Characters are the heart of your book.
No matter how good your plot is, if you don't fill the pages with vibrant, interesting characters, your book won't reach its potential - and you won't win hordes of raving fans.
Great characters are vital to your success.
The trouble is, creating characters can take days. Or weeks... or months! And every writer knows that characters tend to have a will of their own, anyway - once you start making headway, before long they are telling you what to do! What every writer needs is a fast-track way of creating characters. A method that lets you hit the ground running, but that leaves plenty of room for growth as you write.
Well... here it is! The One-Hour Character System shows you how to come up with:
- the Lead Character
- other main characters, and
- a solid supporting cast
Team the One-Hour Character with the One-Hour Plot, and you'll have your plot and characters sorted out in less than the time it takes you to go out to dinner!
Characters are fun to create. Really. (If you've ever been stuck for days trying to come up with an interesting main character, you may have trouble believing that - but it's true.) Armed with the One-Hour Character system, you will find that you have not just one character finished and ready to go. Not just two characters... and not just three. No, you'll have a whole pool of characters waiting eagerly for you to choose them! (It's a bit like being the director of a play, and auditioning all the hopefuls. Or being a lab assistant taking a strand of DNA here and a strand there to create a brand new person.)
What Will You Find in the One-Hour Character System?
Let's talk first about what you won't find. You won't find out how to create boring caricatures or cardboard cut-outs. You won't find any formulas, either. No two-dimensional characters allowed. (Not even the 'walk-ons'.)
Rather, you'll be shown how to find inspiration to create the people in your story. You'll learn of six different sources for characters, and the best way to use those sources (as well as a few others).
Then you'll learn about the different character types that you'll need: the Lead, the Antagonist, other main characters, a romantic interest (if applicable), sidekicks, confidants and walk-ons. But don't worry: this isn't going to be dry and dull. You'll be fired up with enthusiasm to find just the right people for your story. And that's when the One-Hour Character system comes into its own. Step by step, you'll be walked through the process of choosing and fine-tuning your characters - but with a time limit, so you know that at the end of just one hour, you will be ready to start directing your new cast!
Nor are you left there to figure out further character development on your own. You learn how to tweak your characters even further. You'll find out:
- how to give your characters a distinctive voice (tips on dialogue)
- how to develop series characters (leaving room for a secret or two)
- how to ensure that your characters suit your chosen genre
- tips on naming your characters
- tips on character growth and development
- the importance of giving your characters goals
At the beginning, you'll have a few ideas and a blank sheet of paper.
At the end, you'll have a cast of characters, eagerly awaiting their debut!
