If your readers don't care about your characters,
you're sunk. Readers don't necessarily have to like
all of your characters, but they have to care
about what happens to your main character, or there's no
reason for them to keep reading.
Which means you have to care about your
characters, and you have to know them, maybe
even better than you know yourself. To create characters
that live and breathe on the page, you must first create
characters that live in breathe in your psyche. This is
why you need to know much more about them than you'll
ever have to include in your completed story.
One way to achieve this authentic character history is
to put your main character(s) in as many real-life
situations as possible. And because thinking is only the
first stage and can only get you so far, write these
situations out, considering all sorts of details.
When you can imagine your character in different places
and with different people, beyond people and places your
story requires, you make your fictional people
exponentially more realistic within the confines of your
own story.
Start by deciding on the basics: your main character's
date of birth and favorite things (such as food, color,
activity, place, song, movie, book, friend, family
member, possession, game, animal/pet, amusement park
ride, season). Remember: these are details you'll want
to work out, even though they may never need to be
discussed in your story.
The basics is great place to start, but to create the
most vivid, memorable characters, you'll need to stretch
your imagination and go beyond the basics.
The following exercises will get you started in
developing rich, believable, interesting characters.
Choose the exercises you're most drawn to, and really
let yourself go—don't worry about polished sentences or
grammar or mechanics. (You can't plumb the depths of
your imagination when you're worried about comma
placement.)
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: List emotional,
intellectual, and physical strengths and weaknesses for
your character. Include any special talents or
aptitudes. Get your hands on an IQ test and take it from
your character's perspective, not yours. (Tricky, but
fun and worthwhile.)
DINNER AT OUR HOUSE: Imagine a family
meal at your main character's dinner table. Write a
short descriptive scene revealing the average evening
meal at your main character's house.
Now revisit that meal scene and add tension. (After all,
tension makes fiction go 'round.) Perhaps the school
principal called Mom that afternoon and therefore Mom
has some serious lecturing to do (or some serious
disappointment to relate). Or maybe Dad lost his job
that day and -- over meatloaf and green beans -- tells
the family that they'll have to be uprooted (again).
Perhaps the teen daughter brings home a dinner date who
only Mom (an undercover detective) recognizes as a
convicted felon.
The point is: think of an emotionally-charged piece of
information that will make this meal very
different from the one above. Write this scene, paying
attention to specifics.
WHAT WOULD S/HE DO? Imagine an ethical
dilemma that your character finds himself/herself in.
Maybe your character was offered a job promotion or a
large bonus based on a task s/he didn't carry out alone.
Does s/he tell the truth and share the credit with the
colleague or keep quiet about it and bask in the glory
solo? Choose a moral quandary, plunk your character it
in, and write a short, thorough, descriptive scene. Be
sure to tap into your character's thoughts, fears,
conflicts, and ultimately how s/he arrived at the final
decision.
DEAR DIARY: Write three diary/journal
entries from your main character's point of view, fully
in his/her voice and in his/her head. Make the entries
occur on different days and have them deal with
different events and emotions. Try to include a whole
range of feelings -- joy, sorrow, rage, uncertainty,
anxiety, to name a few.
DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Write up your
character's last physical exam report, as it would be
written by the family physician. Include all relevant
details, along with any physical complaints the
character might mention.
Then write up some clinical notes from a psychologist
who has been seeing your character in therapy. Perhaps
your character has discussed his/her worst fear with the
doctor. Reveal as much background to that fear as you
can: when and why it began, how it's manifested, how
your character struggles to cope with it.
DEAR AUTHOR: Your character writes you
(the author) a letter, instructing you quite
specifically in how s/he wants to be portrayed in the
book. Make your character's personality come through
loud and clear in this letter. Try to set yourself aside
as you write it.
JOB APPLICATION: Get your hands on a
job application (or create one of your own), and fill it
out from your character's point of view. Include work
history, schooling, references, as well as the
character's statement explaining why s/he would be
perfect for the job.
Always remember to have fun with these. The minute
you're not having fun, stop. The looser and more relaxed
you are when you try these exercises, the more you'll
get from them. You'll discover things about your
character you never thought you knew, which translates
to a more fully realized, believable person alive in
your story.
To discover additional ways to make your writing habit
more enjoyable, satisfying and productive, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com
and sign up for "Write Through It," the FREE monthly
e-newsletter that offers practical writing advice and
anecdotal wisdom.
Lucia Zimmitti, a writing coach and independent editor, is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various national literary journals, and she has taught writing at the high school and college levels.
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