Developing Characters with D.J. Munden

Developing characters is a favourite part of writing for today's guest. D.J. Munden, which is one reason I asked him on as a guest. D.J. is a science fiction and fantasy author with multiple books to his name, including Tavern, which we discuss during the interview. D.J.'s author story is interesting because he found his love for writing while pursuing a different career.

In this episode of the Author Your Dream podcast we talk about where to start in the character development process, how to find inspiration for your physical descriptions and how you don't need to write a full biography.

D.J. Munden gives some fantastic tips for how to help you when you are developing your characters and gives us an idea that many of you may not have considered. Playing Dungeons and Dragons! He also shares some tips for how to write non-human characters and how to avoid creating flat ones.

02:09 D.J. Munden's author journey

07:46 Writing Characters that differ from you

9:36 How D.J. approaches developing characters

10:28 Where to start

13:43 Your character's backstory

14:40 developing physical attributes

18:14 Where to get visual ideas for characters

25:31 What is a flat character and tips to help you avoid them

29:06 Developing the core milestones and turning points of your character's life

34:52 Non-human characters

38:36 How to know if a character is developed enough

41:09 D.J.'s final piece of advice

Head to the Author Your Dream website for more show notes.