Crafting Dynamic Characters
Learn how to create fully fleshed-out, dynamic characters and how to reveal them to the reader in a way that grabs their attention and captures their heart
ENROLL NOW!"I feel more confident than ever in creating dynamic characters that readers will will fall in love with!"
- Terry T.
"Jessica and Mary's heart and soul in this course is appreciated and felt. I am becoming the writer I always knew I could be. "
- Rose H.
"Great depth, heart, detail, and practicality! This course is an excellent achievement, you both truly 'walk the talk'!"
- Jon S.
The #1 Thing Readers Want from YOUR Character
When a reader starts a story, what are they looking for exactly? What is keeping them hooked and turning pages?
Hint: It’s not the plot, or the worldbuilding.
It’s your main character.
And what is the number one thing readers look for in your character - the thing that’s going to determine whether they keep reading or put the story down?
Connection.
Readers want to feel connected to your character.
But how exactly do you create that connection?
In this course, taught by character guru, literary agent and freelance editor, Mary Kole, you’ll learn not only how to craft fully fleshed out, dynamic characters but also how to write those characters and reveal them on the page in a way that grabs the reader’s attention, connects with them, and captures their heart.
Over the past 10+ years, Mary has helped thousands of authors take flat, underdeveloped characters and turn them into dynamic ones that leap off the page. And in this course, she gives away her “secret sauce” for character success, including the 4 foundations of a dynamic character and the 7 vital tools for weaving characters into your prose.
This Course Includes:
- Tons of fun, inspiring writing prompts designed to break you out of old patterns, get you thinking about character in a new way, and help you apply all the skills taught in the course
- Lots of examples from popular works of fiction to provide context and enhance your understanding of the material
- Tips and advice from a true publishing-industry insider on how to make fresh choices, brainstorm with confidence, and elevate your fiction writing and character development skills
- Plenty of exercises to help you apply what you’ve learned and put your new skills into practice
Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, whether you have an idea for a story, are revising an existing project, or just looking for inspiration, this course is sure to take your character development skills to the next level.
By the End of This Course, You'll Have:
A solid understanding of why readers fall in love with characters and what makes for an interactive reading experience (an essential component of any successful story)
The knowledge and skills to build and nurture the essential "reader/character" connection
7 tools for effectively revealing characters to your readers in a way that engages them and makes them an active part of your story
A firm grasp of the 4 foundations that make up a dynamic character
The ability to successfully navigate the gray area between Showing and Telling in your writing
Tools and methods for accessing a character's "interiority" and how you can use it to elevate your fiction writing
At least one fully fleshed-out character that you can use to elevate a current work in progress or start a new story
Meet Your Instructors
Former literary agent Mary Kole provides consulting and developmental editing services to writers of all categories and genres, working on children’s book projects from picture book to young adult, and all kinds of trade market literature, including fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and memoir.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and has worked at Chronicle Books, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Movable Type Management. She has been blogging at Kidlit.com since 2009. Her book, Writing Irresistible Kidlit, a writing reference guide for writers of middle grade and young adult fiction, is available from Writer’s Digest Books.
Jessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels as well as the #1 bestselling plotting guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. Her books have been translated and published in over 23 countries and several have been optioned for film and television.
She’s also repeatedly hired by Disney Press to develop and write novels based on popular Disney properties like the Lego Disney Princess and the Disney Descendants franchises.
After creating several popular courses for writers, she’s excited to team up with character guru Mary Kole for this course on crafting dynamic characters!
What Students are Saying
"This course was a wonderful tool to help me understand character and character development! It's such an in-depth and comprehensive course, especially when combined with all the wonderful exercises and instructor jams. I'm excited to apply these techniques and practices while revising my recently completed first draft!"
- Anita P.
"Now I understand that character is really the foundation of a good story, and the majority of the plot and theme almost naturally flows out of knowing and understanding my own characters. It helped me recognize why some scenes in my story flowed effortlessly and felt right while other scenes felt wrong."
