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!
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What are the pitfalls and challenges for creating conflict for your characters? How do you get the necessary reader buy-in for your climax? We talk about acquiring skills, creating your story puzzle, and the all-important surprising but inevitable ending.
What we talked about:
What are the pitfalls of creating conflict for your characters? (0:45)
Connecting us to the stakes and the genre. (4:18)
What about character-driven stories? (5:25)
Keep your protagonist acquiring the necessary skills gradually through the story. (7:08)
Put all the puzzle pieces together for your character to get that reader buy-in. (10:05)
What is the mistake writers make with their hero? (18:25)
LINKS
Get Alida’s Writing Tips here.
Things we mentioned:
Moana
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Want more about these topics? Check out:
SWRT 178 Writing with the End in Mind
Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group.
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Do you learn something every week?
Do you feel like you have company on your writing journey?
About Your Hosts
Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Two of her short stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She is the author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series. Alida lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her Golden Retriever, Seva the Wonder Dog. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.
Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.
Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com