Introduction
When I was writing my first book, I went searching for tips and techniques from more experienced writers. I wanted my book to be the best it could be. I even joined a writer's book club and read as many books about writing as I could. I found books on plot, dialogue, even how to write a novel in thirty days. But I found little information available in the many, many writing books on point-of-view or character development. Point-of-view was covered in several books but only in a very superficial manner, just a basic definition of point-of-view and a hard-and-fast rule on which was best. Most of the books I found about character development were generally written from the perspective of character traits or personality. I even found a book that was set up like a thesaurus. It included descriptive terms for physical features, clothing and accessories.
While this type of information may be helpful once you have begun to develop your characters, it does little for you as you begin the process! I did not find ONE book that walked the novice writer through the process of determining the best point-of-view for the story or developing interesting, well-rounded, believable characters.
These two elements: point-of-view and character development are very important to the success of your story or novel! Point-of-view means the viewpoint character, the person who is telling your story. Is your main character telling your story? Is there a narrator who knows and sees everything? Options for point-of-view include: first-person single view, first-person multiple views, third-person single view, third-person multiple views, and omniscient point-of-view -- and there are few stories that can be successfully told from all possible points-of-view.
In this course, we will explore these options, examine text written from each point-of-view, even experiment in writing the same passage using several different points-of-view! By the time you finish these exercises, you will be able to identify the point-of-view most effective for the story you want to tell. But you will also learn about the various character options available to you.
So, we will then proceed to character development! Compelling characters bring your story to life for the reader. If your characters are not likeable, do not keep your readers' attention, they will not finish your story.
In order for your characters to be compelling enough to drive your story, you must know your characters intimately. This means not just knowing their physical description, but their likes / dislikes, past, present, and dreams for the future. Your characters must be human (even if you are writing about aliens from another world), and they must be believable.
Resist the urge to use cliche or stereotypical characters. This might work alright for minor secondary characters, but your main characters need to be real to your readers -- complete with weaknesses and faults that cause them to fail (so the reader can identify with them).
In taking this course, your main -- and lifelike -- characters will be created, your protagonist (hero) and antagonist (villain)! We will develop them into believable characters, each with a life of his / her own. We will also use forms and worksheets to help you develop compelling characters. And, we'll explore perfect names for your characters based on time period, ethnic origin, occupation, and physical description.
When you have finished this course, you will have characters ready for inclusion in a story. You will be ready to move on to the next step of plot development.
Lessons
Click here to see course syllabus
