DIY MFA Radio 234: A Master Class on Character - Interview with David Corbett
Jan 9, 2019
David Corbett, award-winning novelist and writing instructor known for The Art of Character, chats about building believable characters from real people. He explains choosing precise sensory details, balancing fact and fiction, and crafting wounds, weaknesses, and moral flaws. Expect practical talk on verisimilitude, using documents sparingly, and his top tip: steal wisely.
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Acting Training And PI Work Shaped His Writing
- David Corbett traced his path from studying acting and working as a private investigator to learning scene, character, and subtext that shaped his fiction.
- He used PI work (People's Temple trial, marijuana smuggling cases) as 'years at sea' to gather authentic stories and craft crime novels.
Doc Holliday Letters Became A MacGuffin
- Corbett described his long fascination with Doc Holliday and how missing/destroyed love letters became a fictional MacGuffin.
- He combined historical research (Gary Roberts biography) with imagination to make the letters a catalyst for a legal-action/thriller/love-story hybrid.
Use A Forger To Keep Authenticity In Doubt
- Corbett kept the question of authenticity alive by making the letters pass through a forger turned authenticator, Tuck Mercer.
- Tuck's backstory (rodeo accident, art-restoration skills, forging Western art) makes readers constantly doubt authorship and motive.
