Pete Aldin and Bryan Chaffin explore how to make your characters more interesting, from finding unexpected flaws and contradictions to challenging your assumptions about who they are. They discuss techniques for pushing beyond obvious character choices, making protagonists as compelling as their supporting cast, avoiding stereotypes, and using real-world observations to create characters who feel distinctive and alive.

Chapters:

00:00 Introductions
00:20 Are Great Characters Discovered or Designed?
01:20 Basing Characters on Real People
08:04 Designing vs. Discovering Characters
11:15 Exercises for Creating Better Characters
25:58 What Line Won’t Your Character Cross?
27:58 Playing Against the Mood of a Scene
32:25 When Side Characters Outshine Your Protagonist
41:12 Avoiding Stereotypes
51:20 Outro

Links from This Episode:

AJ Saxsma's Trauma as Engine Workbook (The Name that Bryan Couldn't Think of—mentioned at 25:58)
https://andrewverse858.gumroad.com/l/wwkql

Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/158297263X/

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