- Cathy M.
"It absolutely does help author to understand INNER & OUTER Motivation. The wound creates the need. The need is followed by the want and objective - I really, really get it now. It's all so good. "
- Charles S.
"You and Mary are a magical team. The two of you are making my 75-year-old brain giggle. Now, I'm so excited to bring my characters to life. You've made me happy and excited to continue on with the course and my writing."
- Robin R.
"This course was really helpful in explaining character development. I was able to flesh out and add more layers to the main characters in my WIP."
- Claude C.
"There's a lot of useful information here, and it's presented very well, with examples and exercises for each part."
- Christian G.
"This was the best course on character I've ever taken. It really is a deep dive into how to create the right character for your story, as well as how to show them on the page."
- Meg F.
"This is a fantastic class that offers something for folks who have been writing a long time, as I have, and for beginners. Lots of good tips and insights to make characters more interesting, complex and nuanced."
- Kellye C.
"So in depth, so broken down into easily digestible, yummy little tid-bits of crafty goodness. I love it!"
- Kat L.
"Thank you Mary for creating such an AWESOME learning experience!!! You've inspired me and given me the tools that I soooo needed to build my confidence, to write, and create an amazing novel."
- Kellie S.
Course Outline
Introduction
Why Readers Fall in Love with Characters
Writing Dynamic Characters - 7 Tools to Instantly Engage Your Reader
Developing Your Own Dynamic Characters
Wrapping Up
This course is part of the Writing Mastery Academy
Here's what you'll get as a member:
Save the Cat! Novel Writing Course
OFFICIAL SAVE THE CAT! COURSE
Discover the secret storytelling code behind all great novels and use it to outline, write, or revise your own
Included with Membership
Novel Fast Drafting Course
Stop stressing, second-guessing, and revising endlessly. Learn the fastest, most efficient way to write novels (and finish them every single time)
Included with Membership
The Complete Novel Revision Course
Learn a time-tested, step-by-step revision process for taking your novel from first draft to final draft
Included with Membership
Crafting Dynamic Characters
Learn to create fully fleshed-out, dynamic characters and how to reveal them to the reader in a way that grabs their attention and captures their heart
Included with Membership
Foundations of Fiction
Master the foundations of compelling fiction and use them to craft killer novels, memoirs, or short stories
Retail Price: $99
Included with Membership
Level Up Your Writing
Challenge your creativity and sharpen your skills across seven key story elements in this interactive online course with bestselling author Scott Reintgen
Retail Price: $199
Included with Membership
Productivity Hacks for Writers
Learn to "hack" your brain, space, and devices to stay focused, be more productive, and get the most out of every writing day
Retail Price: $99
Included with Membership
Secrets to Self-Publishing Success
A comprehensive, step-by-step guide to successfully self-publishing and marketing your novel, with bestselling author Bethany Atazadeh
Included with Membership
Develop Blockbuster Ideas that Sell
Unleash your creativity and brainstorm "high-concept" book and movie ideas that sell
Retail Price: $99
Included with Membership
Conquering Writer's Block
Proven strategies, techniques, and tools to overcome writer's block (for good!), and become a Prolific Writer
Retail Price: $99
Included with Membership
Sell Your Novel to a Major Publisher
A comprehensive, step-by-step insider's guide to selling your book and becoming a paid, published author
Retail Price: $199
Included with Membership
Fiction for Young Writers
A fun, interactive workshop to help young writers unlock their creativity, improve their craft, and write better stories (ages 9+)
Retail Price: $49
Included with Membership
All Future Courses
Members of Writing Mastery Academy always get first-look access to all future courses, with no change in membership price
2. Access to the Writing Mastery Community
($1,799 Value)
You're not in this alone
Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but it doesn't have to be. As a Writing Mastery member, you'll become part of a thriving, positive community of writers of all skill levels, from around the world. With dedicated topic areas for each course, plus topics for staying accountable to achieving your goals, finding critique partners, discussing specific genres, or just talking shop, the Community is there to support you on every step of your writing journey.
