How to SHAKE Your Characters’ Beliefs! #author #writing #writingtips #publishing #writer

How to destroy your character's worldview. Number 1, know the difference between morals and ideology. Ideology is your character's belief about how the world works and what is fundamentally right and wrong. Morals are downstream, the rules for how they act on that ideology. Number 2, stop attacking the rules. Telling a character they broke a rule or might lose their job never touches what they actually believe. A worldview is what you build your identity on. That is what you have to attack. Number 3, aim the attack at the belief itself. Deliver something that makes the character wonder if the thing they've built their life on is even true. This is how you attack their identity. Number 4, crack the foundation. Don't destroy it. Their belief is a house they've built on a concrete foundation. Your attack is a sledgehammer that sends cracks through it. That crack is your inciting incident, so make it show up in the scene through an action or an object, not just a speech about the belief. If you want more on building characters that readers can't shake, subscribe and like for more writing tips.