What happens on a discovery call?

A discovery call is a thirty minute chat about what you need help with. It’s very informal, and is like having coffee with a friend.

What will we discuss on a coaching call?

We will talk about anything you like to do with your writing. I use my experience as a creative writing tutor to both offer possible solutions to issues, as well as coaching you to understand why you are experiencing the issue and how we can move forward. I also set tasks outside of our time together so that you can work toward your goals. All our conversations are confidential.

Can we meet in person?

During Covid I am happy to work with your time zone and meet you on Zoom.

character – Rachel Grosvenor Author

Craft

Is Your Character Comfortable with Their Status?

Post author By Rachel Grosvenor
Post date May 4, 2025

Are You Comfortable with Your Status?

Oh, sorry, not you. Your character.

Let’s chat about it. Your character’s comfort in their status can say a lot about them. It can be a window into their mindset, confidence, and more.

Let’s explore this for just a moment (with an excellent example from How To Own The Room by Viv Groskop):

Your character is at a cocktail party. It’s a fancy, black-tie affair, and everyone is dressed up. Your character is wearing a suit, bowtie, and, it turns out, exactly the same attire as the waiting staff at the party. A peer walks into the room, looks around, and catches eye with your character. They go over, and instead of introducing themselves, they ask for a martini.

Now, pause for a moment…

What does your character do?

If your answer is that your character makes the martini, gives it to their peer, and laughs about it later with a friend, your character is happy with their status.

If your answer is that your character tells this person exactly who they are and that they should check themselves, getting irate, your character is unhappy with their status.

And so, if they’re unhappy with their status in society, in life, with their friends, what does this do to your novel? It creates a storyview* in which your character is prone to be the victim, ready to take offence, and quick to rise in temper. This, in turn, changes how you might introduce your character and what might drive your plot forward. Think of how they speak to other people (or dragons, depending on what you’re writing), how they dress, who they strive to be and where they want to go.

Could your character’s comfort level in their status be their sacred flaw? (Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out last month’s blog post!).

*Not a typo! Storyview vs Worldview is a concept explained by Jeff Vandermeer in Wonderbook – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, chapter 6.

Tags author advice, character, character arc, character status, characterisation, creative writing, dialogue tips, editing, fiction writing, narrative voice, plot development, prose style, Storytelling, worldbuilding, writing, writing prompts, writing tips

Craft

How to Create a Realistic Character

Post author By Rachel Grosvenor
Post date December 30, 2021
No Comments on How to Create a Realistic Character

A realistic character can make all the difference to a reader. It can keep them engaged, draw them into a story, and even make them fall in love. Think of it, even when Mr Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) was being just plain rude, we all cared what would happen next. That’s because he was realistic, as was Lizzy, and we wanted them to have a satisfactory outcome despite the fact that they didn’t exist.

Realistic characters are the bread and butter of your novel. So how do you make them realistic enough to step off the page? Let’s take a look.

Hotseat Them

Ah, one of my all-time favourite things to do with a character. Hot seating a character means asking them a series of questions that reveal them as a person. Sometimes it can create an entirely new and surprising direction that you hadn’t even thought of! For questions to ask your character, take a look at the two free books you get when you subscribe to my newsletter. You can also look up Proust’s questionnaire, which is full of fabulous and profound questions.

Pull from real life

While it’s not recommended to write about your ex precisely as they are, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t pull from real life and real people you have known, in your creative work. Using characters from our own world can add a natural flair to a novel, and no one needs to know where you came up with the idea…

Give them flaws, quirks, and strengths

People are complicated, and no one is wholly good. Your characters should have strengths, yes, but they should also be flawed, with individual quirks. Think about Batman for a moment – why is that character so interesting? It’s because of his flaws. He wasn’t born with the strength of a superhero; he created that reality for himself. He is also selfish, complicated and challenging to know. This kind of character pulls your reader in – they want to read more because they are intrigued by the person.

Create their motivation

What motivates your character? Everyone is motivated by something, and that motivation should be legitimate. Even a baddy should be a baddy for a reason. Take Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), for example, and his story. We know that he behaves the way he does because of his childhood. The things that happened in his life when he was young taught him to put too high a value on money, and because of that, he loses what is really important in his adult life.

Give them their own dialogue and mannerisms

Even two people from the same place and era speak differently, and even identical twins have individual mannerisms. Show the reader how your character is different through action tags, dialogue, and movement.

Develop them as the novel continues

No one remains the same throughout a time period, and even those determined to may become more entrenched in their points of view. Develop your character throughout the plot, and show that the actions around them impact who they are as a person. You can learn more about this in my novel writing masterclass, where I teach plotting, character arcs, and characterisation.