June 24, 2025 • 15 mins
Master character development with these five must-read books that transform static characters from boring to brilliant.
You've created characters with compelling backstories, but somehow, they still feel... flat. They move through your plot but don't feel like real people.
Here's the thing: character development is what makes readers fall in love with your story, not just read it. But it's also one of the trickiest parts of fiction writing.
That’s why today, I'm sharing five books that have completely transformed my approach to character development. And they've also helped hundreds of my students create characters readers are totally invested in.
You'll hear me talk about things like:
[01:17] Why most characters feel flat even when they have clear goals and motivations (and which book can help you unlock the missing piece)
[06:22] My favorite resource for understanding character arcs, whether you’re writing a positive arc, a negative arc, or a flat one
[08:16] Which book can help you understand your villain's emotional wounds—and why this might be more important than perfecting your protagonist's backstory
[10:35] A book that’ll help you make readers feel your character's emotions without ever naming a single feeling on the page
[00:00] My go-to resource for learning how to marry your plot with your characters (this one’s especially good for pantsers who want a little more structure!)
If your characters feel static despite having detailed backstories, or if you're struggling to show meaningful character growth throughout your story, this episode will give you the exact resources you need to create characters readers will never forget.
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
- Join the waitlist for my Notes to Novel course
- Want me to send you this list of recommendations? Click here!
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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!
FREE GUIDE: 5 Writing Roadblocks Keeping You Stuck (& How To Break Through)
👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The other thing I really love about it is there's
a chapter on brainstorming theantagonist journey, and I love
this because writers will oftenspend a lot of time developing
their protagonist and completelyneglect their antagonist's
emotional wounds and trauma, andthis is really such a great way
to create an antagonist or avillain who has more depth than
just being evil for the sake ofevil.
I mean, even if they do bad orevil deeds, they're probably
(00:23):
someone whose past created somekind of twistic logic that
drives their actions.
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each week,I'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
(00:47):
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
So whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, I'm sharingmy top five recommendations for
books about characterdevelopment, and while there are
so many great characterdevelopment resources out there,
(01:08):
these are the five books thathave made the biggest impact on
me as a writer and on thewriters I've worked with as well
.
Now a little spoiler I don'tthink you need to go out and buy
all of these books to writegreat characters, although you
certainly can if you're like meand you enjoy having a library
full of books about writing.
But I do recommend that ifyou're like me and you enjoy
having a library full of booksabout writing.
But I do recommend that ifyou're someone who struggles to
(01:29):
create characters that feel realand compelling, you might want
to pick one from this list, theone that speaks to you the most
or that speaks to yourparticular pain point the most,
and then work through some ofthe advice with your own story
and your own characters.
So, as I share eachrecommendation, I'm, of course,
going to talk about why I lovethat particular book, but I'm
also going to mention what kindof writer that book is best for
(01:49):
or what particular pain pointthat book will help you solve.
Savannagilbocom forward slashcharacter books.
One word savannagilbocomforward slash character books.
If you go there and you put inyour name and email, I will
(02:09):
literally send this list ofbooks straight to your inbox.
That way, you don't have totake notes or worry about making
a mental note to remember tocheck out anything later.
It'll all be right there inyour inbox, all right.
So, with that being said, let'sjust dive right in, starting
with my first recommendation andthese are in no particular
(02:29):
order, by the way.
But my first recommendation isthe Emotional Wound Thesaurus by
Angela Ackerman and BeccaPuglisi, and I love this book so
much because, as someone whocoaches writers for a living, I
know that many writers, whenthey first start learning about
character development and theystart developing their
characters, they learn thattheir characters need to have a
goal and they need to have amotivation.
And yes, that's a great placeto start, but it's very easy to
(02:50):
stay stuck on the surface levelof things.
So what I mean by that is let'spretend a character wants to
get a promotion and become thefashion editor at their magazine
, and let's pretend they want todo that because they've been
climbing the career ladder theirwhole life and that's the
natural next step.
Now, on the surface, that goaland motivation makes perfect
sense, right?
