#199. Struggling With Flat Characters? These 5 Books Will Transform Your Writing

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Master character development with these five must-read books that transform static characters from boring to brilliant. You've created characters with compelling backstories, but somehow, they still feel... flat. They move through your plot but don't feel like real people. Here's the thing: character development is what makes readers fall in love with your story, not just read it. But it's also one of the trickiest parts of fiction writing. That’s why today, I'm sharing five books that have c...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you ever wondered why some writing advice leaves you more confused than when you started?
0:04.8	Or maybe you've been stuck trying to figure out exactly what steps to take next in your writing
0:09.6	journey? Either way, I've got something fun and super insightful for you. I created a free quiz that
0:15.3	will help you discover your exact next steps to move forward with your novel in just 30 seconds.
0:20.8	All you have to do is answer
0:21.9	a few quick questions and then bam. You'll get a personalized roadmap tailored specifically to
0:27.0	where you are in your writing journey right now. Plus, I'll send you a customized 10-episode
0:32.2	podcast playlist, as well as additional resources specifically chosen for where you're at to help you start making
0:38.4	lots of progress and get to that next big milestone, whether that's finishing your first draft,
0:43.4	revising your novel, or publishing your book. So if you're curious, head over to savannahgilbo.com
0:49.1	forward slash quiz to take the quiz now. One more time, that's savannah gilbo.com forward slash quiz to take the quiz
0:56.1	and get a personalized roadmap tailored to where you're at in your writing, editing, or publishing
1:00.6	journey. The other thing I really love about it is there's a chapter on brainstorming the
1:05.2	antagonist journey and I love this because writers will often spend a lot of time developing
1:10.0	their protagonist
1:10.8	and completely neglect their antagonist's emotional wounds and trauma.
1:15.1	And this is really such a great way to create an antagonist or a villain who has more
1:19.2	depth than just being evil for the sake of evil.
1:22.0	I mean, even if they do bad or evil deeds, they're probably someone who's past created
1:26.4	some kind of twisted logic that drives their
1:28.8	actions.
1:32.0	Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help
	...

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