IWSG: Getting to Know Characters...and You!
In case you didn't get the memo, since tomorrow is the 4th of July and therefore we Americans will be busy eating weenies and exploding things, Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group will be held today through Thursday.
This month I'd like to talk about character profiles. I don't do them. So whenever I read some great tip on creating a character profile or about the in-depth "off screen" backgrounds many writers dream up for their characters before they even begin writing their novel, I get a little insecure. Like, maybe my characters are shallow because I haven't ever thought about what their favorite color is or decided under which astrological sign they've been born.
But the thing is...I know my characters aren't shallow. One of the most consistent compliments I get on my writing is how real feeling and multidimensional my characters are, even the ones on the sidelines. So I think the deal is that I just have a different process for getting to know the players in my stories. This is how it seems to work: instead of writing out a detailed profile, I create a mental sketch of each character, and as I write the first draft, I get to know them better so that by the end of it, we're all quite intimate. During the second draft, I frequently smack my forehead and mutter, "No way would she/he ever say/do that!" and then I rewrite that dialogue/scene/whatever it takes so that the character is true. Further refining occurs in the third draft.
While I don't do a lot of pre-thinking about my characters' intricacies, I do have some fun with the post thinking, as evidenced by these quizzes I created for the Daves, in my novel Three Daves (currently on sale, details below). I promise they're short, so please choose one and take it...cuz I'd like to get to know my blogging friends a little better too. ;)
Have a wonderful 4th, wherever in the world you are.
This month I'd like to talk about character profiles. I don't do them. So whenever I read some great tip on creating a character profile or about the in-depth "off screen" backgrounds many writers dream up for their characters before they even begin writing their novel, I get a little insecure. Like, maybe my characters are shallow because I haven't ever thought about what their favorite color is or decided under which astrological sign they've been born.
But the thing is...I know my characters aren't shallow. One of the most consistent compliments I get on my writing is how real feeling and multidimensional my characters are, even the ones on the sidelines. So I think the deal is that I just have a different process for getting to know the players in my stories. This is how it seems to work: instead of writing out a detailed profile, I create a mental sketch of each character, and as I write the first draft, I get to know them better so that by the end of it, we're all quite intimate. During the second draft, I frequently smack my forehead and mutter, "No way would she/he ever say/do that!" and then I rewrite that dialogue/scene/whatever it takes so that the character is true. Further refining occurs in the third draft.
While I don't do a lot of pre-thinking about my characters' intricacies, I do have some fun with the post thinking, as evidenced by these quizzes I created for the Daves, in my novel Three Daves (currently on sale, details below). I promise they're short, so please choose one and take it...cuz I'd like to get to know my blogging friends a little better too. ;)
Have a wonderful 4th, wherever in the world you are.
Comments
I think your characters are very realistic and likeable, no matter how you come up with them. Do what works!
This sounds familiar. I think there are more writers that don't do character profiles as a separate exercise than those who do. For many, you and me included, it's spending time with the characters in their scenes that helps us get to know them in a more organic way. That said, a while ago, I did a little profile of a narrator in a post, having her answer questions for a blog award instead of me -- and that was fun!
And I do both with my characters. With some I know a detailed background about them, including their astrological sign (since I deal with prophets :D ), and others I get to know them as I write. I don't think there's any one formula for writing. Lots of ways to get to the end product. It's all about the revision in most cases anyway.
Happy 4th!
Love,
Lola J. Junebutt
I don't plan out my characters either - they show themselves to me through their actions, and surprise me sometimes, too!
No fuss with astrological charts, hair and eye color and complex back stories going back to how their grandparents met. All that would just serve as a distraction for me. When I worldbuild, it's because I don't know what to write.
Happy 4th, Nicki.
Hope you enjoy letting off explosives somewhere thrilling : oops we foreign persons arent supposed to call them explosIVES;that gets homeland security upset: enjoy your exploSIONS.
I have a character that started out as a despicable bad guy; and had I developed a character profile for him prior to getting to know him, I never would have written such a unique character.
I think if you absolutely need the guideline to get started, then it is the right thing for you as a writer. I've found that plotters and pantsters write at about the same pace; so the difference in styles doesn't mean anything more than which back road you take to the grocery store.
In the end, a great novel gets written, and revised and submitted, and goes where ever it goes.
......dhole
And you are so right...everybody's process is different. I don't do character studies either and yet I know each and every one of them inside and out. There is no one right way!
I've always created detailed character profiles before I ever begin writing and often before I begin creating the story. But if your way works, stick to it.
Cute quiz! I don't do character sketches either. My feeling is that I get to know the characters as I go. And when I edit, I can enhance them.