How to Use Your Shadow Side in Your Writing
The Novelry on Writing
Creating Stakes That Make Characters Reckless
Kate and Anissa suggest giving characters nothing to lose or time-limited pressures to justify extreme actions.
Have you ever wanted a safe way to seek revenge? In this captivating episode of The Novelry on Writing, join our writing coaches and bestselling authors Kate Riordan and Anissa Gray as they delve into the dark side of writing and how you can use your shadow side to fuel your fictional stories. They discuss embracing your dark side, stressing out your characters, and provide examples from novels you can use as inspiration for your own writing.
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Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:58 - Tip #1: Look within
04:40 - Tip #2: Stress test the characters
07:24 - Tip #3: Throw rocks at your character
08:46 - Tip #4: Examples from novels
13:02 - Tip #5: Seek revenge
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Guest Bios
Kate Riordan is the bestselling author of seven novels, including The Heatwave, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and Apple Fiction Chart No.1. Her historical novel The Girl in the Photograph was a Sunday Times bestseller described as a must-read for fans of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
Anissa Gray’s debut novel, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls, was one of the most anticipated reads of 2019 from Vogue, Vanity Fair, the Washington Post, Bustle, and Cosmo. It was a top pick for Indie Next, Library Reads, and Barnes & Noble Discover and was selected for the Marie Claire book club. It has been optioned for TV by Gabrielle Union for Sony Pictures Television. Her second novel, Life and Other Love Songs, was named a most anticipated book by TIME, Essence, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and was praised by the New York Times.
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Resources
Check out these blog posts for more insight on how to use your shadow side in your writing:
How To Raise the Stakes in Your Story
Writing Fiction: How Dark Can You Go?
Kate Weinberg on Writing Unlikeable Characters
Read the full episode transcript here!
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Show description
Learn how novels work from publishing’s top experts at The Novelry, the world’s #1 school for writers. Hosted by our bestselling writing coaches and publishing editors, this podcast is a practical, helpful guide to writing novels for every genre. Enjoy inside tips and tricks to make your writing a joyful experience while building your expertise in writing craft.
With new topics every week, there is always something to learn at The Novelry, the world’s top-rated fiction writing school with more 5* reviews from writers than any other creative writing course.
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