How to Write Characters Who Aren’t Like You

A WORDSLINGER PODCAST How do you write a character who is smarter than you, comes from a different background, sees the world differently, or believes things you never would? In this episode of the Wordslinger Podcast, Don King joins me for another Kevin on Craft conversation about creating characters who feel like real human beings instead of extensions of the author. We talk about writing characters with knowledge and intelligence you don’t possess, avoiding stereotypes, writing across gender and cultural differences, creating villains who believe they’re the hero, and handling character growth without changing the qualities readers love. We also dig into why great characters—and great stories—can ultimately change the reader. Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at https://knoveltonbooks.com GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS If you’re a writer trying to improve your craft, publish smarter, build an audience, and make a career from your work, subscribe to the channel. Wordslinger is here to give writers practical, experience-driven guidance for every stage of the writing and publishing journey. TIMECODES 00:00 Welcome to the Wordslinger Podcast 03:00 What’s new with Wordslinger and Kevin on Craft 05:55 Rapid-Fire News Flash with Dale Roberts 08:27 Amazon terminates an author’s KDP and ACX accounts 09:18 Smashwords ebook preorders and Ingram’s AI rollout 10:26 How AI-powered publishing scams build trust 11:06 Kevin on Craft with Don King 17:38 Why good writing should get out of the reader’s way 25:33 How do you write a character smarter than you? 26:32 The writer’s secret weapon: research, rewriting, and hindsight 29:10 Writing characters who are different from you 30:34 Writing across race and cultural differences 35:01 Gender, stereotypes, and believable characters 36:45 Writing strong female characters 40:32 Knowing what your character would actually do 43:17 Every character sees themselves as the hero 47:30 Why believable villains need believable logic 53:43 What makes a complex antagonist work 55:06 How much should a recurring character change? 55:53 A character can be the catalyst for change 58:29 How to grow a series character without changing who they are 01:02:18 Let your supporting characters carry growth arcs 01:05:07 The reader is a character in the story, too 01:08:12 Let theme emerge naturally from the story 01:10:10 What separates a cardboard story from a meaningful one? RAPID-FIRE NEWS FLASH WITH DALE ROBERTS 08:27 Ruthanne Reid: Amazon just deleted my KDP account. You need to pay attention. https://youtu.be/0nQx4lR326U?si=R9a00I1vRKH8UHvr 08:27 Dale L. Roberts: KDP Appeal Rejected? You Still Have Options https://youtu.be/mLSCoiCcOQI?si=BY_BCXF6gxUKJYmq 09:18 Draft2Digital Announces Ebook Preorder Sales Now Available at the Smashwords Store https://draft2digital.com/blog/press-releasedraft2digital-announces-ebook-preorder-sales-now-available-at-the-smashwords-store/ 09:18 Ingram Finds Success in AI Rollout https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/101218-ingram-s-ai-rollout-is-a-success.html 10:26 Writer Beware: How AI-powered publishing scams build trust before asking authors for money For more publishing news from Dale Roberts: https://youtube.com/selfpublishingwithdale FIND KEVIN Find Kevin and his books: https://kevintumlinson.com Join Kevin on Substack: https://kevintumlinson.substack.com Wordslinger Podcast home page: https://wordslingerpodcast.com SERVICES FOR AUTHORS Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid: https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5 Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital: https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books and more at Author Anchor: https://authoranchor.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.