Discover the SECRET TECHNIQUE professional, award-winning writers use to Create INCREDIBLY compelling, UNFORGETTABLE characters - EVERY TIME! Character work is one of the most demanding, frustrating, yet important tasks for a writer. Your characters serve as a mental link between the reader and the world you've created. Flat, boring or uninspired characters will instantly turn off even the most devout fan. Readers will often forgive a boring plot as long if they can CONNECT with your characters. Why? At the end of the day, a story with memorable, interesting characters taking memorable, interesting actions will ALWAYS be a MEMORABLE, INTERESTING STORY. From Romeo and Juliet to The Great Gatsby, or Harry Potter, The Hunger Games (or even Fifty Shades of Grey), it's the characters and the choices they made ultimately comprise the HEART of the narrative. What we remember is larger-than-life Jay Gatsby and his immense love for Daisy. Fierce heroine Katniss, who willingly threw herself into the gauntlet to protect her sister from sure death. Darth Vader. Hannibal Lector. Rocky Balboa. Michael Corleone. Count Dracula. Ebenezer Scrooge. It's All About Character. Thing is, there's still that quality about good character work that just seems so elusive. In my own writing, no matter how hard I tried, my characters still seemed to lack that "wow" factor. They all seemed like carbon copies of each other. It wasn't until years later, while listening to a lecture at the Writers' Guild in Los Angeles that I learned a secret that would change my writing forever. While listening to the lecture, I noticed this average, everyday looking guy in a baseball cap jotting down notes. Afterwards, I ended up running into him outside. We began to chat about movies, writing, etc. and he suggested that we take the conversation to a small café across the street. Despite the fact that he appeared so normal, there seemed to be some mystical quality about him, something that suggested a deep knowledge beneath that rather mundane baseball cap. At the café, he asked me about my biggest hang-ups about writing. I told him that I was having a hard time creating interesting characters. He laughed, and said something I'll never forget: "You're Having Problems Creating Interesting Characters Because You're Refusing to Look Beyond YOURSELF as the Source. Take a look Around, Right Now. We're SURROUNDED by Interesting Characters." And he was right. As I began to look around the café, I began to notice the incredible amount of diverse, deep, rich personalities surrounding me. He told me that "all good character work begins with understanding other people." We concluded our chat and went our separate ways. Later, I realized who my "mundane" conversation partner was. I won't say his name here, but I'll leave a hint: He made his stake in Hollywood by reimagining an old fairy tale. I tried a little experiment: What if I took his advice to an extreme and actually began to use real people as a TEMPLATE for my characters? After all, if art explores life, and good character work begins with exploring the people around you, why NOT use the people that already tick you off, make you cry, or fill your heart with love as a template for your characters? That's When I Got the Idea to Develop Writing REAL Characters, Designed to Show You How to Use STRONG, REAL LIFE Personalities as a STARTING POINT for Your Own Memorable Characters. Even if you don't know all of that person's nuances, remember: We're using these people as TEMPLATES-a jump off point to build a character that will integrate into your narrative universe. Yes, it's hard to capture the total essence of a particular person and weave it into a story. That's why part of our process requires you to put your original "spin" on that character. We provide you with the BUILDING BLOCKS. It's still your job to add that quintessential spark that makes the character your own.