Back in April we released an article looking at how Avatar: The Last Airbender mastered their fillers. We dove into the classic episode The Tales of Ba Sing Se: positioned in the very center of the series and featuring a series of mini stories featuring each of the characters. The writers took the “extra” episodes…
So far we’ve set up a premise, a protagonist, a theme, and even loosely outlined a plot for a story. But one thing we haven’t talked about almost at all on the blog is how to write good side characters, so that’s what we’re going to be discussing today. Side-characters can do a lot for…
Some character arcs are more dramatic than others. They’re the redemption arcs that you’ll never forget. The ones with choices so difficult that you wonder if you’d ever be able to make a choice like that, too. The moments when the characters fail, and it almost crushes you, and then they finally turn and make…
At this point, you’ve probably heard the complaints around modern protagonists and characters in general. Most characters seem to be on a grayscale morally — they make decisions typically only reserved for villains. They have been described as morally broken. Many have complained that there are so few examples of good morality in modern storytelling….
Deceiving doesn’t always seem important. We wrote a whole article last year about how writers can generate suspense even when their audience knows exactly what happens next. But while stories where life and death hang in the balance can generate suspense even when the readers know what happens next, many stories are scattered with far…
In the last few workshops, we’ve looked at laying down the foundation for writing a story, from developing an engaging protagonist, forming an interesting premise, and coming up with a theme that will drive the plot, protagonist, and her arc forward. Which leaves us with coming up with a plot for our protagonist. Plotting is…
Early this year, I wrote an article talking about how crucial it is to write characters who balance two, seemingly opposite characteristics. We looked at how powerful those characters can be, and how easily they avoid becoming yet another overused cliche or falling into a tired troupe. But not all characters can balance two opposing…
Not all characters have to develop. This can be a little surprising, especially in a time when character development is so emphasized in the literary realm. Please don’t get me wrong. Most of your characters should develop. The majority of them should not be static. I have an article coming about just how awesome writing…
Last year, when I was doing research for my first article on Big Hero 6, I came across an article contrasting the movie with The Incredibles. It offered several points that the author believed made The Incredibles a better movie, and one point particularly stood out to me. While The Incredibles offers character development and…
The last few workshops we’ve looked at how to craft a compelling protagonist. But while desires, fears, and even flaws can be pretty straightforward to nail down, many writers have no idea where even to start when it comes to coming up with a theme for their book. And this makes sense. Themes are so…