This year, I'm prepping the story arc for a large novel series. I used the Dramatis Personae exercise to identity recurring characters, and I learned a few things.

1. Characters offer great opportunities for plot twists, because they can betray your protagonist. They can also betray your antagonist and come to the aid of your protagonist.

2. My antagonist is a terrorist. I didn't realize that earlier, and I've been working on this series for four years. I discovered that as I was trying to decide whether an FBI agent who works in the anti-terrorism group would be a recurring character, or if he only shows up in the book featuring a suicide bomber. But then I thought about the mass destruction my antagonist wages in multiple cities and realised she meets every definition of a terrorist.

3. Irony is the best, especially when it tears down stereotypes. For example: a redheaded female terrorist who looks like Jessica Rabbit, or a suicide bomber who turns out to be a good guy. Or a liar named Honesty, or a tabloid journalist who never lies.

Cheers,
Michelle