Many writers struggle with conveying character thought and emotion effectively. For a character to be three-dimensional, we need to see their interiority – what they think and feel, but don’t express; and their exterior expression – what they say or do that reveals (or attempts to conceal) their thoughts and emotions.

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a giant insect.” - The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka.

Last month I reviewed several methods for structuring your story. Knowing basic story structure is crucial for creating a narrative arc that builds toward a satisfying climax and shows your main character’s transformational arc.

However, it’s not, as I’ve mentioned, a simple paint-by-numbers approach. You still have to figure out what happens, and how you will demonstrate that character’s arc of change.

Some of the most successful and complex stories can boil down to answering just one question:

I’ve had a few clients lately who have asked me this question. Some are relatively new writers, who are realizing that this writing thing isn’t quite as easy as it looks. Some are more experienced, who have been working for a while and not seeing the kind of success they envisioned at the beginning.

With May being AAPI Heritage Month (and this Friday’s World Day for Cultural Diversity) it’s a good opportunity to bring up a real challenge for writers – writing the Other. “Other” can be anyone whose identity you don’t share, whether through gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, age, disability, etc. Writers have come under much more scrutiny these last few years in their attempts to create a diverse cast of characters in their work, and with good reason: while representation is important, equally important is accurate representation that avoids stereotypes. This is especially true for marginalized populations who historically have not only been under-represented but misrepresented in many ways.