Develop a character you can learn something from. I am personally in love with everything self-inventive and goal-related and knowledge seeking. It is so true that we totally don’t know what it is that we do not know. I think knowledge is phenomenal and it definitely is power and thus powerful! That being said it is rather difficult to set out time to learn something new every day. Grouping is a great way to get a lot done at once — its like focused multitasking if you will. If you choose characters that have some ways or know to or know how about something you don’t it becomes a “two birds one stone” type of endeavor. You develop your character, hopefully, this moves your story forward, it reconfirms what you knew all along (Uh that you’re a boss doing boss things duh) and gets you back on the availability list for new knowledge. It’s right along the lines of that saying that goes “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” Sometimes as writers our characters ARE who we are spending the most time with. I know it is starting to sound a little weird and antisocial but stick it out with me for a sec. Sometimes you have to ask that character questions to see who she/he really is. I have started a few stories where my character just did not turn out to be who I thought she would and in getting to know her I learned some new things. Kinda like meeting a new person for the first time and being fascinated by what they were able to teach you. There is some truth to having to write about what you know but you can make it so you know more tomorrow than you did yesterday and that’s growth. See, didn’t even have to pay a million dollars for a course.
D's Quest for Extraordinary Pebbles 