Podcast: Main Characters, Giant Bugs, and Exorcisms

This is the episode where I change my mind about who the main character of Interface is — live, on air, in real time. It wasn’t planned. Christy asked the right questions and suddenly everything clicked into a different configuration. We also talk about Christy’s very first official edit on the manuscript, which naturally involved making the giant bugs more prominent. And somehow we end up discussing exorcisms as unhealthy life goals. You know, normal podcast stuff.

Topics Covered

• Identifying (and re-identifying) your main character
• Structuring inciting incidents that actually launch the story
• Primary and secondary character arcs and how they weave together
• Chris’s ongoing insecurities about the giant bugs in his novel
• Exorcisms as unhealthy but oddly compelling life goals

Shout Outs

• Story Grid — a useful framework for thinking about narrative structure
• The Exorcist — for obvious reasons
• Alice in Wonderland — for less obvious but equally valid reasons
• My Neighbor Totoro — because sometimes you need a Totoro reference
• Amy Lodwig — for her continued support and feedback

Listen

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• iHeart Radio