Course Topics
Share progress, ask questions, answer questions, and chat with fellow writers taking the same course as you
Genre Discussions
Chat with other writers working on similar projects in your genre
Writing Sprints
Why write alone? Join a scheduled sprint, or create one any time to challenge and motivate yourself to write more!
Monthly Challenges
Fun and motivating challenges every month to help you stay motivated and get to know your fellow members
Critique Partners
Find critique partners and beta readers to help you get more eyes on your work
Goals & Accountability
Simply announcing your goals to others has a HUGE impact on your success. And you've got a place just for this!
Writers Only
This is not a Facebook group. It's a community of 100% writers, so there are no distractions
A few posts from our members:
3. Monthly "Members Only" Webinars + Recordings
($1,499 Value)
Get access to live, monthly webinars on specific writing topics. Most webinars end with a Q&A session, which gives you a chance to get your questions answered by industry experts. Can't join live? No worries! Recordings of every webinar are available to watch (or rewatch) anytime.
Here are a few of the webinars available to watch now:
4. "Office Hours" with Instructors & Guests
($799 Value)
Get Your Writing Questions Answered
Bring your questions to our live "Office Hours" webinars, where instructors and special guests spend time dedicated to answering member questions.
BONUS: Searchable Q&As from Office Hours & Webinars
($499 Value)
Get Answers Fast from our Growing Library of Answered Questions
We take the top questions from all our Office Hours and Webinars, edit them into their own mini-lectures, and categorize them for you. Categories include character development, fast drafting, NaNoWriMo, pacing, point of view, revising, writing process, worldbuilding, and more. It's very likely we've answered a question similar to yours, so this is a great resource to get answers fast!
Here's a sample of the available questions:
Character Development
- How to create well-rounded characters?
- Does a hero always have to change over the course of a story
- What's the best way to have a character realize something organically?
- How do I make readers like an unlikable character?
The Publishing Industry
- What is a realistic timeline between drafting and getting published?
- How do I find an editor?
- Can you publish on various platforms?
- Is traditional publishing still a viable path?
Revisions
- How do you keep track of your revision process?
- How do you know when you're done revising a chapter?
- What do I do if I get bored with the story I'm writing?
- How do I start revisions for a very messy draft?
Save the Cat! & Plotting
- How do you structure a series using Save the Cat!?
- How do the Save the Cat! beats relate to chapters?
- How do you use Save the Cat! in the revision process?
- Does a hero always have to change over the course of a story?
World Building
- How do you build a convincing fantasy world?
- How do you describe a world in a way that shows rather than tells?
- How much setting detail is too much?
- What's the difference between a world and a setting?
Writing Process
- How do you defeat perfectionism to finish a book?
- How do you find your voice as a writer?
- How do I prioritize all the story ideas I have and avoid leaving stories half-finished?
- How do I turn a hodgepodge of detailed notes and dialogue into a draft?
BONUS: Surprise Bonus Content
($399 Value)
Fun, Useful Tools & Resources to Keep You Moving Forward
You'll find all sorts of fun and useful things here like free beat sheets, extra writing prompts, interviews with special guests, behind-the-scenes peeks at writers' processes, and much much more! And the longer you're a member, the more Bonus Content you'll collect!
Here's Everything You'll Get When You Join the Writing Mastery Academy Today:
Unlimited access to all our on-demand writing courses
$1,938 value
The Writing Mastery Community
$1,799 value
Monthly "members only" webinars + webinar recordings
$1,499 value
"Office Hours" with instructors & guests
$799 value
Searchable Q&As from office hours & webinars
$499 value
Surprise bonus content
$399 value
TOTAL VALUE
$6,933
Join Now For Only:
30-Day 100% Risk Free Guarantee
Our Promise: We think you'll love being a Writing Mastery Academy member, but if for any reason you don't, our membership is backed by a 30-day money back guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
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