But if you stop there and youdon't dig a layer deeper, then
(03:13):
what's going to happen is you'reprobably going to run out of
steam when you're drafting andyour plot will probably fall
apart.
So this book helps writers godeeper and figure out why your
character might have thatspecific goal and motivation or
why they're showing up on pageone with that specific goal and
motivation.
And so how this book isstructured is it's broken out by
(03:33):
type of trauma, essentially solike crime and victimization is
one bucket, failures andmistakes is another, injustice
and hardship is another, and soon and so on.
And then within thosecategories there are specific
wounding events that you canbrowse through and choose from.
So let's pretend that we'relooking in the injustice and
hardship bucket as an example.
(03:54):
You can then drill down intothings like maybe your character
was being forced to keep a darksecret, or maybe they were the
victim of a vicious rumor, ormaybe they've lived through
civil unrest.
There are just so many optionswithin each category, and what's
really cool is that the authorsdon't just list traumatic
events for the sake of creatingthis really big list.
They actually show you exactlyhow each type of wound ripples
(04:18):
through a person's entire life,through their entire worldview
and through their behaviors.
So, for example, someone whoexperienced abandonment as a
child is going to approachrelationships completely
differently than someone whofaced betrayal or neglect, right
so to say.
This book will give you a ton ofideas for your character's
backstory and, more importantly,so many ideas for how to use
(04:40):
that backstory to inform yourstory.
Present is an understatement.
You will get so many ideas fromthis book.
The other thing I really loveabout it is there's a chapter on
brainstorming the antagonistjourney, and I love this because
writers will often spend a lotof time developing their
protagonist and completelyneglect their antagonist's
emotional wounds and trauma, andthis is really such a great way
(05:01):
to create an antagonist or avillain who has more depth than
just being evil for the sake ofevil.
I mean, even if they do bad orevil deeds, they're probably
someone who's past created somekind of twistic logic that
drives their actions.
So, again, if you're havingtrouble getting to that deeper
layer of why your characters dowhat they do or why they are who
they are, you will absolutelylove this book and, of course, I
(05:23):
will put a link to this bookand the rest of the books in the
show notes for you.
But this one was the EmotionalWound Thesaurus by Angela
Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.
Alright, next up on the list isa book called Creating Character
Arcs the Masterful Author'sGuide to Uniting Story Structure
, plot and Character Developmentby KM Weiland.
This book is perfect for anyonewho wants to learn how to
(05:46):
develop a character arc or whowants to learn how to marry
character growth with storystructure.
So in this book the authorbreaks down the difference
between a positive character arc, a negative character arc and a
flat character arc, and thenshe shows you exactly how
character change, no matterwhich kind of arc you choose,
should align with storystructure.
So essentially, she's showingyou where your character should
be mentally and emotionally ateach major plot point, which is
(06:08):
pretty cool, and I believe shealso touches on how to write
character arcs across a bookseries as well.
So lots of great stuff in thereabout crafting character arcs.
But probably my favorite part inthe book is in the back part,
where the author answers someFAQs about writing character
arcs, and these are so funbecause they're the exact same
questions that I get fromwriters all the time.
(06:29):
So things like how can I figureout what my character's arc
should be, or can a character'sarc be a subplot, or should all
my minor characters have arcs,or what if my character doesn't
have an arc, things like that.
I love this part becausethey're FAQs.
For a reason, right, people arefrequently asking about these
things and she addresses them insuch a straightforward and
(06:50):
clear way that I just reallyappreciate it.
So I really love this book, andI will say it's probably more
for writers who lean towards theplotter side of the
plotter-panser spectrum, sothose who identify as having
more of an analytical brain,maybe, but that doesn't mean
that pansers can't get a lotfrom this book as well.
I just know sometimes pansersdon't like the structure that
(07:10):
plotters do, so just somethingto keep in mind.
All right.
So that is my secondrecommendation Creating
Character Arcs, the MasterfulAuthor's Guide to Uniting Story
Structure, plot and CharacterDevelopment by KM Weiland, and I
will link to that one in theshow notes as well.
