Character Archives - Story Works Podcast

SWRT 241 | Character

Feb 17, 2022

This week on Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk character. What to do when your supporting characters resist the roles you’ve given them? Do you really need them all? What about developing new skills over the course of an arc?
Could your characters benefit from a writing lesson? Story Works has creative writing workshops available today on character traits, a master class in character development, story structure, plot, and more. Live workshops for Spring 2022 are coming soon! Details at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 220 | Writer as Student of Human Nature

Sep 2, 2021

Writers are naturally students of human nature. How can we develop our characters if we aren’t naturally curious about people? We three writers find ourselves putting our friends, family, neighbors, even strangers under our version of the microscope. What do we–and our stories–gain as observers of human nature? Where does our authenticity come from as writers? Is there a method to our madness?

SWRT 195 | The Velcro Between Your Pro- & Antagonist

Feb 11, 2021

To make your novel work, your protagonist and antagonist need to stick together. If they aren’t sticky, the conflict will fail. This week on the Story Works Round Table, we discuss what keeps the wheels under your plot turning.

SWRT 193 | Is Your Hero Up to the Right Challenges?

Jan 21, 2021

Is your protagonist up to all the challenges your plot is throwing at her? Or is everything a little too easy?
How do you create a character who’s tough enough to survive, but not so darn competent at everything that she becomes unbelievable and unsympathetic? This week on the Story Works Round Table writing podcast, we delve into creating sufficient challenges commensurate with your character’s abilities and more!

SWRT 180 | Traits that Define a Character

Oct 26, 2020

On this week’s Story Works Round Table, we disscuss character traits that can make or break your character. Love them, hate them, need them?

SWRT 152 | Inventing Characters

Apr 9, 2020

Where do your characters come from? What if you get stuck? How do you create a character when you don’t know what to write about? What about innovating characters? We discuss thinking about what your story needs, working backwards, and thinking who, what, and why in order to invent the best characters for your story.

SWRT 151 | Unicorns & Fairies

Apr 2, 2020

What is a scene stealing adorable character? And how do we create them? Are they deliberate or accidental? And what do you do with those who don’t speak English? Are these characters three dimensional? And when have they earned their own spin-off?

SWRT 146 | Dressing Your Character

Feb 27, 2020

Why should you think about clothing and fashion in your story? Is it just part of your world building and setting? How can you use it to illustrate your characters arc? Or your characters flaws and insecurities? What about when everyone is dressed in a uniform? We dig deep into the choices you can make about fashion and how it can affect every aspect of your story!

SWRT 131 | Strong Female Protagonists with Judy K Walker

Nov 7, 2019

What makes a female protagonist a strong female protagonist? And where does that strength come from? How aware of social and cultural norms should you be when developing a strong female protagonist? And is strength unique to genre?

SWRT 111 | Using One Character to Influence Another’s Arc

Jun 20, 2019

Kathryn explains an exercise in pre-writing she has been using to deepen her character arcs and relationships within her novel. We explore how it would affect sub-plots, character relationships, and arcs. What problems could this help you avoid? And how could you use it to develop your antagonist as well? We talk about how Kathryn got into this kind of development, and whether or not it would work for every kind of story!

SWRT 110 | When Good Characters Do Bad

Jun 13, 2019

What do we mean by “do bad”? And when should you let your characters make these morally reprehensible decisions? We talk about how to use the emotional bank account, and the motivation of your character to keep readers from losing their sympathy for the protagonist. And what about those snapped moments? Or when your character is acting out of character? Ultimately we decide it’s a powerful tool, so use it wisely!

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