Do you create a character or does a character create themselves? Thirteen years ago, I was walking over the Norfolk marshes with my husband, an archaeologist. He remarked that prehistoric people had seen marshland as sacred: because it’s neither land nor sea, but something in-between, they saw it as a link to the afterlife. As… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mike Maden. Mike grew up working in the canneries, feed mills and slaughterhouses of California’s San Joaquin Valley. A lifelong fascination with history and warfare ultimately led to a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis with a focus on… Read more »
With discussions and movements surrounding racial equality growing every day, writers around the world are having to step back and look at the world we love so much. From a lack of Black and Own Voices writers on bestseller tables to everyday racist and bigoted terms that sneak below our editing radar, we writers and… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! For the past several articles, we’ve discussed the concept of a Storytelling Superpower, and how we all can find ours. The secret is the heart of every story–the character. There are four main character archetypes, and discovering which one resonates more with you can help you unlock your own storytelling superpower…. Read more »
Hello and thank you for tuning in! Today we’re going to talk about 5 common supporting character archetypes. But first, I want to remind you to sign up for the DIY MFA email list, so you can receive my mostly weekly updates as well as all the wonderful tips and information I have to share… Read more »
Before we get to the discussion of character archetypes, I’d like to make a request: please strike the term “secondary character” from your vocabulary. Not only does it imply that somehow these characters are less important than the protagonist, but the term itself doesn’t tell us much about the role these characters play in the… Read more »
Every story needs a “bad guy,” someone or something that gets in the protagonist’s way and keeps making trouble for him or her. For instance if my life were a novel, the “bad guy” would be an impossibly cute 3-year-old ginger cat, whose offenses include: “Decorating” the living room with shredded articles of mail Skulking… Read more »
