All this summer, I have been working hard on a secret project that combines two of my favorite things: archetypes and guided meditation. Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am releasing six Archetypal Character Guided Meditations! Based on the six transformational character arcs that I shared in my book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs, these meditations […]
September 25, 2023 by 155 Comments CharactersAnnouncing Archetypal Character Guided Meditations! (+Giveaway)
July 3, 2023 by 31 Comments CharactersA New Way to Think About the Lie the Character Believes
One of the simplest entry points to understanding how story works is the Lie the Character Believes. It is the fulcrum of any character arc or thematic discussion within a story. It’s also the gasoline in the engine of a character’s inner conflict—and, by extension, it can either power the outer conflict or at least […]
June 19, 2023 by 49 Comments CharactersWhat’s the Difference? Your Character’s Ghost vs. Wound vs. Lie vs. Weakness
One of the major keys to engineering characters who can create reader-favorite moments is understanding your characters’ weaknesses. But those weaknesses seem to be known, in writer terminology, by a dizzying array of names, including “ghost,” “wound,” and “lie.” What’s the difference? And which goes where in the story, and how do they each operate […]
May 29, 2023 by 28 Comments Characters5 Ways to Use Your Character’s Shadows to Power Your Story
Complex characters mirror real-life humans in their contradictions of inner light and dark. As writers, it is our job to create these contrasts in ways that become cohesive and thematically meaningful. One of the simplest—and most effective—ways to do this is to explore shadow theory. In last week’s post, we talked about the concept of […]
May 22, 2023 by 53 Comments CharactersHow to Create Insanely Complex Characters Using “Shadow Theory”
Complex characters are the beating heart of good fiction. The simplest and most effective ways to engineer this complexity is to create contrast, and one of the most intuitive tools a writer can use for identifying which contrasting elements are organic to any given character or story situation is… shadow theory. The “shadow” is a […]
March 27, 2023 by 30 Comments CharactersHow Archetypes Changed My Life and My Writing
Story and life are inextricably linked. To write better stories, we study life. And to live better lives, we study stories. There are many obvious reasons why this is so. Stories, after all, are meant to be relatively accurate reflections of life. However, the more I study story theory, the deeper the rabbit hole seems […]
October 17, 2022 by 21 Comments Characters9 Negative Character Arcs in the Enneagram
The Enneagram personality theory is a wonderful tool for writers. Beneath the surface of the system’s nine types, you can find development guides that include all the working parts of solid transformational character arcs. Last week, we discussed the positive character arcs in the Enneagram. Today, we’re going to look at the flipside: nine negative […]
October 10, 2022 by 54 Comments Characters9 Positive Character Arcs in the Enneagram
Character arcs aren’t just the stuff of good fiction. They’re also the essence of all personal growth and transformation. Little wonder, then, that some of the best shortcuts writers can find for identifying the most powerful character-arc options are those found in personal development tools such as the Enneagram. These days, most of us are […]
February 14, 2022 by 33 Comments CharactersArchetypes and Story Structure: How They’re Connected
By its very nature, story structure is archetypal. It is a pattern we recognize emerging from story. It is a pattern as big as life itself, and therefore one about which we are always learning more, but it is also a pattern we have been able to distill into specific systems that help us consistently […]
October 11, 2021 by 36 Comments CharactersArchetypal Antagonists for the Mage Arc: Evil and the Weakness of Humankind
It is appropriate that the final archetypal character arc of the life cycle—the Mage Arc—should be the one to finally confront the ultimate antagonist within the human experience. This is, of course, Evil—in all its abstraction. As the final arc, the Mage symbolizes the end of life and, presumably, its fulfillment. Because the Mage is […]
