This is KAMWyland and you are listening to the 22nd episode of the Wordplay podcast. I got to enjoy a relatively quiet week, spent a little

time proof reading an old story, and pounding through some blocks while outlining my work

in progress the deepest breath. I spent quite a few of my writing sessions this week stuck on a particular scene.

With the climax of the first act fast approaching, I knew I needed to end the scene with some dramatic rise of action.

But my setting, a farewell party for a young man going

off to join the Great War in France, just wasn't cooperating. When you can't seem to get a scene to work,

for whatever reason, something's got to change. In this instance, it was my setting.

Trade one formal dinner party for one CD pawn shop and the underbelly of London,

and voila, goodbye writer's block.

My blog tour is ongoing.

This week you can find X from Behold the Dawn, an interview and a guest post entitled

How You Can Write Authentic without first-hand research.

More details, including links to all these posts, are in the left column of my blog at wordplay-

dash K-M-Yland, that's W-E-I-L-N-D dot blog spot.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this week's post.

Twelve dichotomous characters and why they work.

Fiction writing doesn't offer many shortcuts or magic formulas, but today I'm going to give you a secret ingredient in that coveted recipe for memorable and realistic characters.

What is this ingredient?

Diotomy.

If we expect our characters to jump off the page into three-dimensional living color,

we have to give them multifaceted personalities.

Human personalities are wonderfully, and sometimes frustratingly, varied.

...