I spend a lot of time pondering the depths, not the depths of the oceans or the depths of space but the depths of stories. As an editor, I’m often sent stories that are working well. They have a glint of originality. They have a journey from A to B. But they aren’t quite singing as they might. When I put my own stories in a drawer and revisit them after a several months, I often find the same thing. They are slightly see-through, slightly thin.
Matt Kendrick as usual goes way beyond the usual craft essay. There is more depth, more smarts, and more style here than just about anywhere. I was especially struck by the focus on motives of characters. We speculate and mull on the motives of actual people all the time (spouses, kids, celebrity-strangers). Surely it is just as natural to uncover the motives of our fictional people… because, after all, we want them to see him real.
Hi. Only signed up recently but finding your newsletters informative, interesting and entertaining. Very grateful for the downloads you offer on your site and also the questions to ask yourself in order to create depth. I will try to promote you through the Bournemouth Writing Festival website.
Thanks Matt. Brilliant and insightful as always and as I’m just starting a new novel I’ll use lots of this. A way I always add depth to a character is to uncover a secret they’re keeping. I do a writing exercise in their first person voice from the sentence starter: I’ve never told anyone this before...
Thanks. I enjoyed and learned from that. Currently editing my second novel, I am encouraged that the trivial details I add to ‘layer’ my characters don’t all need to be removed. Not yet, at least. A proper editor may think differently.
Matt Kendrick as usual goes way beyond the usual craft essay. There is more depth, more smarts, and more style here than just about anywhere. I was especially struck by the focus on motives of characters. We speculate and mull on the motives of actual people all the time (spouses, kids, celebrity-strangers). Surely it is just as natural to uncover the motives of our fictional people… because, after all, we want them to see him real.
Hi. Only signed up recently but finding your newsletters informative, interesting and entertaining. Very grateful for the downloads you offer on your site and also the questions to ask yourself in order to create depth. I will try to promote you through the Bournemouth Writing Festival website.
Thanks Matt. Excellent advice for creating depth in a story. I have some short stories I’d like to go back to and examine with this in mind. Ali
Thanks Matt. Brilliant and insightful as always and as I’m just starting a new novel I’ll use lots of this. A way I always add depth to a character is to uncover a secret they’re keeping. I do a writing exercise in their first person voice from the sentence starter: I’ve never told anyone this before...
Thanks. I enjoyed and learned from that. Currently editing my second novel, I am encouraged that the trivial details I add to ‘layer’ my characters don’t all need to be removed. Not yet, at least. A proper editor may think differently.
Nick