We face consequences...
...why shouldn't our characters?
When we do stupid or dangerous things in real life, there are consequences. Why should our characters’ lives be any different just because they don’t exist?
Grounding characters’ actions with real-life consequences can make your characters more realistic and your stories more page-turning, whatever genre you’re in. On the other hand, when your characters don’t suffer the consequences of their actions…readers can put your book down faster than you can say ‘bad marketing’.
Increasing the stakes
Limitations increase the stakes for your characters. Whether they exist from the start, or you add to them as you write, they can add a sense of claustrophobia and urgency to your story.
If you use internal limitations like mental health conditions, they help to normalise the conversation around these conditions and make those going through said conditions feel less alone.
Takeaways
Whether your story is filled with gritty realism, or the most escapist epic fantasy, this workshop will have something for you.
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Increase the stakes in your writing
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Impact of external and internal triggers
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Ways to get unstuck on your plot
Meet your guide
Bestselling author Kristina Adams
As someone with six chronic health conditions, Kristina knows all about limitations and consequences in real life. She uses this experience in her fiction to help ground her characters and create deeper emotional connections with her readers.
Thanks to this approach, her books have hit #1 for multiple categories across the world, top 20 for Amazon UK, and top 10 for Apple Books UK.
She's used everything from alcoholism to social media to ghosts as consequences and limitations for her characters. And now, she's sharing her secrets with you.
