In Character InterviewTag

"Characters are Complicated, Just Like People" Bruce McDougall on How to Build Authentic Characters

Bruce McDougall's writing career has spanned more than three decades and generated more than twenty books of nonfiction, covering biographies, sports, and more. But in 2014, he turned his talents to fiction, ...

"I Adore Their Fortitude, Ferocity, Verve, and Heart" Christy Ann Conlin on Her Past Characters Returning in Her Gripping New Novel

Coming off the success of her 2019 short story collection (not to mention her two widely-praised novels that preceded it), Christy Ann Conlin is back this season with The Speed of Mercy (House of ...

"I Like Inhabiting One Character": Philipp Schott on Telling Family Stories, Building Character, & "Invisible Scaffolding"

Philipp Schott's The Willow Wren (ECW Press) follows the complex and harrowing story of Ludwig, a child growing up in Hilter's Germany. Sent against his will to a Hitler Youth Camp, shy and gentle Ludwig ...

"I Like it When Characters Disobey the Narrative Around Them" Seyward Goodhand on Breaking Rules & Surprising Herself

Seyward Goodhand has been creating fresh, eerie, fascinating short fiction for years (racking up nominations for honours like the Journey Prize, CBC Short Story Prize, and a National Magazine Award in ...

CBC Host Amanda Parris' New Play Celebrates Black Women Working for Change in a Biased Society

How do you change a society that seems stuck in its biases and ignorance? This is one of the urgent questions at the centre of CBC host Amanda Parris' powerful new play Other Side of the Game (Playwright ...

"Perspective is Everything!" Fran L. Porter on Crafting Characters, Writing Effective Dialogue & More

Fran L. Porter's second book and first novel, The Wrong Brother (Crossfield Publishing), tells the story of Marigold Iona Anderson, who comes under the charismatic sway of neurologist Dr. Damien Sparks. ...

"I Need to be Deep Inside Their Hearts and Minds" Fran Kimmel on Building the Fascinating Characters in No Good Asking

Moving with family to an idyllic farmhouse sounds like a charming idea, but in practice, behind the scenes, Ellie and Eric Nyland's family is unravelling.Fran Kimmel's No Good Asking (ECW Press) opens ...

Robin Blackburn McBride on the Child Protagonist of Her Novel: "He Said Take My Hand, Which I Did, and He Led Me"

Robin Blackburn McBride's debut novel The Shining Fragments (Guernica Editions) explores late 19th century and turn of the century Toronto through the eyes of Joseph Conlon, a young orphan abandoned ...

"Characters Come to Me Already Having Lives of Their Own" Kagiso Lesego Molope on her Poignant South African LGBT Novel

In Kagiso Lesego Molope's Such a Lonely, Lovely Road (Mawenzi House), Kabelo Mosala is the perfect child. His parents love to show him off, from his early school achievements to when he brings home ...

SK Dyment on Crafting Characters in Steel Animals, a Smart, Hilarious New Book of Queer Magic Realism

Jackie is a quiet loner who happens to secretly be a badass bank robber. Vespa is a artist who rides motorbikes and obsessively plans her revenge on an ex-partner. Together, they find love and a heap ...