One of the more popular things on this site has been the pdf “365 Character Questions for Writers and Roleplayers,”. Every now and then when I look through our stats I find that someone new has linked to it, usually…
Blog Archives
Helplessness
Perhaps you’ve heard about today’s crop of helpless youngsters. Free-write for five to fifteen minutes exploring a character based on a prototypical member of this group. Then, drop him or her into a dangerous situation, and see how he or…
Posted in Writing Tagged with: characterization, Characters, fiction, free-writing, Journaling, prompts, writers, writing
Character Questions: Friendships
One of my favorite ways to flesh out a character is to ask him or her one or more questions and see what answers emerge. You can conduct this like an interview in your mind, or you can free-write in…
Posted in Writing Tagged with: characterization, Characters, free-writing, Journaling, prompts, writers, writing
Exploring Mental Illness (Writer’s exercise)
First, read the exercise. Second, read the text that follows–it’s quoted from a blog entry I wrote more than a year ago. Finally, grab paper and pen and get to work! Pick a fictional character (one you’ve already created, one…
Posted in Writing Tagged with: characterization, Characters, free-writing, mental illness, prompts, writers, writing