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Reading Comprehension FTW

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

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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

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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

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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

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