Third up on the list is theComplete Writer's Guide to
Heroes and Heroines the 16Master Archetypes by Tammy D
(07:32):
Cowden, carla Fever and SueViders, and this book is perfect
for you if you're someone wholikes to have a blueprint to
start anything new.
What I mean by this is that theauthors have come up with 16
archetypes and thensub-archetypes under those main
16 that include things like adescription of that archetype,
the qualities and virtues thatthat kind of person might
(07:52):
possess, possible occupationsand even ideas for their
backstory.
So, for example, one of thearchetypes in the book is called
the lost soul, and this type ofcharacter is described as
someone who's tormented andfilled with angst and passion.
They drift through life with aheavy heart and wounded spirit.
They're probably dramatic,intriguing and secretive and has
(08:12):
never adapted to society.
And then there's a whole lotmore in the description.
Then they list a few charactersfrom popular books or movies
who fit this archetype and thenthey go on to share that this
type of character would probablybe someone who's creative and
complex, who's maybe a man offew words but is really
appreciative of beauty and otherthings like that.
And then, as far as flaws, theymight be brooding, unforgiving,
(08:35):
fatalistic and maybe evenhighly critical as well.
After that they go into probablymy favorite part of each
archetype and that's what eacharchetype's background was
probably like.
So, for the lost soul itbasically says and I'm totally
paraphrasing this, but itbasically says they might have
had a normal childhood to beginwith, but then something
happened that isolated them fromsociety and started shaping
(08:58):
them into the person they'dbecome Illness or injury,
probably kept them apart, ormaybe it was the jeering
prejudice of the other kids.
Either way, their response wasto remove themselves, and so on
and so on.
There are literally pages andpages of information on each
archetype, including the subarchetypes, and so two sub
archetypes of the lost soul arethe outcast and the wanderer.
(09:19):
So they call a character likeAngel and Buffy the wanderer,
and then someone like Heathcliffin Wuthering Heights the
outcast.
So these are both subtypes ofthe lost soul.
Anyway, this book is super funto read through and it gives
writers a great place to startwhen it comes to character
creation.
So as a reminder that one'scalled the Complete Writer's
Guide to Heroes and Heroines,the 16 Master Archetypes I will
(09:42):
put a link to that one in theshow notes as well.
All right, next up on the listis the Emotional Craft of
Fiction by Donald Moss, and thisbook is great for anyone who
struggles to bring theircharacters to life on the page.
So if you've ever had feedbackthat maybe says you're telling
too much of your character'semotions and reactions and not
showing them enough on the page,or if you've been told your
(10:04):
writing feels distant and tooobjective, then this is the book
for you.
It literally teaches you whatthe title says.
It teaches you the emotionalcraft of fiction.
So in this book, the authorshows you how to make every
sentence, every description andevery bit of dialogue reflect
your point of view, character'sunique perspective and emotional
state.
(10:24):
He talks about things like howto tap into your character's
emotions when there's failureand defeat.
He talks about how to writeemotional high moments, how to
craft emotional goals in yourscenes, how to write feelings
without naming them, and so muchmore.
Now for this one.
(10:48):
I probably wouldn't recommendit to someone who is a complete
beginner only because it mightfeel a little overwhelming when
you're already trying to learneverything else there is in
terms of writing a book.
But if you're someone who'sbeen writing for a while and you
want to get better atinteriority and showing your
character on the page, then youwill probably really enjoy this
book.
So that one is the EmotionalCraft of Fiction by Donald Moss.
I will link to that one in theshow notes for you as well.
And then, last up, my lastrecommendation is Story Genius
by Lisa Krohn.
I love this book for so manyreasons, but primarily because
(11:12):
it's so good at showing writershow to marry plot with character
, and I know I said this earlierabout KM Weiland's book, and I
also said that that one wasprobably more of a
recommendation for plotters thanpantsers.
Well, this one Story Genius, isactually the opposite, in my
opinion.
Now, of course, I think it'sgreat for all writers, but I've
found that pantsers inparticular, who know they need
(11:33):
to marry plot with character andwho know that they need to add
structure to their work, theytend to like the way that this
book and that this authorpresents the nuts and bolts of
doing so in a more organic way.
