How do you start to build fictional characters when you're an an aspiring writer or author?

Using Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s archetypes will help you make sense of your character and their world. It certainly will help you to address, explore and deal with current situations coming out of your plot.

Before you are put off by the word ‘Archetypes – they are, quite simply, unconscious image patterns that cross cultural boundaries.

Like Zodiac signs for building characters, archetypes form the basic skeleton of your novel’s characters. But of course, you can’t stop with the skeleton, unless your book is about living skeletons – and even then you’ll need to add flesh and blood and thoughts and feelings.

If you think of a stereotype for your character it only gives you a general idea – it doesn’t tell you anything about their motivation, goals and fears.

Victoria's 45 Master Characters helps you to make exciting discoveries about your book’s people. Using her guide and your plot points you will find ways to show how your character will react to that situation (your plot).

This is what drives your story forward, not the plot point itself. A character doesn’t decide to go into a burning building because that is what your plot point says he should do – he goes inside because it is in his nature to do so.

This book is an invaluable tool for all aspiring writers and novelists.

It forces you to delve deeper into your characters and see them as a type of person who responds in a very specific way to the conflict in your story. Read the full review of 45 Master Characters along with lots of other great writing books.

Paula Wynne is the founder of Book Luver.

Paula's Writers' Resource Series features the following books: Pimp My Fiction: How to Write a Novel with The Ultimate List of Creative Writing Books to Create A Plot & Build Character; A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers’ to Create Fictional and 101 Writers’ Scene Settings: Unique Location Ideas & Sensory Details for Writers’ to Create Vivid Scene.

Find out more about the Writers' Resource Series here. If you would like to find out how to write a bestselling novel, download a free copy of Paula's Pimp My Fiction.

Follow Paula on Amazon's Author Central to find out when she publishes more books. Or you can follow Paula on Twitter and Facebook.