Ideas, techniques, and activities to help you flesh out your characters – or even create new ones!
Who is this course for?
- Beginners who want to develop their characterisation skills
- Authors looking to add more depth to their characters
What you’ll learn
- How to use psychology to make your characters more realistic
- Ways to create chemistry between characters
- What your characters' relationships mean for them – past, present, and future
- Techniques to get to know your characters so well, you’ll never get writer’s block again
About the course
Realistic characters are at the heart of forming long-lasting relationships with your readers that keeps them coming back for more, and builds your writing career. To do this, we need to go beyond tropes and archetypes.
It’s time to delve deep into psychology and what makes us human – so that we can create characters who feel human, too.
Whether you’re in the planning, editing, or writing stages of your book, the content in this course can help you. You’ll know what to consider when…
Realistic characters are at the heart of forming long-lasting relationships with your readers that keeps them coming back for more, and builds your writing career. To do this, we need to go beyond tropes and archetypes.
It’s time to delve deep into psychology and what makes us human – so that we can create characters who feel human, too.
Whether you’re in the planning, editing, or writing stages of your book, the content in this course can help you. You’ll know what to consider when planning, what to look for when editing, and have all the techniques in the back of your mind when writing.
Whatever type of stories you tell, this course is jam-packed with ideas, techniques, and activities to help you flesh out your characters – or even create new ones!
Read More Read Less
Course Content
Lesson Name & What’s Included
Welcome
3:30
In our first lesson, we’re going to explain our approach to character creation, and why it’s different than most.
Why do believable characters matter?
2:45
Why do believable characters matter? What difference do they make to your writing process, your readers' reactions, and your writing career? Here we'll look at why believable characters will help to drive your literary success.
(Not) writing heroes and villains
1:15
Does it really matter when you label your characters as heroes and villains? Yes, yes it does. Here’s why.
Character roles
6:54
Let’s take a look at all the characters you need in your story - their purpose, their relationships, and more.
People you need to know
3:38
With all those character roles in mind, who do you really need to know to get started writing?
Character-driven vs plot-driven stories
2:17
What’s the difference between character-driven and plot-driven stories? Is there a difference? Does it matter?
Naming characters, locations, and more
5:19
A really common question we get asked is how to come up with names for characters, locations, and more. In this lesson, we’ll give you some tips on how to generate names.
Demographics
11:52
Your characters’ demographics play a significant role in shaping who they are. In this lesson, we’ll take a look at the most common, and how they could affect someone’s personality. This includes things like culture, religion, and sexuality.
Appearance and body language
4:22
Appearance is so much more than what a person wears. It’s about how they wear it. Why they wear it. We’ll take a look at how to make your characters’ appearances really stand out, and not info dump it into your text.
Physical health
11:15
40% of the US population have a chronic health condition, while 25% are registered disabled. To write characters reflective of modern society, we need to keep these figures in mind. We also need to ensure we’re writing about physical health conditions accurately and honestly. You’ll finish this lesson with all the techniques you need to do just that.
Mental and behavioural health
24:55
Mental health is too often used as a plot point in stories, but it shouldn’t be. It’s not a plot point that can be forgotten after a few days, weeks, or months. It’s often a permanent part of someone’s life. Here, we’ll look at the symptoms and latest treatments of many common mental and behavioural conditions, from anxiety to autism.
Location and surroundings
6:25
Where someone grows up can influence everything from their attitude to their mannerisms. The country, town, and even the historical period play a role.
Family, friends, and childhood
9:52
We really are who we are because of our parents. Sorry. This means it’s true for our characters, too. Here, we’ll look at how parental behavior shapes children’s attitudes, and what it means for them when they’re adults.
Past relationships
5:57
Just like families, past relationships can shape who a person is. Even if their ex isn't in your story, they could have played a pivotal role in your character's life - in unexpected ways.
Current relationships and love interests
12:43
A great love interest balances out your protagonist. In this lesson, we’ll examine how you can ensure that happens, as well as looking at how to build the chemistry between your characters.
Sexuality
23:37
The sexuality of your characters can influence every aspect of their personality. It’s a lot more than just who they sleep with and how. It’s how their world view is framed, who they’re attracted to, and how they move through life. We’ll look at how to use it to deepen your characters. We’ll also cover the steamy scale, and what that means for your writing – whether you write romance or not.
Empathy, psychopathy, and narcissism
4:03
Empathy is often confused with projection. We’re going to look at what it really means for your characters.
Animals
11:44
How someone treats animals can tell you a lot about them. Maybe it’s a sign they’re going to become a serial killer, for example. In this lesson, we'll look at how someone's relationships with animals can influence who they become, and reflect who they are.
Point of view and narration
5:08
The point of view your book is written can make or break how the reader perceives your characters. Choosing the right one is therefore vital. But how do you know you’ve chosen the right point of view for your story?
Foreshadowing and flashbacks
3:37
Foreshadowing and flashbacks are really common storytelling techniques. But how do you use them in the right way, without them feeling obvious or contrived?
Piecing everything together
7:36
Let’s take a look at how to piece together everything we’ve learned and how you can include it in your work in progress.
200 character interview questions
A list of 200 character interview questions ranging from their political leanings to what they’d do if they came face-to-face with a dragon.
Activity: WLTM
In this activity, you’ll write a lonely hearts column from the perspective of your main character.
Recommended reads
A growing list of book recommendations. Some of them are writing or psychology related, while others are great examples of a particular aspect of writing.
Instructor
Kristina Adams
Kristina Adams is the author of twelve books – nine fiction and three for writers. She also runs writing blog The Writer's Cookbook, which helps over 35,000 writers a month. She has an MA and a BA in Creative Writing, and has been writing for longer than she cares to remember. Readers always comment on how realistic and believable her characters are. And now, she's sharing her secrets with you.
Interested in book marketing?
Join the community
Join 111,585 other authors who receive weekly emails from us to help them make more money selling books.
Review This Course