Wordplay

Have you ever been to Wordplay? K.M. Weiland's posts are fantastically practical and seem to focus a lot on developing and writing strong characters. As an example, check out this post: Improve Your Character Instantly: Just Add a Ghost. Now, I don't believe in ghosts, therefore I don't write ghosts into my stories. But I read this post anyway and discovered, much to my delight, a helpful tip to aid in creating a more 3-dimensional character. Ms. Weiland isn't suggesting adding a literal see-through, hovering visitor, but rather explains in the brief article, "This is a term used by screenwriters to describe something in the character's past that is still haunting him." While I don't have any clue about the books she references as examples, I still completely understood her point: sometimes, characters could use some baggage. That's real life, and everybody wants their characters as realistic as possible!

 

 

This article is just one small example, but play around on Wordplay and see what you find! (Why not start with the related posts at the bottom of the aforementioned article Discover the Perfect Place to Insert Backstory, When Not to Tell Your Character’s Backstory, Plot vs. Character: Which Is More Important? Talk about practical!)

Oh, and did I mention she has a whole page of free resources? Yep! One of them is this e-book. To receive it, all you have to do is subscribe to her mailing list.

"Featuring some of my most popular tips on character crafting, this pdf offers a good starting place for understanding the basics of character building, as well as some tips for troubleshooting. You’ll also discover inspiring quotes from successful authors, writing prompts, and creativity exercises."

 

Looks pretty interesting, doesn't it? I can't wait to read my copy!