write faster than the dragons chasing you

Finding it a bit hard to connect to a certain character in your story? Here are 7 ways to get over that hump →

Start with the little things Every person has their own quirks, and so should your characters. A character might fall flat in your vision because of an absence of these small unique traits. Lean into this, think of habits they fall to when they get emotional, or weird little obsessions they linger on.

Give them a small trait of your own Don’t misinterpret this advice as writing yourself into the story! What I mean by this is to pick a small trait or a habit of your own to add a bit of yourself into a character you’re finding it difficult to connect with. This is a great trick to use if you’re writing a type of personality that differs from your own, and helps layer out character too!

Figure out what they want most Knowing a character's motivation - or what it is that actually drives them forward in the story, is one of the key things you should know about any character. If you’re finding it hard to connect to one of them, think about whether you’ve given them clear and tangible motivation within your story world.

And then figure out why they can’t get that Once you know what your character wants, what their goal might be, think of a reason why they can’t get it, or what that process of achieving the goal might be difficult for them. Usually, this works great if it comes from within - meaning that your character carries a flaw that stops them from acting on their goal.

Don’t underestimate kindness Flawed and morally gray characters are great. But don’t underestimate the power of a kind, positive trait. It’s what makes readers fall in love, and what will ultimately help you fall in love with the character, too. We don’t fall in love with a character’s  snark, but with the emotions they hide behind the snark.

Give yourself time to get to know them Sometimes you don’t immediately click with all your characters, and that’s okay. That happens. It takes time to get to know what makes them tick, sometimes it takes writing them in a scene, then rewriting them in a different way in the same scene to feel out what’s most natural to them. If a character feels distant to you, let yourself explore a different approach to how you write them.

what are character backstories?

character backstories is anything that happened to your character before the main story begun. it a crucial part of character development and creation and can help you have a strong sense of the character’s background (and probably one of the reasons why the character does something in the present!)

ways to add backstories:

flashbacks:

flashbacks can be a powerful way to make a promise to a reader. any cataclysmic event might trigger the protagonist into getting a flashback. flashbacks don't only provide an insight to the character's past but also intrigue readers.

Use verb tense shifts to move between the flashback and main narrative. Whenever your narrative or characters recall a memory from a time before the story began, you have two choices. If the memory is short, you can describe it briefly. If it’s longer, you may want to pull the reader back into a full scene describing a past event. It important to mark the beginning and end of a flashback to make your time jumps clear to the reader.

Keep them relevant. Flashbacks help fill in the characters’ motives and history, but if they are too long or tedious, the reader will get bored. If you use flashbacks, always be aware that time is still moving in the front story, and make sure that your reader can hear the clock in that front story ticking.

Sometimes the whole book is the flashback. it can start with a character narrating the story to someone else. Framing the events of the storyline this way, with a dual point-of-view into a character’s life over the passage of time, can bring more nuance to the storytelling. Before using this technique, ask yourself whether the character’s arc is dramatic enough to make for interesting retrospection.

Tell the present story first. Sometimes it may not be clear where a flashback belongs until you’ve completed your first draft and have a complete view of the storyline.

dialogues:

sometimes a simple conversation might let the character reveal few of the past events to the person they trust or look forward to. it can be a good way to hide the backstory all the while giving it to the readers.

reflection:

let the character 'reflect' on how far they have come. introspection or reflection is one of the ways in which your character can reveal their backstories in the present narrative.

+ bonus! - prologues

Prologues come before chapter one and could be expository/introductory prose, a poem, diary letter, news clipping, or anything in between.

Prologue Don'ts:

1. Using a prologue as a place for a massive dump… information dump.

Information dumps are one of the easiest ways to make readers’ eyes glaze over. Paragraphs of text that provide dense (albeit important) background information are tough to digest. Without strategically trickling this information throughout a scene or throughout the chapters/book, readers can be immediately turned off to a story.

2. A prologue that has nothing to do with the main story.

Prologues need to somehow propel or impact your main plot. Period. If your prologue is filled with action, offers bite-sized pieces of background information, and weaves a compelling scene but is not relevant to your main plot, you probably need to re-think your strategy.