So, rather than laying out theemotional journey beat by beat,
this book shows you how toreally get in your character's
head and say, okay, thishappened in the plot.
Now what would my characterrealistically do, based on
(11:56):
everything I know about them andbased on where they're going?
So, although, again, I woulddefinitely recommend this to all
types of writers, I would saythat this one is especially
pantser friendly.
All right, so let me walk youthrough how this one's laid out.
First, the author takes usthrough how to really get in
your character's head and how touncover the important parts of
their backstory that will informhow they show up on page one
(12:18):
and how they're going to behavegoing forward.
And then, after that, she walksyou through how to design your
plot in such a way that it putspressure on your character's
wound, flaw or inner obstaclewhatever you want to call it so
that the plot will inevitablyforce them to grow and change.
And then, at the very end, shehas a section on layering in
subplots and secondarystorylines, which I think is
(12:44):
pretty practical and interestingas well.
So I definitely recommend thisone.
It's one of my all-timefavorite craft books, just
because of how accessible it isand how balanced it is in terms
of being good for plotters andpantsers.
All right.
So that is my lastrecommendation for you in terms
of books that are greatcharacter development resources.
That last one was Story Geniusby Lisa Krohn, which I will, of
course, link in the show notesfor you and, as a reminder, I
(13:05):
put together this entire list inan email for you as well.
So if you go tosavannahgilbocom forward, slash
character books all one word,one more time, savannahgilbocom
forward, slash character booksall one word, one more time,
savannahgilbocom forward, slashcharacter books, and then put in
your name and your email, Iwill literally send this list
straight to your inbox.
That way, you don't have tohunt around in the show notes or
make a mental note to rememberto check out anything later.
(13:27):
You'll have it right there inyour email inbox.
All right, and so the last thingI want to say on character
development is that, above allelse, just remember that
character development goes waybeyond knowing your character's
favorite color or their biggestfear.
It even goes beyond theirsurface level goals and
motivations.
It's really about understandinghow that person's past shaped
(13:47):
them, what drives them forwardand why, and then, of course,
how they'll change throughoutthe story.
And I highly recommend, ifyou're having trouble with this,
if you're having troubledeveloping your characters or
executing a proper character arc, I highly recommend checking
out one of the books you heardin today's episode.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy podcast.
(14:08):
Head over to savannagilbocomforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
learned, and if you're ready toget more personalized guidance
for your specific writing stage,whether you're just starting
out, stuck somewhere in themiddle of a draft, drowning in
revisions, or getting ready topublish.
(14:28):
Take my free 30-second quiz atsavannahgilbocom forward slash
quiz.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sureto follow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice,because I'll be back next week
with another episode full ofactionable tips, tools and
strategies to help you become abetter writer.
(14:50):
Until then, happy writing.
The other thing I really love about it is there's
a chapter on brainstorming theantagonist journey, and I love
this because writers will oftenspend a lot of time developing
their protagonist and completelyneglect their antagonist's
emotional wounds and trauma, andthis is really such a great way
to create an antagonist or avillain who has more depth than
just being evil for the sake ofevil.
I mean, even if they do bad orevil deeds, they're probably
(00:23):
someone whose past created somekind of twistic logic that
drives their actions.
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each week,I'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
(00:47):
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
So whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, I'm sharingmy top five recommendations for
books about characterdevelopment, and while there are
so many great characterdevelopment resources out there,
(01:08):
these are the five books thathave made the biggest impact on
me as a writer and on thewriters I've worked with as well
.
Now a little spoiler I don'tthink you need to go out and buy
all of these books to writegreat characters, although you
certainly can if you're like meand you enjoy having a library
full of books about writing.
But I do recommend that ifyou're like me and you enjoy
having a library full of booksabout writing.
But I do recommend that ifyou're someone who struggles to
(01:29):
create characters that feel realand compelling, you might want
to pick one from this list, theone that speaks to you the most
or that speaks to yourparticular pain point the most,
and then work through some ofthe advice with your own story
and your own characters.
