Friday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THE 5 ABSOLUTE DIMENSIONS OF CHARACTER PERSONALITY

By: MJ Bush

Is there anything about your character that you don’t know?

I don’t mean insignificant things like favorite food or what’s on his bedroom floor, which—I know—might be one and the same. There is an (occasionally helpful) trace of personality there, but no real substance.

Those things aren’t him.

Imagine your character walking down the street. A normal street, a normal day. Does he swagger or cavort or stroll or stride? (Tell me in the comments!)

It’s the difference between going through someone’s stuff and meeting them. One is simply more effective, especially when you know what you’re looking for.

Your character’s walk is a clue to his personality, his presence. But it’s just one small piece, no matter how real.

The fullness of personality still awaits.

You want to know your character like he’s standing in front of you pouring his heart out, discussing his next move, or giving you a piece of his mind. Yes. That. Please.

Unfortunately, for most writers it’s easier said than done.

…Even me. There was a time that I would work with a character’s fear and desire and inner conflict, and I would end up feeling like I was looking at a cartoon made of words. I had the head and the heart, but not the spirit.

As wonderful as the cornerstones and pillars are, they’re story-centric. Though they’re essential to writing a compelling story, they give a mere outline of the psyche.

So we need to define what rounds out a character so that you can identify the areas needing attention.

Overview coming right up.

5 Dimensions of Personality

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To read the rest of this post, click here:

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

• Writing Your Book's Back-Cover Copy | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/QQRhv
• Requesting Permissions + Sample Permissions Letter | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/QQRHh
• Intrinsic vs. Inherent http://ow.ly/QQYVZ Daily Writing Tips
• Marketing for Writers 100+ Places to Market Your YA Book - Marketing for Writers http://ow.ly/QQZdp
• The 5 Absolute Dimensions of Character Personality - Writingeekery http://ow.ly/QQZha
• Is a Quirk Just What Your Character Needs? - Writingeekery http://ow.ly/QR024
• 6 Terror Tactics For Really Scary Villains | Sacha Black http://ow.ly/QR0h5
• 10 Reasons for Authors to Blog | A Writer's Path http://ow.ly/QR2IZ
• The Polished Pen » Point of View | « Inspired Editing for Indie Authors http://ow.ly/QR4wD
• All Write - Fiction Advice: How to Create a Convincing Good Guy - Part 3 http://ow.ly/QR4Go
• Why Your Characters Are Boring | The Authors' Nook http://ow.ly/QR5ix
• ThrillWriting: Diversity in Your Characters: Writing Physical Challenges with Katie Mettner http://ow.ly/QR5uz
• WOW! Women On Writing Blog: The Perks of Writing Micro Fiction http://ow.ly/QR5AP
• Ksenia Anske Books/Blog/The only way to succeed is to keep showing up http://ow.ly/QR5JX
• Where Do Book Ideas Come From? | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/QR68p
• How to Optimize Your Facebook Posts With Facebook Audience Insights Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/QR6dm
• Why Scene Making is a Great Idea | Linda S. Clare http://ow.ly/QR6nm
• Stop Grading an Author’s Social Media Presence | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/QR6Ux
• 4 Methods to Invigorate Your Prose With Surprising Sentences - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/QR7FW 

Happy writing and running, Kathy