It doesn’t matter if your writing is solid if the scenes aren’t strategically moving toward that pretty plot arc—depicting an emotional journey for your character and exhibiting the stakes for your protagonist and the world at large.

3. Prologues that are too long.

The modern reader (often) prefers shorter chapters—prologues included. If your prologue is longer than most of your chapters (or if both your prologue and chapters are longer), it might be time to reevaluate the structure and pacing of your chapters.

4. Using the prologue to hook the reader as the sole purpose.

think of the prologues that throw the reader into the action—and I mean the middle of the action. Maybe it’s the center of a bloody battlefield or twisted in the sheets of a love affair. Whatever it is, the reader is unceremoniously plunked into the action in a world they’re unfamiliar with and whose characters they don’t yet know (and love).

While action scenes are a gripping way to begin a story, consider whether or not this action is important to the central plot and if this beginning isn’t too overwhelming/confusing for the reader to acclimate to.

5. Using the prologue strictly to provide atmosphere or to do some early-on world building.

World building is one of the things readers love most about fantasy and science fiction. These delicious details are… well… delicious! The setting is described with enough detail to have the readers visualizing the character’s surroundings but not too much to bog down the pace of the scene.

Types of Prologues

Background/History: This type of prologue provides background to the history of the world and events that previously transpired—such as a major battle or betrayal. These events typically took place before the beginning of your story and somehow significantly impact the events going forward.

Different Point of View (POV): This type of prologue could be advantageous when diving into another character’s perspective—particularly when that character’s insight is only needed once and provides a foundation for the story.

Protagonist (Past or Future): These prologues are great for showing a pivotal moment for the protagonist—either in the past or in the future (such as a defining moment years ago or after the main plot has taken place).

Strengths of a Prologue

Fear not, writers. Prologues aren’t all bad. In fact, they come in handy in a number of scenarios:

To provide a “quick-and-dirty” glimpse of important background information without the need of flashbacks, dialogue, or memories that interrupt the action later on in the book.

Hook the reader into the action right away while having the readers asking questions relevant to the central plot—and therefore eager to learn those answers in the opening chapters.

Offer information the reader couldn’t otherwise glean from the plot (such as a break from the point-of-view narration or from a different character’s perspective).

Introduce the antagonist—providing background motives that either humanizes the character or exhibits his/her evil intentions. This angle can be handy if the protagonist doesn’t meet the antagonist until later on in the book.

Introduce a philosophy or religious belief important to the plot/setting.

Foreshadow future events, thereby creating suspense for the reader and get them asking questions (and eagerly reading on).

Do I Need a Prologue?

Consider the following questions:

What information am I providing in the prologue? Why is it important to reveal it up front? Can it be revealed throughout the story in smaller trickles and still be as impactful (or more)?

// 12 writing prompts designed to help you practice difficult types of writing

➼ Write a short story with an unreliable narrator

➼ Write either a short story or a chapter of a story in a genre you’ve never written in before

➼ Re-write a chapter of a story you’ve already written from the perspective of the antagonist

➼ Is there a particular type of scene you always struggle with? Write that!

➼ Set a timer for 20 minutes and write a complete scene. Try not to get bogged down with the editing and perfecting, just start writing and see where it goes :)

➼ Write a short story with a major plot twist (that’s still believable)

➼ Write a character the reader is meant to hate passionately

➼ Write a character the reader is meant to love

➼ Write story arcs for the above 2 characters that makes the reader feel the opposite to how they started (love the character they hated, hate the character they loved)

➼ Switch character perspectives at least 3 times in a short story

➼ Write a story in 1000 words or less. And I mean 1000 words or less. Seriously. No overwriting. I’m watching you.

It can be hard to make a well-rounded, dynamic character when you don't have a lot of narrative space to do it in. Maybe you're writing a short story, or maybe your background characters need some development. So here's how I do it.

Character Through Implication

A great way to add some depth to a character efficiently is to include small, seemingly insignificant background details that can illustrate a lot about their background or personality through implication.

In a real battle one does what one must, and the enemy will do the same. Tyr may be retired from war but he remembers that.

