How Brandon Sanderson Motivates His (Incredible) Main Characters

April 12, 2018Character, How to WriteBetter Characters, Brandon, Brandon Sanderson, Character, character motivations, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, How to Write Better, motivations, Novels, Sanderson, Science Fiction, Story, storytelling, Writing, Writing AdviceP. S. Hoffman

I can’t stop telling my friends about Brandon Sanderson’s books.

The last six hours of my life were dedicated to finishing Words of Radiance, the second book in his epic Fantasy Series, The Stormlight Archives.

Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

This dawned on me as I neared the climax of the story:

Sanderson writes deceptively simple characters. They’re easy to follow, yet surprisingly deep.

Let me show you how Brandon Sanderson writes compelling characters with powerfully conflicted motivations:

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7 Secrets to Powerful Character Motives

April 4, 2018Character, How to WriteCharacter, character goals, character motivations, characters, Fantasy, Fiction, Game of Thrones, Goals, Harry Potter, How to Write, How to Write Character, motivations, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Write, Write Better, Writing, Writing AdviceP. S. Hoffman

Characters with Powerful Motivations will steal your clock.

They’ll reach up
pull it off the wall
and smash it.

When you can write a character with a strong motivation, you will steal hours away from your readers…

…and take them on exciting, emotional journeys that they will never forget.

Ready to see how it’s done?

These are the seven secrets to writing powerful character motivations:

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5 Ways to Describe Your Character (Without Actually Describing Them)

March 27, 2018Character, How to WriteBooks, Character, Character Description, Creative Writing, Culture, Fantasy, Novel, Novel Writing, Novels, Science Fiction, Write, Writer, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Fiction, Writing Prompt, Writing TipsP. S. Hoffman

How do you describe your characters?

Here’s an amazing writing trick:

Go to the mirror, write what you see, and…

…never, ever do that again.

Because describing your characters with a checklist is BORING:

Her eyes were brown
And her hair was brown
Even her teeth were brown
She really should brush more often

If you want to describe the physical appearance of your characters, go see how J. K. Rowling does it.

Otherwise, keep reading. I’ll show you how to make your characters come to life…

…without writing dull, immersion-breaking, “this is how they look” paragraphs:

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How Can You Write Diverse Characters (without Stereotyping)?

March 20, 2018Character, How to Writebackground, Blogging, Books, Culture, diversity, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction Writing, How to Write, how to write diversity, Novels, Science Fiction, short stories, Stories, Write, Writer, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Fiction, Writing Goals, Writing TipsP. S. Hoffman

In this age of extreme opinions, it’s hard to write diverse characters…

…which means you should write them anyway.

We live in an age where the most dramatic opinion always gets attention:

Extreme social justice movements on one side
And horrendously disrespectful ideologies growing (should I say mutating?) on the other

Right now, writing about other cultures and backgrounds feels like a minefield.

Should you write characters from outside your own background or culture?

…and how do you do it?

In this article, I’ll give you a few guidelines to navigate through the minefield.

These guidelines will enable you to respectfully portray “other” characters – without making them plain, boring, or predictable. Continue reading How Can You Write Diverse Characters (without Stereotyping)? →

19 Best Writing Channels on YouTube

March 6, 2018How to WriteChannels, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction Writing, How to Write, Science Fiction, Screenplay, Screenwriting, Story, Story Writing, storytelling, Videos, Write, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Fiction, Writing Goals, Writing Tips, YouTubeP. S. Hoffman

You might be surprised by all the “hidden gems” for writers on YouTube:

Interviews with Bestselling authors
Consistently updated Writing Channels
And even full-length Writing Courses… 100% free

It ain’t easy to find them all.

Well, it wasn’t for me.

But for you – I’ve compiled all the best YouTube Writing Channels and Videos here in one simple list, so you can better achieve to your writing goals:

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