By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Separating ourselves from the normal and often demanding schedules of day-to-day often means participating in a fun event or hobby that refreshes us. We choose to be alone or with others, depending on our personalities and preferences. Our characters are the same. A vacation is a…

@DiAnnMills Some of our character’s traits are easy to discover. Physical description, food preference, a career choice, favorite color or food, wants, goals, and other basic attributes that can be revealed in a non-threatening manner. Life experiences that had painful physical, mental, or emotional outcomes are often hidden beneath a…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Our characters experience life, and that means they can be wronged or they wrong someone else. Forgiveness can be a difficult task either for someone else or ourselves. It’s an intentional and conscious decision to get rid of resentment, hatred, or desire for revenge.  When a…

by Kass Fogle @KassFogle What do Jane Eyre, Mr. Darcy, Edward Cullen, and Bilbo Baggins have in common? They are a few of the most memorable introverted characters we’ve loved.  What makes them memorable? How about Jane’s strong constitution drawn from deep, personal experiences? Or Edward’s brooding nature that taunts…

by DiAnn Mills @diannmills Have you ever been working on a novel and realized your method of tracking character relationships looked like a toddler’s art work? While writing my last novel, my characters’ connections to each other and the plot bewildered me. Unless I solved the problem, my readers wouldn’t…

by DiAnn Mills @diannmills Characters, like people, need a place to escape tension, stress, and conflict when life’s challenges threaten to steal their optimism. A writer uses a character’s happy spot to add a slice of real life to a three-dimensional character. The character knows where this place is and…