Remembering Character Archetype

What motivates you to change? Its not the same thing that motivates the main character in the story you are writing (or even telling); because, each dynamic character has his/her/(insert sci-fi/alien words, here) own motivations, internal struggles, external struggles (duck!), and hopefully, a very different catalyst encouraging - or insisting - a change. Some might wonder if books for kids require such protocol that adult fiction readers demand. The answer is, even more so. With the goddess of Hogwart's, Tolkien, E.B. White - and more - being the choices offered for kids to read, early chapter books on through YA had better be bringing a whole cast of characters into a believable, intriguing world or have a great grasp on this one and how kids attach to a main character (sympathy, understanding, likability ...). For this reason, the character archetype is a great bit of protocol to have a good handle on, or at least be able to reasonably decipher within your own writing and story. It also makes great fiction. So, here, I've remembered a trick a great author handed me from her very own bag - the Character Arc Worksheet. I don't have it any longer, but I did make a short video with tips on making your own.

Create a Character Arc Worksheet of Your Own



Here, I've sketched up a sample for you: Character Arc Worksheet - a starting place for you to tweak..

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And here, two authors discuss the concept of character archetype with easy-to-apply rules and tips.

Storymind: This is great for beginners and those who'd like a quick refresher because of annectdotal connections she makes with the viewer.

Writers Into Authors: Most Important Moment in your Character Arc.

Writing For Children: Believable Dialogue and Likable Characters

A few simple rules, can bring characters of children's literature into the lives of astute child readers through the author's door, believably.

In this day and age, children are bombarded with almost a constant media flow of information. The internet, television, moving advertising screens, billboards, magazine ads, and just about every type of app and web ad a parent could imagine (and those they don’t want to think about). Therefore, the rules of writing dialogue for children’s books have changed.

The first rule was once: Don’t talk down to children in a children’s book. These days it’s a bit more