Your protagonists, as well as their compatriots, seem like normal people one might easily meet in real life–relatable, sympathetic, and yet unique. What thought process do you use when creating a protagonist? I had real trouble with my characters feeling real early in my writing career (before I got published)….
I’d be happy to give you some pointers about writing characters. We often discuss characters in oue Writing Excuses podcast. For example some episodes from Season 1 that may be of use as you write your characters include: Episode 5: Heroes and Protagonists Episode 6: Flaws vs Handicaps Episode 7:…
There was a thread on reddit about this topic, and though I was hesitant to derail the conversation, I decided I did want to talk about this topic a little. There are two things going on here. One is the mistake I made with Jasnah in WORDS, which I’ve mentioned…
Was there ever a time when you had intended to kill off a character, but changed your mind because you liked them too much? Hmmm… I’m trying to think of whether or not this happened. I do believe that Adolin died in the original draft of The Way of Kings,…
It depends. If it’s been a long time, I’ll reread (Or at least look up specific chapters). It depends on how much the story is “present” in my mind as well. The Stormlight Archive and The Reckoners were solidly in my mind for a few years and I have enough a grasp on the…
With as many novels as you’ve written, do you have an assistant or a system you use to remember everything? Yes I do. I use a personal wiki, just like Wikipedia, but on my own server. I use an open-source software called wikidpad. I have someone whose job it is…
I have gotten very good at this over the years. For instance while working on something like one of the Mistborn books, I’d also be writing one of the Alcatraz books. If you read those two, the tones are extremely different. One of the ways I keep things separate is that…
I generally write in one of two places. I have an easy chair in my bedroom where I can sit back with my laptop and write in comfort. I also have a treadmill desk that I use when I want to be up and moving.
I like to have music on playing softly in the background. For each project or scene, I’ll create a new playlist to get me in the right mood. I occasionally post links to my playlists on Spotify, so keep a watch for those.
When it comes to crazy plot twist, fascinating characters, magic systems, humor, religion, etc. What do you feel, for you, is the hardest part to get on paper or come up with? I would say that the most difficult parts have to do with getting a character’s internal conflicts (if…