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“Success can be a moment, fulfillment is a lifetime.”
We have #1 New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh of The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger duology in today’s brand new episode. We break down Renée’s character-driven writing process and delve into building multi-dimensional characters. Renée takes it one step further and generously walks us through exactly how she sets up a scene to highlight the main character’s attributes. It’s the perfect example of the infamous show-don’t-tell rule for writers.
We discuss why it’s important to be responsible and respectful when writing about different cultures, and why we have to allow ourselves latitude in our writing. As if the episode couldn’t get any better, we dive even deeper and deconstruct what it means to have anxiety and how to combat it with gratitude and empathy.
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“Your thoughts influence your feelings. Your feelings influence your actions.”
“If we’re not questioning ourselves, we’re not pushing ourselves to do better.”
“Everyone is the hero of his or her own story.”
“You have to continuously challenge and question yourself.”
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
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Crafting characters who live in morally gray areas in the “The Wrath & The Dawn” and “The Rose & The Dagger” duology
- We unpack Renée’s dynamic character-driven writing process
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- Specific writing techniques to help build multi-dimensional character
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- How to write scenes that showcase a character’s attributes
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- When weaving in different cultures in our stories, why there’s a heavy responsibility in doing so respectfully
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- Combatting anxiety with gratitude and empathy
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- Creating room for freedom and spontaneity in our writing
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- Finding satisfaction and gratitude in our work as creatives
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- Why it’s crucial to set a clear purpose for your plot
“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they’re going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there’s going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don’t know how many branches it’s going to have, they find out as it grows. And I’m much more a gardener than an architect.” -George R.R. Martin (the quote referenced in this episode)
Learn More About Renée Ahdieh
Renée Ahdieh is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger. In her spare time, she likes to dance salsa and collect shoes. She is passionate about all kinds of curry, rescue dogs, and college basketball. The first few years of her life were spent in a high-rise in South Korea; consequently, Renée enjoys having her head in the clouds. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and their tiny overlord of a dog.
