Tag Archives: Characters

The Physiology of Love and Fear

Posted on May 19, 2025 by knlistman

The demand for writing from the character’s point of viewpoint is increasing. Sights, sounds, textures and tastes should reflect the perception of the character. But, what about physiological reactions? These descriptions capture the racing heart and euphoria, or the rise … Continue reading →

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Names and Xenophobia

Posted on December 5, 2024 by knlistman

Imagine a reviewer whose major complaint with a fantasy book manuscript was the number of times that words weren’t recognized by MS Word spell check. This person even provided me with the total–all names of people and places within the … Continue reading →

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Color coding characters

Posted on December 7, 2020 by knlistman

Physical appearance descriptions are only superficial. Describing hair, eyes, skin or clothing colors tells the reader nothing about internal motives. However, assigning specific colors to important characters is a good shortcut for coding their personality. You can remember what major … Continue reading →

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The strength of your character’s likability

Posted on November 30, 2020 by knlistman

Readers do not respond to characters in the same manner that they respond to real people. If a protagonist annoys other people in the novel, showing the reader the interior of this main character to establish a creditable reason for … Continue reading →

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Superhuman weakness

Posted on October 5, 2013 by knlistman

At one time there was a “story” circulating about a famous producer of modern supernatural fiction movies, and an unknown screen writer. The famous producer says “I have a new idea for a movie.” “What’s the plot?” asks the writer. … Continue reading →

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Classic fan fiction

Posted on August 13, 2013 by knlistman

During 1960’s there was an outbreak of science fiction written by amateurs who used already developed and idolized characters – those from Star Trek were favorites – from there came the term fan fiction. However, with the advent of the … Continue reading →

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