Write Better Characters ♡ diving deeper into characterization and character arcs

[@CodyTheWriter]

Me: *sees mik has posted a new video* Also me: *grabs notebook and pen immediately because class is in session* LOVE all of these teaching videos! They are so in-depth and easy to grasp. Thank you for your service to this community :)

[@mikwrites]

😂😂 a high praise comment from you Cody!!! Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it 💗🫶

[@mikwrites]

I'm *_sorry for how long this video is_* 😅I put my teacher hat on and once it's on.. I can't stop! 😂 I hope you like this video as much as I enjoyed talking to myself for an hour when recording it!!!!!

[@nostolgiac]

video ended & my first thought was to watch it again! you're insanely good at explaining things, don't apologize!! i always come out of your videos adding something new to my process & with exercises to do:) whichhh i'm going to go do now, brb!

[@mikwrites]

⁠@@nostolgiacoh wow thank you!!! This means a lot! 😭💗 I hope the exercises are useful!!!

[@lisawiebe4639]

Another wonderful video you’ve done! Don’t apologize for blessing us, long videos are golden. Thank you for taking the time to explain things so well and giving perfect examples that just make it all click.

[@charlyc7888]

Thanks for making it so long and detailed. I love how you explain it with book examples. It's much better than some short videos that just explain the theory. But don't show how to put it into practice. So thank you very much.

[@booknookchats]

Do not be sorry! These videos put forth so much value with the content and presentation style. Keep them coming 😊

[@anniekostell9124]

how are you better at teaching this than any creative writing prof i've ever had

[@mikwrites]

What an extraordinary compliment thank you 😭💗 - owe it to some of my own creative writing profs!!! Thanks for watching 🫶

[@ldjwrites]

I think I have to start calling you Professor Mik cause we all just got taken to SCHOOL!

[@mikwrites]

What a high compliment coming from you!!!! I LOVED your hard vs soft magic video! - definitely was taking notes for my current project. Thanks for watching! 💗🫶

[@ldjwrites]

@@mikwrites You flatter me, Mik. And of course! 🫶🏾

[@flummerie]

This was super interesting! I really like how you include specific examples from different texts and break them down. You have a real talent for not only organizing information into easily processable sections, but pacing it in such a way that keeps it engaging the whole time. Also, I love a little task, so the exercises you suggested were a great bonus! I think there’s an interesting supplementary conversation to be had within part 1-and I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this-regarding how you can establish details about a character through their perspective on another character (or, in a more distant POV, the narrator’s narration of their perspective). To use the “handsome” example (though not necessarily how it's employed in the short story you worked through), not only does the word “handsome” carry individual implications for the reader, but now anything that the reader learns about the character’s physical description tells them what the character from whose perspective we learned they were handsome thinks is handsome. In short, descriptive words can also inform the character doing the describing! If character A describes character B as "tall", this might say something about character A’s own height in relation to character B’s. Meanwhile, if character A says character B is about 5’11”, this might mean character A is the kind of person to notice/care about that level of precision. This can definitely be used more complexly than my examples here, but it’s fun (imo) to think about how any instance of description can be telling you about two characters at once-double duty! And to mimic your structure, I think a fun exercise would be to take one of your characters and describe them from the POV of each of your other characters. What would each of them notice?

[@mikwrites]

Wow thank you so much! I actually really enjoy breaking down concepts and teaching - I have done it or my day job in the corporate environment and this is much more fun lol I love your thoughts on the character description -- it is definitely a great way to also show how the narrator thinks if you're speaking from a 1st POV lenses. I actually love this little exercise and I am going to try that out!!!!

[@lilysnape1153]

I'm gonna try that exercise! It wouldn't only give pointers on the characters - the one describing and the one being described - but also on the relationships between the characters. That's really fun, thanks!

[@fredaswan8858]

I love the application of the different character arc outcomes to Six of Crows. It would be cool to see that tracked across a whole series: so maybe book 2 in this case, or using a different series entirely. Love the content you've been producing, Mik!

[@mikwrites]

Thank you so much for watching! I’m having a lot of fun making this content for you all 💗 love the idea of looking at arcs across series!! Definitely will start to dig into that

[@gerindakappert]

This was awesome! Thank you so much for the indept explanation. 🔥 Now I'm off to an meeting with my characters 😉

[@mikwrites]

@@gerindakappert glad you enjoyed it!!! I hope you have a great time exploring with your characters 🫶

[@booknookchats]

Amazing! Loved this ❤️ And you articulated the examples from Six of Crows 😍 (waiting for part 2 😋) Honestly, this is so helpful in breaking down things while I'm reading, and being more observant of why the characters feel distinct with unique personalities in some books, while they feel much the same in others with their dialogues, looks and thoughts. The matrix on character arcs is a great reference point. 👌🏻

[@mikwrites]

Yes, I love using StudioBinder's matrix - it really helps me to visualize where my character is going! So happy this video has helped with your own journey, thank you for watching! 🫶

[@booksbyhind]

