character

It's a real conundrum. We want our characters to be "sympathetic"-- someone the reader cares about and roots for. But paradoxically, sometimes the more we TRY to make them good and admirable, the more saintly they become, the less the reader likes them. It might be envy, or resentment, or an...

From 2-D Archetype to 3-D Characters—Exploring Universal Personality Patterns for Your Unique Characters Popularized by Carl Jung, an archetype is usually understood in literature, art, mythology and fairy tales to be a recurrent symbol, motif, or role with patterns of behavior, often across...

Second chance romance is a popular trope that covers a lot of situations. A chance to make up after a split. A second chance at love for "older" heroines. Another chance for love after heartbreak or trauma. Second chances come in many forms and readers love to experience them. Learn how to build...

If you’re like most writers, you’ve probably taken a number of classes and read even more about writing snappy dialogue. That’s not this class. This class will focus on using dialogue to define your characters. The most important thing to remember when you’re creating character is to make them...

Have you ever started reading a book that you just couldn't put down? Learn the secrets that keep your reader from putting down your book. LC. will show you how to incorporate the page turning elements into your manuscript, including: Element of time, Cliffhangers, Mood and atmosphere, Use...

Readers are looking for more stories with "mature" characters (30 years old +). Learn how to create characters who have life experience and are perfect for all types of romances (all sub-genres of romance). Determining the age range and what character experiences might be How not to fall into...

Fiction, like nature, is all about change. So in a story, heroism requires more than being perfectly heroic, and even more than committing heroic acts. It also requires the ability to change under pressure, to grow into someone better even if it hurts. In the same way, creating a heroic...

An emotional arc is the journey that a character’s emotional state of mind undertakes during a scene. A typical emotional arc has a beginning in which the character is feeling a certain way, an end in which their emotional state of mind has undergone a change, and a turning point that triggers...

Have you received feedback that all of your characters sound the same, or that your characters aren’t distinct? There’s hope! In this workshop, we split the rendering of character into two parts: Development of character and dialogue/description. First, to craft your characters, you must...

A great Villain may kill your heroine - but nothing kills a story faster than a weak antagonist. In this course we will explore different types of Antagonists: anti-heroines, seducers, pirate queens and rebels, bumblers, psychos, vampires, ghosts and aliens, and more. Learn to use back-story...

Award winning and bestselling author, L. C. Hayden, will guide you on how to turn your dialog into dynamic dialogue. Thus your dialogue will not only sound realistic and be perfectly punctuated, it will also reveal the character’s personality and help develop the plot. Once you've completed this...

Looking for a way to add conflict and suspense to your novel, chapters, and scenes? Then this workshop is for you. Whether you are a plotter or a pantser, you can apply this easy-to-use technique as you draft, during revision of your WIP, and even as a way to break through writer’s block. In...

Over the next ten days, we're going to take a deep dive into developing and shaping your story’s plot based on your protagonist's motives. We will review the essentials of character interiority and explore techniques to help develop your story’s structure. This course will help writers of all...

Capturing the voice of characters is difficult on its own, but it’s even harder when you’re writing for a different generation. Writing Young Adult works allows us to connect to our younger selves and relive the aches and pains of growing up. But what we said (and even did) as young adults isn’t...

Core Wounds sit in the heart of every person - both real and fictional. An understanding of these deep-seated, harmful "truths" we believe can lead to the creation of three-dimensional characters and emotionally impactful narratives readers will never forget. This workshop will explore what a...

Without conflict there is no story. Your characters have to grow and they have to be challenged. They fall in love, break up and make up until the HEA or HFN. How do you keep the tension and conflict as they go through their story arc? What keeps them going and what conflicts do they have to...

Have you ever read a romance novel and thought, "I really liked the book, but..." Something about the characterization of the hero or heroine left you cold? Didn't make sense? Wasn't fleshed out enough? This course will walk you through the process of creating memorable characters, including...

Character development using origin stories. What makes them the way they are? What experiences formed them? How to create protagonists' and antagonists' origin stories. What makes your character who they are – what were their beginnings? Archetypes and origin stories Using your characters'...

An emotional arc is the journey that a character’s emotional state of mind undertakes during a scene. A typical emotional arc has a beginning in which the character is feeling a certain way, an end in which their emotional state of mind has undergone a change, and a turning point that triggers...

Develop your characters and create backstory using emotional wounds and inner conflicts. What motivates your character? What are the traumas that might be inspiring them to take certain actions? How to determine what wounds make sense for your characters and your story Raise the stakes in your...