I’ve read many articles and blogs dealing with character
development. Each has taught me something I have used to aid me in making my
characters real. Though I must confess, it is impossible to create a lovable
character - or one you hate - without doing several ‘passes’ over your MS. But
before you reach the writing stage, you have to know who it is your birthing
into your ‘world’. Whether your genre is sci-fi, paranormal, or contemporary,
the ‘world’ your character inhabits needs real people in it. Creating
characters that are neither cardboard nor two-dimensional takes time. Just like
getting to know someone in the real world, or cyber world, if you spend as much time on Twitter or FB
like I do.
So, how is it done?
Google character building and you will find tons
of research articles to point you in the right direction. Today, I decided to
share a few things that I’ve learned, as well as few tricks I’ve pulled from
my own hat to make them even more realistic.
One of my critique partners showed me something one day that I could never, ever write without. She had a picture collage she put together of actors, actresses, and models that fit the physical description of the way she saw her characters. Not only is it a great way to actually ‘see’ your characters in the real world, it’s a great way to reference them without mixing them up with their sidekicks or other family members.
The Physical:
One of my critique partners showed me something one day that I could never, ever write without. She had a picture collage she put together of actors, actresses, and models that fit the physical description of the way she saw her characters. Not only is it a great way to actually ‘see’ your characters in the real world, it’s a great way to reference them without mixing them up with their sidekicks or other family members.
My favorite thing to do when writing is pull up pictures of
my h/h side by side and look at them. I’ll imagine what expressions they’ll make
while having a conversation, sort of like animators do when drawing a cartoon
character. Bringing the characters to ‘life’ is so much better than just
imagining them in my head without a visual reference.
Character Charts:
I’ve mentioned them before on a previous blog, (The Importance of Writing Outlines, Part Two), but there’s no harm in mentioning them again. Every writer knows
the type of story they want to tell and can envision the types of characters
that inhabit that world. But who are
they?
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| Unsure of what traits to give your characters? This book by Linda N. Edelstein, PH.D is a great place to start! |
My first attempt at writing a character chart focused on the basic information: name, age, height, weight, race, parents, you know the drill. Pretty much the average questions we all answer when writing a bio for our FB accounts. But does that say who we are? What our life experiences have been? What events in our lives make us who we are?
Nope. But we need these things in order to create real
characters. Who is in their family? What was their first job? What are their beliefs? What would they be willing to fight for and can’t live without?
What dirty little secret sits in the closet and threatens to ruin their life if
anyone found out?
Being able to answer those type of questions - even if they are not relevant to your story - will help you
fill in the blanks as you write. Establishing these things is like having the
character sit next to you as you type and say, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t do that. This
is what I would do.” Oh yes, that wonderful moment when your character
interrupts your train of thought as you write a scene and hijacks it. Next
thing you know, they’ve taken over and what you imagined would be brilliant
looks like dog crap next to what they’ve shown you.
That type of moment can’t be found without having the
correct tools to get to know them.
A year ago, I was pointed in the direction of this writer, Charlotte Dillion's, website. There I found the most detailed character outline
chart I’ve ever seen. I’m sure we’ve all ran across them in books on writing, but
this one, in my opinion, took it a few levels deeper. You have to check this link
out: Character Charts. (Besides this character chart, she has a wealth of other writing information to share. Stick around and check it out.)
At first glance it’s a little daunting. When printed out, page, after page,
after page of questions. My first thought was, “How am I supposed
to answer this?” I knew then I had no idea who my characters
truly were. I spent the next two weeks
getting to know my hero and heroine. I invited them to move in with me and my
family (yeah, the kids thought it was kind of weird, but hey, they’re fictional,
at least they didn’t need food or a place to sleep!) and spent a week getting to
know each character. I interviewed them, learned about their family history,
bad dating experiences, dream jobs, and things they hated the most. When the
two weeks were up, I knew them as well as I know myself and could understand
why they’d fall in love. I also understood how they would react to the issues I
threw at them. My hero took one look at the original ending of my story and
flat out told me he wasn’t a punk. I needed to give him some balls or else he
was gonna walk. I took a look back at the interview we’d done, looked at his convictions,
and beliefs and said, ‘Yep, your right. You’d definitely kick his butt.’ And
from there came a perfect ending to their story.
Okay, okay, now I sound like I have a multiple personality disorder. But lets face it, all serious writers are look over our shoulders for that little white truck with the 'special' white jacket that make you hug yourself from time to time, right????
Okay, okay, now I sound like I have a multiple personality disorder. But lets face it, all serious writers are look over our shoulders for that little white truck with the 'special' white jacket that make you hug yourself from time to time, right????
Tip:
If you find yourself stumped on how your characters would react in a situation, visit this link: http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs. It's a great way to discover the way people react based on their astrological signs. I don't follow these, but I have to admit it did help discover my characters. Also, try checking out psycology books that delve into typical character traits. The book I enjoyed was, Writer's Guide to Character Traits, by Dr. Laura Edelstein.
Careers, Homes and That All Important Fragrance:
To get to truly know my characters, I had to do research.
Askhow.com was a rich resource for learning about what it
took to get the job my characters wanted.
Google pictures of the house they lived in, geographic maps for the
town, even Craigslist was a great source for ideas on what type of car they
drove. Magazines with pictures of model homes, housing floor plans online, and
my all time favorite, perfume and cologne samples. Yep, nothing puts you in the
frame of mind of writing your h/h’s significant other than the fragrance they
wear. I must say, Polo Black, by Ralph Lauren, is sexy and smells perfect for
my first male lead. I think I’ve actually fallen for Brian after smelling that
scent. I can only imagine how Ebony feels every time she sees him.
So, that's a few of the things I've done to help my along my writing journey. How about you? Got any tips, tricks or things you do that you will like to share? Leave a comment!
Until next time: Write Well!!!
