Character studies: September 29, 2026

The publishing experts we follow always have plenty of craft advice to offer.

Here are the recent posts they shared that focus on character issues in fiction: 

• Freeze-frame: Author Liz Michalski compares the most realistic fictional characters with the classmates you might encounter at your high school reunion — both have full, rich lives before and after the period in which you meet them (Writer Unboxed). 

• The virtuous character: Vaughn Roycroft is noticing a shift away from the trend of morally gray characters and toward more wholesome ones, and he shares his thoughts on how these "good" people can still stir up the conflict your book needs (Writer Unboxed).

• The more specific your characters, the more universal they become: Editor Tiffany Yates Martin explains how to provide effective context about your characters that will pull readers into their world (Jane Friedman).

• How to write false allies and false enemies: K.M. Weiland breaks down the four variations of character misdirection and explains what this technique adds to your story (Helping Writers Become Authors). 

• Watch out for this harmful trope: Moriah Richard gives a primer on the "Magical Negro" trope in fiction and explains both how to avoid creating it and why (Writer's Digest).