These two short lines share a lot of information with the reader about Tyr’s past. From this, the audience can assume that Tyr used to be a soldier and that he likely has experience fighting for his life. They can infer that Tyr probably has taken life. From these lines it’s also possible to guess that Tyr is probably an older man, past his prime. Condensing all of that into just two sentences for a Point-of-View character helps keep the pace of the story quick and allows the reader to get to know Tyr without distracting from the current events.

Thando blinks. They take off their glasses (purely cosmetic) to look harder.

Here, pointing out that Thando’s glasses are cosmetic implies that they are committed to their sense of style. It also provides a way for the reader to assume some aspects of what that style is. This gives Thando some depth of character unrelated to the scenario they’re in, making them feel more like a real person with a life beyond the story.

Ackermann could probably toss Arnold Schwarzenegger over his left shoulder for good luck, but he’s in [juvie] for stealing the dogs off of owners who put them in fights.

Telling the reader Ackermann’s crime illustrates who he is as a person and makes him endearing and relatable even though he doesn’t move the plot. The audience can tell from these lines that Ackermann is kind and has a strong, if possibly alternative, morality. It also shows that he is likely not a threat to the Point-of-View character, and leaves room for the reader to have curiosity about him.

Use Relevant References

This is best when writing for an established IP, sequel, or for a piece that takes place in the real world, so that the reference makes sense to the readers.

The particular reference you use tells the reader about what kinds of things your Point-of-View character is knowledgeable about, what they think is important or that everyone knows, and their sense of humor.

"Meg Ryan called. She wants her wig back." [dialogue from IT Chapter 2]

This line of dialogue tells the reader (or in this case, viewer) that the character speaking is into movies, specifically probably 80s romances, that he has opinions on how other people look, and that he uses humor during confrontation.

I can't find the quote, but in Shameless (US) season 4, Mickey calls someone the name of a famous tennis player. I don't remember it, and it's not in any compilation videos, because the player referenced was no longer playing. So that tells us about Mickey that he's a little out-of-date, and that even though he's making a sports reference he's probably not actually a sports fan.

I find these methods to be really effective for adding depth and realism to my characters, and they're also fun and memorable both as a writer and a reader!

Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions!

We’ve all read a book or story that captured our hearts and made us feel things very deeply. It’s a superpower writers have, but it isn’t something we’re born with.

Connecting with your reader’s emotion happens when you’ve practiced writing. It becomes easier after each rough draft, each great draft, and each terrible draft.

But—if you want to save yourself some time, these are a few perspectives you can use to sharpen your writing tools.

1. Display Your Protagonist’s Inner Emotions

Your readers want to experience a character’s journey by connecting with them emotionally. We pick up books to feel things while learning something or just taking a break from life.

Displaying your protagonist’s inner conflict could look something like: She saw the ghost in the hallway, which scared her.

Your reader will feel more engaged if you describe how fear makes your protagonist feel instead of them feeling fear generally: She saw the ghost in the hallway and fear shot through her body like lightning.

You don’t need tons of flowery language to make your reader feel the same things as your character. Sometimes a minor descriptor or simile can do the job.

2. Show Your Protagonist’s Feelings Through External Reactions

Emotions don’t solely exist inside our hearts and minds. We also have external reactions to them. That could be nodding in confusion, shifting uncomfortably in a chair, or bending over laughing.

Consider this example:

“I love your laugh,” Anita said to Alice. “It makes my heart skip a beat.”

Heat spread through Alice’s cheeks as she smiled.

“Oh, you don’t mean that.”

You don’t need to mention how it feels to receive a compliment from a crush or why flattery is nice to hear. The physical reaction of blushing is something the reader can relate to and understand.

3. Make Your Reader Feel Something Your Character Doesn’t

This is a fun one. Sometimes characters have to figure something out, but the reader already knows what’s going on.

This could happen when you’re writing a horror story that is supposed to teach the reader about the joy of recognizing your own strength. The protagonist has the skills in the beginning to defeat the evil antagonist, but must reach rock bottom before cheering himself on. The whole time, the reader knows they can beat the antagonist and survive because they have the brains/strength/creativity, etc.

You could also write an enemies-to-lovers arc where it’s obvious to the reader that both characters are in love with each other long before they realize it. The reader should want them to embrace the scary feeling of falling in love, because that’s what you’re trying to teach through your story.

