Have you ever written dialogue so witty, so funny, you actually laughed? Share it with us.

So, it turns out Chat was this month’s fallback host for the Carnival. Whoops.

We’re a bit late with the carnival, so it will run to the end of November, even if another one runs at the same time.

Last month’s was Main Characters.

Tell us about your work in progress

A WIP (work in progress) is the current story, novel, book, or poem that a creative is still working on. Tell us about yours.

Your starting prompts

Here are a bunch of questions we came up with. You only have to answer the ones you want to, and can take things in whatever fresh direction you wish. We’re not the boss of you.

Tell us about your protagonist.

• What got you excited about this work?
• How is your work going? Is it where you thought it would be?
• Did you plan this out or are you winging it?
• What are some of the difficulties you have faced (and hopefully overcome)?
• What keeps you going on this work in progress?

How much of you is in the work?

Some writers put a lot of themselves into the characters, exploring their past experiences, fears, and dreams. Others write to escape. Yet others still don’t fit neatly into either category. Where do you fall in this multifaceted spectrum?

How did you come up with your work?

Were you a writer who was plot first, then setting and finally characters? Perhaps you had a setting before the plot or the characters. Maybe you had a character and made a setting to fit them, finding the plot later.

Of this little list of elements, what came first, what came later, and what are you still figuring out?

What are your struggles and what are your joys, so far, in writing your work?

We all have aspects we struggle with. Dialouge, pace, description, word count, plot holes, specific scenes, consistency, inspiration, and so much more. What were your highs and lows while creating your work in progress?

Now it is all up to you

All that is left is for you to write your post and talk about your work in progress. You can submit via Comment, Reply or WebMention (the latter being the best and easiest, just write it, publish it, and ping us).

Remember to link to this post and then ping us when you are ready. (The ping form is under the comments.)

Chat has the honour of hosting the second Writer Talk Carnival. Our theme for this month is Main Characters.

The theme is a mashup of ideas from a few of our contributors. To keep our egos out of it, we are publishing as Guest Writer. Feel free to make wild guesses as to who wrote what, which we will not confirm or deny.

The previous carnival was Writing Tools & Style. It closes in the next day or so. The next carnival was WIPs.

Main Characters (aka Protagonists)

A story is usually about someone to whom things happen as they try to get something they want. This person is called The Protagonist. Other terms might include MC, main character, or hero.

A protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής prōtagōnistḗs ‘one who plays the first part, chief actor’) is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles and choices. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist.

Protagonist, Wikipedia

Your starting prompts

Here are a bunch of questions we came up with. You only have to answer the ones you want to, and can take things in whatever fresh direction you wish. We’re not the boss of you.

Tell us about your protagonist.

• Who is this MC?
• What is their setting (or starting location)?
• What do they want? And what do they need (if different)?
• What’s stopping them from getting it?
• Who or what opposes them?

Are your protagonists based on you?

Writers often say that each character has a little of them in it.

How much of you is in yours?

Do you stick with a single protagonist, or do you have several?

In your current work in progress (WIP) or any other writing, do you have just one main character, or is it more of an ensemble cast?

How do you name your characters?

Some of us carefully choose a character name to match the vibe of the characters. One chooses a name with a meaning that reflects the character in some way. Random name generators and baby name books are also popular.

How do you name yours?

How did you come up with your main character?

We writers don’t always know where our character ideas come from. Maybe they arise organically from the plot or setting. Perhaps they came to you in a dream. Maybe you designed them like a master architect.

If you can, tell us about where your protagonist idea came from.

Lightening round

Bonus content – the full MC interview

Author Buzz UK has a thread of interview questions for your main character. If you like, for conceptual bonus points, you can use them to interview your character.

Now it is all up to you

All that is left is for you to write your post and talk about your character. You can submit via Comment, Reply, or WebMention (the latter being the best and easiest).

Remember to link to this post and then ping us when you are ready. (The ping form is under the comments.)

Do you think books should cost more or should they be cheaper?

File this under conversation starters.