Writing Roots

S10E4 – Character History: Nature

Characters are the base of any story. Without well-developed characters, the plot will always fall flat. This series is dedicated to creating realistic, believable, and deep characters. It means getting to know them on a personal level. It takes developing more than their powers or strengths, but their flaws. It’s not easy but it is possible, even for those pantsers.
It’s an argument almost as old as the study of psychology. What is more influential in someone’s life: nature or nurture? Both of these are aspects of a character an author needs to consider while they’re writing. A character’s history is made of pieces of nature and nurture. This episode focuses on nature: the physical aspects that create what a person is, from brain chemistry to DNA, and how that is applied to writing.
First aired May 14, 2020.
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S10E3 – Creating and Developing Character Relationships

Characters are the base of any story. Without well-developed characters, the plot will always fall flat. This series is dedicated to creating realistic, believable, and deep characters. It means getting to know them on a personal level. It takes developing more than their powers or strengths, but their flaws. It’s not easy but it is possible, even for those pantsers.
Much of what makes a character is their relationships with the other characters. Opposition and support can push the protagonist into action or hold them back from their potential. In order for realistic development to occur, an author needs to create realistic relationships. This episode breaks down the types of relationships a character can have, focusing on family, friends, and romantic relationships.
First aired May 11, 2020.
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S10E2 – Using D&D to Create a Story Character

Characters are the base of any story. Without well-developed characters, the plot will always fall flat. This series is dedicated to creating realistic, believable, and deep characters. It means getting to know them on a personal level. It takes developing more than their powers or strengths, but their flaws. It’s not easy but it is possible, even for those pantsers.
There are people across the world who, every day, create characters. They aren’t writing novels or short stories. They are playing Dungeons and Dragons, the tabletop role-playing game. Many things about creating a character can be carried over from D&D into a work of fiction. Players know what weapons their characters can and can’t use well, what special abilities they have, their flaws and strengths. These are all things a writer should know about their character. Leigh and Ley break down a character sheet and explain how authors can use it to help create well-developed characters for their stories.
To follow along with the descriptions in the podcast, we’ve attached a character sheet below.
First aired May 7, 2020.
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S10E1 – Statistics of a Character

Characters are the base of any story. Without well-developed characters, the plot will always fall flat. This series is dedicated to creating realistic, believable, and deep characters. It means getting to know them on a personal level. It takes developing more than their powers or strengths, but their flaws. It’s not easy but it is possible, even for those pantsers.
Creating a character often starts with their basic stats, but goes way further. It also means considering all the characters, making sure there is diversity, not only in personality but in traits such as race and sexual orientation. Authors should also take caution about how they present all of this information. It should never feel like a police suspect description. Ley and Leigh break down the important parts of a character description and how to include it in a story.
First aired May 4, 2020.
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S9E9 – Suspension of Disbelief

There are some crimes people can commit that aren’t punishable by law. This series is dedicated to those involved with writing, whether they be committed by the author or the readers. To be clear, this series isn’t designed to help writers better create crimes (murder, theft, etc.) within their novels. The kinds of crimes we’ll talk about range from boring the readers to abusing the control you have over the book and characters.
Nothing can pull a reader out of a book faster than breaking their suspension of disbelief. When someone picks up a book, they agree to accept the impossible, but within certain limits. Authors can push the boundaries of that suspension by writing too many impossible things within the world that has been set. Ley and Leigh break down the most common ways authors get the readers to set the book aside.
First aired April 30, 2020.
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S9E8 – The Rules of Writing

There are some crimes people can commit that aren’t punishable by law. This series is dedicated to those involved with writing, whether they be committed by the author or the readers. To be clear, this series isn’t designed to help writers better create crimes (murder, theft, etc.) within their novels. The kinds of crimes we’ll talk about range from boring the readers to abusing the control you have over the book and characters.
Rules in writing are, as Captain Barbosa said, more guidelines than actual rules. They can be anything from MLA and APA style guides rigidly adhered to in collegiate and other educational settings to rules authors create for themselves. The trick is knowing when and how to follow or break them to be most effective.
First aired April 27, 2020.
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S9 Bonus – Audience Participation

While the month of April has been focused on crimes committed by both authors and readers, the bonus episode is going to zero in on the foundation of all crimes by authors. It all comes down to the audience. Writing Roots’ mantra of “write selfishly” may seem to contradict the idea of pleasing the audience, but it is all part of the process. Hosts Ley and Leigh use this episode to get into what it means to have audience participation in books, and why authors need to keep them involved from at least the second draft onward.
First aired April 25, 2020.
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S9E7 – Cultural Appropriation

There are some crimes people can commit that aren’t punishable by law. This series is dedicated to those involved with writing, whether they be committed by the author or the readers. To be clear, this series isn’t designed to help writers better create crimes (murder, theft, etc.) within their novels. The kinds of crimes we’ll talk about range from boring the readers to abusing the control you have over the book and characters.
Cultures across the world are rich and great sources for inspiration for authors. Traditions, styles, religions, and folk tales can all play a part in creating an interesting world, whether it’s a fantasy or real setting. It can be dangerous, though, to misrepresent real cultures. We talk in this episode about how to avoid crossing from inspiration to negative appropriation.
First aired April 23, 2020.
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S9E6 – , Drugs, and Rock & Roll

There are some crimes people can commit that aren’t punishable by law. This series is dedicated to those involved with writing, whether they be committed by the author or the readers. To be clear, this series isn’t designed to help writers better create crimes (murder, theft, etc.) within their novels. The kinds of crimes we’ll talk about range from boring the readers to abusing the control you have over the book and characters.
There are all kinds of themes in books that authors hesitate to use for fear of offending the audience. Often, though, the authors worry too much. It’s okay to include , drugs, and a bit of Rock & Roll in your book because it makes characters real.
First aired April 20, 2020.
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S9E5 – God Mode

There are some crimes people can commit that aren’t punishable by law. This series is dedicated to those involved with writing, whether they be committed by the author or the readers. To be clear, this series isn’t designed to help writers better create crimes (murder, theft, etc.) within their novels. The kinds of crimes we’ll talk about range from boring the readers to abusing the control you have over the book and characters.
A main reason many people become authors is because they have a story, character, or world they want to share with everyone. Authors have complete control over everything in their story, but sometimes that power can be taken too far. Even withing worlds we create, there are limits to what can and can’t be done. That is the danger of going into “God Mode.”
First aired April 16, 2020.
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