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| Public domain illustration of Cinderella |
How do you come up with your characters? Most often, mine start with a name. Sometimes I see a name on a TV show, or a billboard, or most anywhere, and something sparks within me. Voila, a character! In contrast, if I'm trying to write one and he's not coming alive, it's often because I have his name wrong. When I find the right name, he pops.
What aids do you use? Some writers map out the whole person before they begin writing. There are exercises, like putting onto paper what is in the character's refrigerator, what is her greatest fear, his most prized possession? These are good aids, but I don't do any of them formally. That is, I don't make lists before I start writing. The details come with the character for me, and continue to unfold as the writing progresses.
I did find a great list new list of questions that I'll keep in mind for the future, though, on Pat Bertram's blog. She's an indefatigable blogger and posts lots and lots of character interview, author interviews, and helps writers get exposure. Her list is here. I'll bet, if you're having trouble with a character, you could go through this list and get help.
When I saw this, I couldn't resist giving her an interview on my bad boy, Anton, who appears in one of the stories in our recent anthology.
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| Jackie Cooper in Peck's Bad Boy |
Great post, Kaye, and timely as our guest blogger on Friday will be discussing emotional connections with character.
ReplyDeleteI must be psychic! What's a book without characters? Not a book for me.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to check out some of the questions to help develop characters! I never really thought about using that kind of tool for characters. Generally I come up with a name I like or I think fits with my story line and the details unfold from there. Very interesting post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Bettie.
ReplyDeleteThe name makes a big difference! I don't plan out too much beforehand, but I do know what the end will be so I can write towards a goal.
ReplyDeleteWe agree on the importance of the name, Aubrie. I have to have a bit more than the ending, at least a few major plot points.
ReplyDeleteI have written character sketches before, because they make for good writing prompts. Sometimes I start with a problem, and then I try to think how certain people would deal with it. And then it gets a little easier to form characters from there.
ReplyDeleteThat's the good old *what if*. A great tool!
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