Writer Unleashed

#164: How To Give Each Character A Story Purpose


Listen Later

Having a large cast of characters can overwhelm your readers, especially if the characters are introduced all at once, too many characters crowd a scene, their roles are too similar or just not clear.

Readers will struggle to keep track of who’s who, and who they should be paying attention to. This can hinder their engagement with your story.

So you want to carefully consider the necessity of each character.

Not every character needs the same amount of depth and range. But you want to make sure that every character, no matter how minor, contributes to the overall narrative in a meaningful way.

In this episode, I’m breaking down three types of characters you’ll likely have in your story: major characters, minor characters, and  functional characters. You'll learn how to give each of these characters a clear story purpose.

Episode Web Page

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  

Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.

Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 


Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here


Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Writer UnleashedBy Nanci Panuccio

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

26 ratings


More shows like Writer Unleashed

View all
Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland

Helping Writers Become Authors

1,003 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

887 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,476 Listeners

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers by Joanna Penn

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

626 Listeners

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience by Kelton Reid

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

214 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

87,170 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,394 Listeners

Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson

Writer's Routine

313 Listeners

The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

The Bulwark Podcast

12,218 Listeners

Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips by Savannah Gilbo

Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips

1,463 Listeners

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing by Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

779 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,966 Listeners

Offline with Jon Favreau by Crooked Media

Offline with Jon Favreau

2,275 Listeners

Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer

Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

362 Listeners

Writers on Writing by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone

Writers on Writing

81 Listeners