A Goodreads user asked Colleen Houck:

I am writing a story myself and I want to know what advice would you give for young writers? And how did you come up with the idea for the characters? Thank you! And you are awesome! I love Tiger's Curse!!! :)

Colleen Houck My number one piece of advice is to pick a book or a series that you love more than life and then take it apart. Look for character, pacing, length of chapters, theme, etc., then write down all the reasons you love it. Do this with a few of your favorite books and then you'll start to notice a pattern. This is what you should write. Each writer comes up with characters in a different way. For me, I generally follow the hero's journey and then think about what makes each character unique and different. For Ren, he likes poetry and peanut butter. Kishan loves working out and root beer. Spending time with characters in a series is even better because you really get a chance to develop them over time.

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