So, as I share eachrecommendation, I'm, of course,
going to talk about why I lovethat particular book, but I'm
also going to mention what kindof writer that book is best for
(01:49):
or what particular pain pointthat book will help you solve.
Savannagilbocom forward slashcharacter books.
One word savannagilbocomforward slash character books.
If you go there and you put inyour name and email, I will
(02:09):
literally send this list ofbooks straight to your inbox.
That way, you don't have totake notes or worry about making
a mental note to remember tocheck out anything later.
It'll all be right there inyour inbox, all right.
So, with that being said, let'sjust dive right in, starting
with my first recommendation andthese are in no particular
(02:29):
order, by the way.
But my first recommendation isthe Emotional Wound Thesaurus by
Angela Ackerman and BeccaPuglisi, and I love this book so
much because, as someone whocoaches writers for a living, I
know that many writers, whenthey first start learning about
character development and theystart developing their
characters, they learn thattheir characters need to have a
goal and they need to have amotivation.
And yes, that's a great placeto start, but it's very easy to
(02:50):
stay stuck on the surface levelof things.
So what I mean by that is let'spretend a character wants to
get a promotion and become thefashion editor at their magazine
, and let's pretend they want todo that because they've been
climbing the career ladder theirwhole life and that's the
natural next step.
Now, on the surface, that goaland motivation makes perfect
sense, right?
But if you stop there and youdon't dig a layer deeper, then
(03:13):
what's going to happen is you'reprobably going to run out of
steam when you're drafting andyour plot will probably fall
apart.
So this book helps writers godeeper and figure out why your
character might have thatspecific goal and motivation or
why they're showing up on pageone with that specific goal and
motivation.
And so how this book isstructured is it's broken out by
(03:33):
type of trauma, essentially solike crime and victimization is
one bucket, failures andmistakes is another, injustice
and hardship is another, and soon and so on.
And then within thosecategories there are specific
wounding events that you canbrowse through and choose from.
So let's pretend that we'relooking in the injustice and
hardship bucket as an example.
(03:54):
You can then drill down intothings like maybe your character
was being forced to keep a darksecret, or maybe they were the
victim of a vicious rumor, ormaybe they've lived through
civil unrest.
There are just so many optionswithin each category, and what's
really cool is that the authorsdon't just list traumatic
events for the sake of creatingthis really big list.
They actually show you exactlyhow each type of wound ripples
(04:18):
through a person's entire life,through their entire worldview
and through their behaviors.
So, for example, someone whoexperienced abandonment as a
child is going to approachrelationships completely
differently than someone whofaced betrayal or neglect, right
so to say.
This book will give you a ton ofideas for your character's
backstory and, more importantly,so many ideas for how to use
(04:40):
that backstory to inform yourstory.
Present is an understatement.
You will get so many ideas fromthis book.
The other thing I really loveabout it is there's a chapter on
brainstorming the antagonistjourney, and I love this because
writers will often spend a lotof time developing their
protagonist and completelyneglect their antagonist's
emotional wounds and trauma, andthis is really such a great way
(05:01):
to create an antagonist or avillain who has more depth than
just being evil for the sake ofevil.
I mean, even if they do bad orevil deeds, they're probably
someone who's past created somekind of twistic logic that
drives their actions.
So, again, if you're havingtrouble getting to that deeper
layer of why your characters dowhat they do or why they are who
they are, you will absolutelylove this book and, of course, I
(05:23):
will put a link to this bookand the rest of the books in the
show notes for you.
But this one was the EmotionalWound Thesaurus by Angela
Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.
Alright, next up on the list isa book called Creating Character
Arcs the Masterful Author'sGuide to Uniting Story Structure
, plot and Character Developmentby KM Weiland.
This book is perfect for anyonewho wants to learn how to
(05:46):
develop a character arc or whowants to learn how to marry
character growth with storystructure.
So in this book the authorbreaks down the difference
between a positive character arc, a negative character arc and a
flat character arc, and thenshe shows you exactly how
character change, no matterwhich kind of arc you choose,
should align with storystructure.
So essentially, she's showingyou where your character should
be mentally and emotionally ateach major plot point, which is
(06:08):
pretty cool, and I believe shealso touches on how to write
character arcs across a bookseries as well.
