When I first start a book (and, um, yep, I’m in a starting-a-book frame of mind), I don’t create a full-on character sketch for my hero, heroine, and my secondaries.  Some people do. They write pages and pages of information–and if that is your process, hey, more power to you!  I firmly believe each writer has to follow the method that works best for her/him.

For me, I like to think that I create a mini-sketch.  And when I start this sketch, I don’t begin with physical characteristics for my hero or heroine (those come a bit later).  Instead, I start with fears and weaknesses.

I begin with the heroine. What does she fear?  Everyone fears something.  When I start to figure out what she fears, then I start to get a handle on her.  Find the fear, then find the cause.  Often the “cause” will lead to my important background information about the character.  Ex.  A heroine who has four thick locks on her front door. She triple checks them before bedtime. Why?  When she was a teen, an intruder broke in and murdered her parents.  (Hey, I’d be triple checking the lock, too!)

Now, granted, fears don’t always have to be so dark.  It could be a simple fear of snakes or heights–I think these fears personalize characters.

Weaknesses personalize them, too.  Got an all-powerful shifter who rocks at kicking ass?  Well, he has to have a weakness. Doubt that it will be a physical one, but he needs an emotional weakness. Even Superman has a weakness, okay, two (cryptonite and Lois Lane).

Thinking about fears and weaknesses will often lead me to the full plot of my book.  It’s a nice, dotted-line path that  like to follow.

And since I’m talking about fears and weaknesses…do you have one you want to share?  🙂  Feel free!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Romance. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.