 2015

Writing 101: Building a Balanced Character

January 7, 2015

Here’s the truth about compelling characters: they’re neither good nor bad, perfect nor fundamentally flawed. Instead, they’re all of these things. Each character has a set of good, admirable qualities…

How Morals and Basic Needs Influence a Character’s Strengths

October 28, 2014

How Morals and Basic Needs Influence a Character’s Strengths

October 28, 2014

Since writing The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes, I’ve been thinking about how personality traits are formed. Flaws are important for a character to have—and, let’s be…

Hidden Emotions: How To Tell Readers What Characters Don’t Want To Show

July 7, 2014

Hidden Emotions: How To Tell Readers What Characters Don’t Want To Show

July 7, 2014

One of the struggles that comes with writing is when a character feels vulnerable and so tries to hide their emotions as a result. Fear of emotional pain, a lack…

What Killed It For Me #4: Cliché Characters

April 2, 2014

What Killed It For Me #4: Cliché Characters

April 2, 2014

It’s hard to come up with characters who are believable yet don’t sound like every other character out there. It’s especially easy to fall into this trap with certain archetypes,…

The Four Types of Character Flaws

November 7, 2013

The Four Types of Character Flaws

November 7, 2013

Hostile Characters, like real people, will have flaws, aspects of their personality that shape their behavior and worldview in negative (destructive) ways. These flaws cause them to think, act, and…