So lots of great stuff in thereabout crafting character arcs.
But probably my favorite part inthe book is in the back part,
where the author answers someFAQs about writing character
arcs, and these are so funbecause they're the exact same
questions that I get fromwriters all the time.
(06:29):
So things like how can I figureout what my character's arc
should be, or can a character'sarc be a subplot, or should all
my minor characters have arcs,or what if my character doesn't
have an arc, things like that.
I love this part becausethey're FAQs.
For a reason, right, people arefrequently asking about these
things and she addresses them insuch a straightforward and
(06:50):
clear way that I just reallyappreciate it.
So I really love this book, andI will say it's probably more
for writers who lean towards theplotter side of the
plotter-panser spectrum, sothose who identify as having
more of an analytical brain,maybe, but that doesn't mean
that pansers can't get a lotfrom this book as well.
I just know sometimes pansersdon't like the structure that
(07:10):
plotters do, so just somethingto keep in mind.
All right.
So that is my secondrecommendation Creating
Character Arcs, the MasterfulAuthor's Guide to Uniting Story
Structure, plot and CharacterDevelopment by KM Weiland, and I
will link to that one in theshow notes as well.
Third up on the list is theComplete Writer's Guide to
Heroes and Heroines the 16Master Archetypes by Tammy D
(07:32):
Cowden, carla Fever and SueViders, and this book is perfect
for you if you're someone wholikes to have a blueprint to
start anything new.
What I mean by this is that theauthors have come up with 16
archetypes and thensub-archetypes under those main
16 that include things like adescription of that archetype,
the qualities and virtues thatthat kind of person might
(07:52):
possess, possible occupationsand even ideas for their
backstory.
So, for example, one of thearchetypes in the book is called
the lost soul, and this type ofcharacter is described as
someone who's tormented andfilled with angst and passion.
They drift through life with aheavy heart and wounded spirit.
They're probably dramatic,intriguing and secretive and has
(08:12):
never adapted to society.
And then there's a whole lotmore in the description.
Then they list a few charactersfrom popular books or movies
who fit this archetype and thenthey go on to share that this
type of character would probablybe someone who's creative and
complex, who's maybe a man offew words but is really
appreciative of beauty and otherthings like that.
And then, as far as flaws, theymight be brooding, unforgiving,
(08:35):
fatalistic and maybe evenhighly critical as well.
After that they go into probablymy favorite part of each
archetype and that's what eacharchetype's background was
probably like.
So, for the lost soul itbasically says and I'm totally
paraphrasing this, but itbasically says they might have
had a normal childhood to beginwith, but then something
happened that isolated them fromsociety and started shaping
(08:58):
them into the person they'dbecome Illness or injury,
probably kept them apart, ormaybe it was the jeering
prejudice of the other kids.
Either way, their response wasto remove themselves, and so on
and so on.
There are literally pages andpages of information on each
archetype, including the subarchetypes, and so two sub
archetypes of the lost soul arethe outcast and the wanderer.
(09:19):
So they call a character likeAngel and Buffy the wanderer,
and then someone like Heathcliffin Wuthering Heights the
outcast.
So these are both subtypes ofthe lost soul.
Anyway, this book is super funto read through and it gives
writers a great place to startwhen it comes to character
creation.
So as a reminder that one'scalled the Complete Writer's
Guide to Heroes and Heroines,the 16 Master Archetypes I will
(09:42):
put a link to that one in theshow notes as well.
All right, next up on the listis the Emotional Craft of
Fiction by Donald Moss, and thisbook is great for anyone who
struggles to bring theircharacters to life on the page.
So if you've ever had feedbackthat maybe says you're telling
too much of your character'semotions and reactions and not
showing them enough on the page,or if you've been told your
(10:04):
writing feels distant and tooobjective, then this is the book
for you.
It literally teaches you whatthe title says.
It teaches you the emotionalcraft of fiction.
So in this book, the authorshows you how to make every
sentence, every description andevery bit of dialogue reflect
your point of view, character'sunique perspective and emotional
state.
