Make Your Characters More Interesting

Pete Aldin and Bryan Chaffin explore how to make your characters more interesting, from finding unexpected flaws and contradictions to challenging your assumptions about who they are. They discuss techniques for pushing beyond obvious character choices, making protagonists as compelling as their supporting cast, avoiding stereotypes, and using real-world observations to create characters who feel distinctive and alive. Chapters: 00:00 Introductions 00:20 Are Great Characters Discovered or Designed? 01:20 Basing Characters on Real People 08:04 Designing vs. Discovering Characters 11:15 Exercises for Creating Better Characters 25:58 What Line Won’t Your Character Cross? 27:58 Playing Against the Mood of a Scene 32:25 When Side Characters Outshine Your Protagonist 41:12 Avoiding Stereotypes 51:20 Outro Links from This Episode: AJ Saxsma‘s Trauma as Engine Workbook (The Name that Bryan Couldn’t Think of—mentioned at 25:58) Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook Follow Working Writers Working Margins Newsletter Threads Bluesky Instagram YouTube Pete’s Socials PeteAldin.com Threads Bluesky Instagram Facebook Author’s Page Bryan’s Socials GeekTells.com Threads Bluesky Instagram Facebook Author’s Page