Whether it’s long ago in a galaxy far, far, away...or just your corner drug store, the setting in your novel should be as living and purposeful as any character. Join us as we try to unravel what makes the settings in your story worth visiting.

Do you ever feel unqualified to write? Do you feel discouraged in your writing? We all feel that way sometimes. If this is you, this is the episode you need to hear today!

In this episode we’ll help you “find your spine” by developing 5 key scenes that will guide you through the perfect story. If you can identify and draw out these 5 moments you will significantly enhance your chance of impacting your audience and make a lasting impression.

In our final episode on the Characters Write Themselves series, we get to play with our characters and get them to interact with each other. When they interact you get to have fun watching the drama unfold.

It’s time to get out of the way and give your characters space to do what they would naturally do. Building great characters ahead of time allows you the freedom to throw fun plot points at your characters and simply record what they would instinctively do in that situation. Stop being a nagging parent telling your characters what they SHOULD do and let them do what they WOULD do and learn and grow from their own experiences.

Developing great characters is not as hard as it seems once you know their fears, desires, backstory and behaviors you can really have fun. It’s time to Raise the Stakes and press those fears and desires to their extremes to make great drama unfold.

How do you get 1000 ravenous readers? How do you write 1000 words an hour? These are some of the questions best-selling Sci-Fi author Christopher Hopper covers with us. Join us as we learn along with you from some of the best storytellers and storySELLERS in the industry.

Our series on Character Development continues as we discuss everyday behaviors of your characters. Behaviors are the personality “quirks” that breathe life into our characters, but where do they come from and how do you develop meaningful ones? Join us for a LIVE experiment as we attempt to develop a new character on the fly using behaviors related to our backstory.

Building on the last two podcasts Chris and Brock explain how your characters fears and desires ARE the key to knowing the most important elements of backstory. Don’t waste time telling pointless backstory. Get to the stuff that matters.

Knowing your character’s fears is not just a gimmick, rather it is a powerful outlet into what makes them tick and an amazing opportunity for growth. A character who faces their fears is one who we can relate to...and isn’t that what storytelling is about. Join us as we explore the power of fear and how it can help you write better characters.