I attended a writing seminar taught by Robert Dugoni. He’s a bestselling author of police detective mysteries and about 35 people arrived from all over Vancouver Island to hear what he had to say, which turned out to be quite a lot. And it was not only interesting but useful information.
I’ve written a few books now but am still learning and I learned even more on Saturday. Here’s a sampling . When creating a character –
- make him strong, along with other attributes he might need for his role such as leadership, cunning, loyal – all great virtues
- give him an Achilles heel, such as depression, over-stubborn, jealous – any one which will allow him to be vulnerable
- make him believable so the reader can identify with him, but also larger than life so he can be admired
- make him sympathetic, where the reader can identify his fault, not pathetic where the reader can’t relate
But the most compelling part of the workshop was the ending. Dugoni reminded us to enjoy writing, and not to get so caught up in the marketing, readings, production of material that we lose the fun of it. Good words to write by.
To learn more about Robert Dugoni, check out his website at http://www.robertdugoni.com/
