Twelve Days of Writing

Day Two: Those Pesky Characters

When some writers create characters for their stories, they do complete character sketches. They create pages of detailed information about the hero, heroine, secondary characters, etc. They include physical descriptions, family histories, likes, dislikes…well, I think you get the idea. Many writers swear by these sketches–they say they are able to get completely into the minds of their characters using this technique.

For me, the character sketch falls under the category of “Different Strokes for Different Folks.” Yes, I do see where the sketches would help writers. No, I don’t use a “traditional” sketch when I write–but I do use a modified version. I start with my hero, my heroine–then I write down their physical traits (the better to keep seeing them as I write). I get some general data at the start of my story–the characters’ jobs, fears. I don’t write too many details because I actually like the particular traits of the characters’ personalities to emerge over the course of the story–in other words, I like to wait and see where I’m taken by my hero and heroine. I don’t plot out everything in advance b/c I like to be surprised a bit–the surprise, well, that’s part of the writing fun.

There is one thing that I always like to do with my characters…I like to take the biggest fear that my heroine (or hero) has and toss it right at her (or his) doorstep. Fear…such a powerful character motivator.

I also like to give my characters particular phrases or even curse words that they like to use. Sometimes, my own lingo will work its way into a character’s mouth (“jeez…”  That snuck into a story during my “Jeez” phase, just like “so”…as in “you are so not going to do that” or “you had so better not be staring at me.”)  I like to give personal dialect to liven up characters a bit.

Another thing I do to the ol’ characters…I give them nervous traits or habits. Example: A woman who pushes up her glasses when she feels threatened. A man who rubs the bridge of his nose when he thinks those deep thoughts. A lady who eats chocolate when she’s stressed…I believe all of these actions humanize the characters a bit more.

What about you? For the writers…what techniques do you employ to make your characters come alive?

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Romance. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.