I love this! Please make more book examples they're so useful

[@mikwrites]

of course!! thanks for watching 🫶 definitely plan to do more example videos

[@kihon9633]

Hey, I discoverd your account some days ago and now I’m binge watching every single of your Videos! I love the way you teach/explain things. It helps me A LOT! So please more of this content! ❤️ Lots of Love from Austria 🇦🇹 ❤️

[@mikwrites]

Aw wow thank you!!!!! 💗💗💗 I love doing these types of videos and I’m so glad it helped in some way 🫶

[@TanyaStrongBooks]

I love learning from you

[@mikwrites]

Thank you Tanya! I really enjoy these videos, so thank you for watching 💕

[@tampagirl7533]

You are fast becoming my most favorite riding coach!!! I absolutely love how you approach your character, writing and fleshing them out, this is really helping me do the same thing for my characters. I am thrilled please don't stop. Keep on going!!❤

[@mikwrites]

Wow thank you!!! 💗 definitely have more character work and examples coming soon!

[@kryskross9027]

I just finished Crooked Kingdom and cried my eyes out. 😭😭😭 Semi-spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. I’m always late to the party so I assume few other people watched this video in the midst of reading the series. I’m so torn on deciding what endings Nina and Matthias have. 🥺 What defines a want vs a need for you?

[@mikwrites]

omg the whole grishaverse had me teary eyed haha! and for me, a want is what the character THINKS they need to be happy, have fulfillment etc. and a need is what they ACTUALLY need to be happy which is why if they complete a want but not their need it's bittersweet because they know something is still missing. semi-sweet when they get the need because they are better off and happier but a bit sad they didn't get what they originally set out to get in the beginning of the story.

[@kryskross9027]

@@mikwrites I always feel complicated assigning romance as a “need,” because for a lot of my young adulthood I believed that every person’s life isn’t complete without their soul mate, and as I have grown order I have felt more and more firmly that a character’s story doesn’t need romance or a twin flame or a perfect match to live happily ever after. Right? Like, girl power, get the love interest or don’t, but definitely follow your dreams no matter what. …But at the same time. I’m a downbad romantic. That ending absolutely wrecked me, and I want to call it bittersweet so badly. (I’m trying to speak as spoiler-free as possible here so forgive my cageyness). What do you think? At what point does the romance evolve from a want to a need, if at all?

[@kokoro_flow]

Thanks, Mik! Gotta read Six of Crows before I watch the examples in this video! (Create With Mer used this book for examples in a vid, too!) XD

[@mikwrites]

Yes!! Six of Crows and honestly anything Leigh Bardugo writes are such great books to use for any and all writing craft examples 💗 thanks for watching!!! 🥹

[@taofikbarakat2059]

This is really helpful. All my characters seem to have the same voice😢

[@mikwrites]

I totally feel that - I think my characters have a lot of the same voice until rewrites/edits too!!

[@HoneyduckXD]

How r u not famous??? This is so good 😨

[@mikwrites]

😂😂😂 thank you!! I don't know if fame is in my future, but I am glad you enjoyed this video!

[@sprinkles06]

I have a problem with watching writing or drawing or whatever advice videos, and just nOT retaining any of the information, so I'm gonna hold myself to that now by commenting lol. It's very hard for me to find motivation to write, but my goal for right now is to hopefully get prepared enough to attempt NaNoWriMo this year! So I've been loving your videos, also ur eyes are so so pretty!

[@mikwrites]

oh wow thank you for the compliment! and you got this!!!!!!!! i believe in you!

[@sprinkles06]

@@mikwrites :D I usually write 1k in every 5 months LMAO so I'm just gonna be working extremely hard in preptober to accomplish 50k in one month! I did your exercise of putting your characters in a different AU, (aka the 1k words I wrote finally) and I chose an amusement park cause idrk Disney (🥲) and it went ways I wasn't expecting! But I loved how it flowed out of me, and def helped me know their dynamics more. I would love to do more of those I just haven't thought of other universes. The only thing is that I'm a relatively, new and late reader, and haven't had access to a library for quite some time, so I unfortunately have to click off once you get to the book analysis portions although I really want to watch but I don't want to get spoiled! 😭

[@kryskross9027]

When I watch your videos I usually have a coffee and take notes in a giant google doc. ….At the start of this video it is 15 pages long. Will update at the end lol ❤

[@mikwrites]

We are both kindred note takers!!! 😂🫶 I love it! Thanks for watching!

[@kryskross9027]

@@mikwritesYes! I have to have notes to refer back to, because I am mentally disorganized lol! The doc is now 21 pages long 😎 😂 Thanks for the great videos, definitely learning more than I ever learned in school. 😊

[@aliciawatt1184]

Very helpful! What is the program you're using on your screen? (Sorry, I'm old! Hard to keep up with the new fangled things you kids use today.) 😂

[@mikwrites]

@@aliciawatt1184 I’m just using Canva’s whiteboard feature!!! When I get into “teacher” mode I like to be able to draw 😂 - thank you for watching! 💗