This post includes the slides I used in the June 12, 2023, Characters: Making Them Unique workshop for ACFW. If you would like to have me speak at your event, please contact me through this form.

Resources/books I referenced: 

• Lethal Intent by Cara Putman
• Across the Shores by Cara Putman, Carolyn Miller, Angela Couch and Kelly Goshorn
• Beyond Justice by Cara Putman
• Flight Risk by Cara Putman

Craft Books:

• 45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt (Greek Archtypes)
  • Archetypes Quiz:
• The Story Equation: Susan May Warren: though I truly recommend everything by her.
• Write Your Novel from the Middle: James Scott Bell: Again all his writing books are great
• Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey (explanation of Myers Briggs)
  • Myers Briggs site I love for writing: https://www.16personalities.com
• Story Genius by Lisa Cron – Ties brain science to developing a story
• The Moral Premise by Stan Williams
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
  • Love Languages Quiz
• The Five Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman
  • Five Apologies Quiz

The Enneagram for Writers

• The Enneagram for Writers is my gift to writers. It’s a distillation of what I’ve learned and how I use the Enneagram to help flesh out characters when I’m writing. It’s a resource with a basic explanation of the system and structure.
• I highly recommend Becoming Us by Beth and Jeff McCord as the Enneagram resource that is applied to marriage specifically. More than Your Number is a newer book that is a personal application of the Enneagram. Her website with tons of resources is: https://www.yourenneagramcoach.com/. The Story of You by Ian Morgan Cron is another great resource.

I hope the slides give you some ideas for how to layer your characters and help refresh your memory from the workshop.

Don’t forget to register for the ACFW conference in August in St. Louis if you want to learn more about the writing craft and more. You can learn more here.