Literary Hub » character

Playing the End: Alice Austen on Writing Character Like an Actor

Playing the End: Alice Austen on Writing Character Like an Actor

“We all have layers; we are all actors playing our parts.”

By Alice Austen | March 14, 2025

Killing Your Characters Is Traumatic: And It Should Be

Killing Your Characters Is Traumatic: And It Should Be

“You will have to do it over and over again, and it will never, ever become less fraught. In fact, it shouldn’t.”

By Karen Outen | February 7, 2024

Charles Baxter on Delighting in Small Details

Charles Baxter on Delighting in Small Details

"Statements, inventories, start to build a world immediately."

By Charles Baxter | July 29, 2022

Alice Elliott Dark on How to Let Characters Change

Alice Elliott Dark on How to Let Characters Change

“It works best when it is unplanned.”

By Alice Elliott Dark | July 14, 2022

In the Name of Love: How A Punk Rock God Snuck Into My Romance Novel

In the Name of Love: How A Punk Rock God Snuck Into My Romance Novel

Seth Kaufman on the Origins of His Hero’s Name

By Seth Kaufman | June 3, 2022

Julia May Jonas on How Playwriting Informs Her Approach to Building Character

Julia May Jonas on How Playwriting Informs Her Approach to Building Character

Vladimir in Conversation with Brad Listi on Otherppl">The Author of Vladimir in Conversation with Brad Listi on Otherppl

By Otherppl with Brad Listi | April 13, 2022

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Matthew Salesses on Writing Plot and Cultural Context

By Matthew Salesses | June 25, 2021

Character-Building: On Past Traumas and a Future for the Stage

By Dan O'Brien | September 18, 2020

Does 'Character' Still Count in American Politics?

By Marjorie Garber | July 29, 2020

On the Many Different Engines That Power a Short Story

On the Many Different Engines That Power a Short Story

It's Not Just Plot or Character That Drives Fiction

By Lincoln Michel | October 24, 2019

Writing My Novel Turned into Cooking Boot Camp

Writing My Novel Turned into Cooking Boot Camp

Butter, Cheese, and a Race to Create the Perfect Popover

By Mary Adkins | March 13, 2019

How a Novel is Like an Orchestra

How a Novel is Like an Orchestra

Nancy Zafris and Marcia Butler on Music, Math, and Stories

By Literary Hub | July 31, 2017

of Political Turmoil"> Protecting Your Inner Life in Times </br

Protecting Your Inner Life in Times </br

of Political Turmoil">

of Political Turmoil">Protecting Your Inner Life in Times
of Political Turmoil

Marie Howe on the Importance of Finding a Quiet Space Within

By Marie Howe | February 13, 2017

I Love Soap Operas (And They Made Me a Better Writer)

I Love Soap Operas (And They Made Me a Better Writer)

Deborah Shapiro on the Genre's Throwback Novelistic Qualities

By Deborah Shapiro | August 29, 2016

Emotional Truths and Historical Lies in the Shadow of the Great War

Emotional Truths and Historical Lies in the Shadow of the Great War

Andrea Molesini on the Stories We Tell to Make Sense of the Past

By Andrea Molesini | February 1, 2016