Wednesday, June 13, 2012

#writing: Creating Sympathetic Characters



My magazine collection
*83 copies which include Writer’s Journal, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, and Quill and Quire—as well as one copy of Script.
*Articles follow the writing process from how to evaluate an idea to how to promote your book--and most everything in between.
*The oldest magazine in my collection dates back to 2006

I’m always on the lookout for magazines on the craft of writing. That’s how I found Poets & Writers. I’ve just pawed through but already feel like I got my money’s worth simply by reading J.T. Bushnell’s article—The Jerks:  Creating Sympathetic Characters.

Here are some of the tips he shares…
-Show your character’s vulnerability.
-‘[T]he harder characters are on themselves, the harder it is to call them jerks.’
-Create characters that are aware of the beauty that surrounds them.
-Create characters that are interested in the activities of secondary characters.

He concludes by stating that it is our job as writers to find the kernel of humanity that resides within our characters and to expose it to our readers.

I look forward to more hours of reading.
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