Please welcome literary agent Mary Kole who is joining us to discuss avoiding character stereotypes. Mary joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in August 2009.
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Thanks Mary!! This was an awesome post!
Mind = Blown!
Thanks Mary for the great advice and the Rubik’s cube fun
Consider my mind BLOWN.
The Rubik’s Cube was a great tool to illustrate your point!
Mary, I take it back. . . after seeing that mind-blowing manuever, well, maybe you are a NERD. LOL. That surprised me about your character! Awesome vlog. Thanks for all the incredible character-building/layering exercises!
Impressive Rubik’s cube skills and lots to take away. Thanks
Holy Rubik’s cube, Batman! That was awesome.
This was wonderful, Mary. A very informative vlog.
One of my favorites!
Holy Mother of McCartney, Mary! I knew you were a multidimensional (not so) evil genius, but your Rubik’s cube skills are insane.
And as a member of the MK mafia, I know this topic really is your area of expertise. Great, worthwhile insights.
Guess I better take your advice and go write something now…
So informative and entertaining! Thank you, Mary!
Aawesome vlog, very nice information
And I have to say, as soon as you hit me with that Rubik’s cube craziness, you became my new personal hero LOL I still remember ripping the colored squares apart and gluing them back together. MIND BLOWN 
see…mind so blown I spelled awesome with 2 “a’s” LOL
OH. MY. GOD. She’s SOOOO FUNNY! The cliche part about agents? I busted a gut. This was awesome.
Wonderful post! Thanks so much!
You DID blow my mind away. Not just with the Rubik’s cube, though. Awesome vlog. Both informative and fun.
Rubix cubes! Kicking babies! This is good stuff. Thanks for sharing, Mary!
)
Great way to illustrate your point (and blow our minds)! I’m lucky if I can get one color complete on the cube. *sigh*
Thanks for the pointers on avoiding stereotypical characterization.
NICE! Good info and a great use of a prop.
(loved the part where you didn’t even look at it)
That was great! I loved the cube trick, too.
I really loved the demo with the Rubik’s cube to show how to create interesting characters. Visual aids = always helpful. And then . . . Mary goes and boggles my mind at the end! As someone who only ever solved the Rubik’s cube by peeling off the stickers and putting them in the right place, I am wowed.
Great vlog, Mary! Very insightful, and I think a lot of people will be helped by this!
Wow. Thanks for an informative session! And to solve the Rubik’s Cube, without even looking? Whoa.
When I grow up, I want to be Mary Kole.
OH MY GOD! First, mind-blowing information. Awesome. And I can’t believe you can do the cube. I’m in awe, seriously. Thank you.
Emery – when I grow up I want to be Mary’s client.
Mary,
Great advice that I will keep in mind as I create my characters! I liked the use of the Rubiks cube to show the creation of a more complex character. My question is. . .How did you complete the puzzle so fast? It would have taken me forever. Amazing!
Amazing presentation!
I love how you went beyond the standard (dare I say, stereotypical?) questions to ask your characters, and I stand (okay, sit) in awe of your serious Rubics skillz.
On a related note, apparently the Royal Shakespeare Company gets their actors to ask some pretty intense questions as an exercise for learning about the actor’s character:
Describe your character’s relationship with his/her father and mother
Describe the last time s/he exacted revenge
Describe a great rupture in your character’s life
How does s/he react when a friend wins praise
Describe an act of bullying (either as victim or perpetrator)
To what lengths would s/he go to secure time with a loved one?
What childhood want still lingers in your character?
What are your character’s deepest sexual desires?
These are written for adult characters, but could easily apply to YA or MG characters as well. Like Mary’s questions, these delve into the heart of your character and once you know the answers, you’ll know your characters on an intimate level.
You rock Mary! That was great. Thanks for taking the time to put that together.
Thanks, Mary! Great tools for delving deeper into character.
You can really dance with that Rubik’s cube!!!
Great job, Mary
REally helpful..actually about to use your questions for a brand new character right now!
I love that you think of characters as friends and have expectations of them. That should be every writer’s goal, to create characters that don’t blow over in the wind.
As for that cube–awestruck here.
What an awesome vlog! I was actually taking notes
Thank you!
Thank you for one of the most insightful explanations of characterization and the errors in stereotyping them. I truly loved it. And will utilize it. Thanks Mary.
Thank you, Mary! This is an amazing post!!!
Thanks for all the helpful information on developing interesting characters. And sharing your own secret-that you’re a whiz at the rubric cube. That was pretty amazing.
I follow your blog though don’t comment much. I really enjoy it.
Mary, thanks for this great info and for your awesome Rubix cube skills. I learned a lot. And you made your video fun, which is really way more entertaining than listening to someone talk.
You rock.
Awesome Mary! Thanks for the time… and for the Rubik demo.
So useful information and great way of presenting it.
Ahahahahahaha! That was fantastic. Thanks Mary!
Congratulations on your clear diction and pronunciation! I’m sure that those friends following this brilliant conference from abroad will REALLY appreciate that.
Your visual prop and analogies were stunningly simple but- WOW – how effective! I’m sure that none of us will ever be able to look a Rubik’s cube in the face again without hearing your presentation playing in the background…SUPER!
THANK YOU so much for this.
Just one more thing.
I challenge you to:
“reveal new shades of yourself” and do another vlog wearing a blindfold…or two eye patches will do just as well…and solve that cube without looking at all…
Did you know you’re a rock star, Mary? Because you are. That was awesome. Well done!!!
Holy crap! The only way I’ve ever solved a Rubik’s cube is by peeling off and re-sticking the stickers. Great vlog, too, by the way
Mary, you’re a genius!
That was definitely one of my favorites of the conference! What a different way to think about characters =) Thanks!!
The next time I hear about a character having many facets, I’ll think of you and your Rubik’s cube!
Thanks for such a multi-faceted presentation! You rock!
I really enjoyed this
Thanks for taking the time to vlog!
Thanks, Mary! Great info! And you DID blow my mind with the rubik’s cube! I can NEVER get those things…
LOL about the stereotypes about Agents!
And this was the Best. Vlog. EVER. WOW! I feel like I just got a whole character workshop for FREE!
This is why I have been following your blog for so long. You’re a genius.
THANK YOU!
I think my mind was blown
This was AWESOME! Thanks, Mary!
Whoa. Great advice! I especially like the question about “what’s in the box at the bottom of the closet?” That image rocked my imagination, sparked new ideas for exploring my characters’ secrets. And I am glad to know about your blog. Thanks for your sharing your insights!