(10:24):
He talks about things like howto tap into your character's
emotions when there's failureand defeat.
He talks about how to writeemotional high moments, how to
craft emotional goals in yourscenes, how to write feelings
without naming them, and so muchmore.
Now for this one.
(10:48):
I probably wouldn't recommendit to someone who is a complete
beginner only because it mightfeel a little overwhelming when
you're already trying to learneverything else there is in
terms of writing a book.
But if you're someone who'sbeen writing for a while and you
want to get better atinteriority and showing your
character on the page, then youwill probably really enjoy this
book.
So that one is the EmotionalCraft of Fiction by Donald Moss.
I will link to that one in theshow notes for you as well.
And then, last up, my lastrecommendation is Story Genius
by Lisa Krohn.
I love this book for so manyreasons, but primarily because
(11:12):
it's so good at showing writershow to marry plot with character
, and I know I said this earlierabout KM Weiland's book, and I
also said that that one wasprobably more of a
recommendation for plotters thanpantsers.
Well, this one Story Genius, isactually the opposite, in my
opinion.
Now, of course, I think it'sgreat for all writers, but I've
found that pantsers inparticular, who know they need
(11:33):
to marry plot with character andwho know that they need to add
structure to their work, theytend to like the way that this
book and that this authorpresents the nuts and bolts of
doing so in a more organic way.
So, rather than laying out theemotional journey beat by beat,
this book shows you how toreally get in your character's
head and say, okay, thishappened in the plot.
Now what would my characterrealistically do, based on
(11:56):
everything I know about them andbased on where they're going?
So, although, again, I woulddefinitely recommend this to all
types of writers, I would saythat this one is especially
pantser friendly.
All right, so let me walk youthrough how this one's laid out.
First, the author takes usthrough how to really get in
your character's head and how touncover the important parts of
their backstory that will informhow they show up on page one
(12:18):
and how they're going to behavegoing forward.
And then, after that, she walksyou through how to design your
plot in such a way that it putspressure on your character's
wound, flaw or inner obstaclewhatever you want to call it so
that the plot will inevitablyforce them to grow and change.
And then, at the very end, shehas a section on layering in
subplots and secondarystorylines, which I think is
(12:44):
pretty practical and interestingas well.
So I definitely recommend thisone.
It's one of my all-timefavorite craft books, just
because of how accessible it isand how balanced it is in terms
of being good for plotters andpantsers.
All right.
So that is my lastrecommendation for you in terms
of books that are greatcharacter development resources.
That last one was Story Geniusby Lisa Krohn, which I will, of
course, link in the show notesfor you and, as a reminder, I
(13:05):
put together this entire list inan email for you as well.
So if you go tosavannahgilbocom forward, slash
character books all one word,one more time, savannahgilbocom
forward, slash character booksall one word, one more time,
savannahgilbocom forward, slashcharacter books, and then put in
your name and your email, Iwill literally send this list
straight to your inbox.
That way, you don't have tohunt around in the show notes or
make a mental note to rememberto check out anything later.
(13:27):
You'll have it right there inyour email inbox.
All right, and so the last thingI want to say on character
development is that, above allelse, just remember that
character development goes waybeyond knowing your character's
favorite color or their biggestfear.
It even goes beyond theirsurface level goals and
motivations.
It's really about understandinghow that person's past shaped
(13:47):
them, what drives them forwardand why, and then, of course,
how they'll change throughoutthe story.
And I highly recommend, ifyou're having trouble with this,
if you're having troubledeveloping your characters or
executing a proper character arc, I highly recommend checking
out one of the books you heardin today's episode.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy podcast.
(14:08):
Head over to savannagilbocomforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
learned, and if you're ready toget more personalized guidance
for your specific writing stage,whether you're just starting
out, stuck somewhere in themiddle of a draft, drowning in
revisions, or getting ready topublish.
(14:28):
Take my free 30-second quiz atsavannahgilbocom forward slash
quiz.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sureto follow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice,because I'll be back next week
with another episode full ofactionable tips, tools and
strategies to help you become abetter writer.
(14:50):
Until then, happy writing.
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