Developing characters in writing involves starting with world-building and setting which can shape the characters. Understanding a character's background, past, wounds, desires, and the dynamics with the villain are crucial for creating depth and complexity in the story. Characters must have a clear motivation and a yin-yang relationship with the villain even if they desire the same outcome for different reasons.
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Side characters – how do you make them memorable, but not over-take the spotlight? And what purpose do they serve in the story?
This episode, the awesome author and educator, Sacha Black, gives us the scoop on developing incredible side characters that will take your story from blah to bleepin’ amazing. She takes us through three different types of side character and how to create juxtapositions that SELL BOOKS.
Sacha says: “If your book is a body, then your protagonist is the heart, the theme is the soul and your side characters are the arteries feeding your protagonist-heart.
Side characters are the arteries in a protagonist-heart, they are new perspectives and viewpoints, conflict generators, and subplot fulfillers.”
About Sacha Black:
Sacha Black is a best selling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker.
She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.
Sacha writes educational nonfiction books for writers and sapphic books for Young Adults. She also writes under a super secret pen name.
When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.
She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.
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