Consider Your Story’s Purpose

Tip for anyone writing medieval-inspired fantasy: medieval people liked to smell good too.

The wealthy scented their baths, clothes, and even the water they washed their hands in.

Recipe for medieval soap

Recipes for medieval bath scents

"Not only bodies were kept pleasant. Clothes and linens too were regularly sweetened. Edward IV was particularly fond of the violet smell of orris root. His linen was regularly boiled in water into which several roots tied with string were dangled.

Lavender, woodruff and many other herbs were often scattered amongst stored clothes but the favorite scent came from dried roses. " 💐From this link (recommended reading).

Bath houses were common for a very long time, including this one in the image showing a steam-heated one from the early 15th century.

it is worth noting that these locations also often served as brothels, which added to the reason for their popularity, and it is suspected that while the plague might have lead to the downfall of the bathhouse, a large outbreak of syphilis could have helped.

If you did visit one, some might include music and a meal served on a tray. Even smaller towns could have bathhouses, and they were often next to a bakery to be heated by their ovens.

For the wealthy, you could be more extravagant. Charlemagne was said to have a bath so big, sometimes a hundred men or more would all be in the water together.

For the average person, bathing might be what some people today call a "bird bath," which anyone who goes camping may be familiar with. Putting it simply, you have a large bowl of water and a rag, and you start scrubbing.

One thing I find interesting is that many of the herbs that were used to scent waters (such as sage, lavender, and thyme) are now showing to have anti-bacterial and/or antifungal properties

So what does that mean for your writing? Yes, your characters can smell good. Not only that, your wealthy could bathe in something as simple as a wooden tub, or something as grand as a Roman-style bath. Those sometimes had changing rooms, exercise rooms, swimming pools, sweat rooms, hot pools, and more.

More info on that here.

Click below to see more of them!

So many books have all their characters be incredibly normal and I’m like ????? You guys can go outside and not run into someone who is even slightly strange? Or act like “quirks” are only for characters who are explicitly supposed to be eccentric instead of just…people being people.

like, my neighbor sunbathes in his driveway in his underwear and builds coffins in his spare time. My OTHER neighbor just sets things on fire whenever he needs to relax so at random times he’ll be out burning his deck furniture or something. I knew a guy in high school who woke up every morning at 3am and could lip sync flawlessly to every veggietales song. I knew a girl who collected hand sanitizer and wore bright, glittery green eyesore alligator earrings after she got her ears pierced. our family friend back in Tennessee owns six pugs and an unbridled pug obsession. My brother (13) aspires to be a hobo and calls himself Moped the Cheapskate. My grandma reads ya novels (she loved six of crows btw), determined that she was a ravenclaw through the internet, is responsible for me learning my first curse word, and flips off trump when she’s watching him on TV. one of my high school friends was a conspiracy theorist who did intense research about chemtrails. a member of my squad when I was like 14 was referred to by us only as Poodle. the guy who taught my public speaking class in high school moderated a doomsday prepper forum and would talk wistfully about how he would like a bunker. I used to work out with a guy who worshiped Thor smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt. today my best friend literally just ate dirt while we were hanging out and I can only be just like “whatever, he eats leaves, the little packets that say do not eat, and food off the floor of restaurants, how could a little dirt hurt him?” because that’s just what he does he just…eats things

The sad thing is that almost everyone I know would be The Weird One if they were part of the cast of a book?? But it isnt weird to be weird or eccentric or the opposite of normal. people are just…that way. books drop any somewhat unusual quality as a marker that a person is “eccentric” and I promise you can’t make your characters too weird

Because I write down people that I meet and hear of: my dad met a lady at his work who claimed to be psychic and talked at length about how ghosts would watch her shower (“I hope you like what you’re seeing!” she would tell them) and about the ghost-seeing party she was planning. He talked to a woman who was a sonographer and who had an enormous tattoo of a dragon all the way up her leg and thigh. “Organs move. Babies don’t,” was her wisdom. He met a guy with a phobia of glitter. People are weird. There’s no excuse to make stock characters and people who are average and without quirks. To me it just makes them seem undeveloped because EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING.

2300 years old Scythian woman's boot preserved in the frozen ground of the Altai Mountains.