Mastering Character Creation: A Guide for Distracted Writers

Welcome to "Writing While Distracted," the podcast designed to help writers harness their creativity amidst life's chaos. I'm Brenda Murphy, your NeuroSpicy writing coach. This episode delves into the fascinating and sometimes daunting task of character creation. Learn how to develop authentic, relatable characters that drive your story and keep readers engaged.

We'll explore various methods for character development, from checklists and backstories to understanding internal and external goals, motivations, and conflicts. Discover how to portray characters outside your lived experiences accurately and respectfully, and the importance of using sensitivity readers.

Additionally, I'll share my favorite resources, including Eileen Cook's "Build Better Characters" and Deborah Dixon's "Goal, Motivation, and Conflict," along with practical tips on organizing character information. Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, this episode provides invaluable insights to help you craft three-dimensional characters that resonate with readers.

Tune in to learn how to transform your scattered thoughts into literary brilliance and keep your story moving forward, even when distractions loom large. Happy writing!

Free resources for writers:

https://brendalmurphy.com/resources-for-writers/

Here at all the resources I spoke about

Show Notes Episode 10 Feel the Fear

Links to podcast

https://writingwhiledistracted.podbean.com/e/mastering-novel-writing-11-essential-steps-for-neurodivergent-writers/

Links Character workbook https://BookHip.com/HDPNDMX

These are some books and classes I recommend as excellent resources for character creation.

1. Build Better Characters: The Psychology of Backstory & How To Use It In Your Writing to Hook Readers by Eileen Cook. {https://books2read.com/u/mgP2Px} This is the book I wish I had when I was first started writing. Eileen is an award-winning (use her bio) author, and this book explains how to construct characters and, more importantly, get at the root of their motivations, fears, and behaviors—filled with exercises that will help you figure out how to build characters that are believable and relatable.
2. Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation, and Conflict {https://books2read.com/u/4ARJRe} is also a go-to for me. At the heart of any story are your character’s goals, their motivation for achieving those goals, and the obstacles in their way—a must-have, in my opinion, for any writer’s bookshelf. Her simple explanations and worksheets are the most helpful in understanding how character arcs work.
3. Hal Ackerman’s Screenwriting Class. {https://www.creativelive.com/class/screenwriting-the-art-of-the-first-draft} This class is offered on Creative Live and can be purchased through them. Hal’s explanation of how characters’ behaviors drive plot is excellent and well worth the price. If you buy the class, you can download it for rewatching whenever you need a refresher. I use his method of plot outlining for all of my stories. Knowing what a character will do/sacrifice to achieve their objective is vital in creating compelling plots that will have readers turning pages.
4. Angela Ackerman’s and Becky Puglisi: Emotional Wound Thesaurus, Positive Character Traits Thesaurus, Negative Character Traits Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volumes 1 and 2. {https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZH6WS6C?binding=kindle_edition} I use this collection of books in two ways. If I am starting to noodle a book and am casting about for plot ideas and conflicts that will power my story, I thumb through these books for ideas. If I already have a rough idea of the conflict at the center of my story, I will use these books to define how that will play out in the story. Please don’t skip the introductions in these books as they explain the concept each explores in depth and are well worth your time. They fit into Debra Dixon’s Goal Motivation and Conflict framework perfectly.

How to use this information

After reading and rereading and putting into practice recommendations from the above sources, (full reveal, I credit Eileen Cook’s Build Better Character’s book for my Goldie Win), I came up with a form that helps to organize the information I find most helpful to know about each of my characters. You can find a downloadable version here as a fillable PDF workbook.

Disclaimer: While it might be helpful as a standalone workbook it will make so much more sense if you read Debra Dixon’s Goal Motivation and Conflict and Eileen Cook’s Build Better Characters, along with the other references listed above.

Link for Workbook: https://BookHip.com/HDPNDMX