Developing Characters:

Developing Characters:

Hi readers, I am sorry this blog is late. Usually I try to post by the 15^th of the month, but this month has been crazy for me, you can say life got in the way. So, I haven’t done much writing. Today I am going to talk about an old stand by question that I hear all the time. I have a lot of people ask me when I do speeches about my writing, how do you create a realistic character, let alone many different characters? For me, characters are one of the most fun parts about writing novels. You can start by thinking about people that you’ve known, or watched throughout your own life. Think about all the details of those people, their physical attributes, their personality quirks, and their individuality. Think about their histories too, (if you know them). A person is often shaped by their history. Sometimes you will hear of people that experienced a very difficult upbringing. Perhaps they struggled with some major problems or were treated very badly. How did this shape that person, did they overcome the struggles? Did they learn lessons? Did they repeat the same mistakes as those they grew up with? All of these details can work toward creating interesting and realistic characters in a book.

There are other things to consider as well, what kind of parents do you want your character to have, (if any)? What place in the family are they? One of 25 kids, or one of 2 kids, or an only child? What is their environment like, not just their family but their actual, physical environment? For example; you could make your character live on a farm, or in a city, or in a castle, or in the forest, or in the North Pole. What would your character’s life be like, what do they do on a daily basis? What do they think about? What are their likes and dislikes? Who are their friends? What are their goals in life? Are they deep thinker’s or free spirit’s who just wait to see what life throws at them? I always try to create multiple types of personalities in my characters. I like to have some more serious characters, some dark characters, and some lighter characters. Maybe one amongst them is quick witted or very sarcastic. These characters can often break tension and be the comic relief. I think mixing them together is important, it adds flavor to your story.

A tougher part for me is finding a name that suits each character. Often times I picture a person in my head. I can see and hear everything about them, from the details of their face and body, to the expressions they have and the sound of their voice. But it is harder for me to find a name that suits that person. A lot of the time when I am writing, I create a character with one name and then after a few re-reads I think, that person’s name doesn’t sound right. Or I think, I have too many characters in this story starting with M or A or some other letter and then I change some of them. It depends for me too on the type of story that I am writing. If I am writing a fantasy story, I like to research meanings of names and give my characters names that have a meaning that is close to their personality or story. If I am writing general fiction I may not do this, I usually just pick a name that sounds good. Another consideration for their name is often the time period that the story is set in, for example if you are writing a story that took place in 1402 and you are using a very modern sounding name it would not be believable or fit your story and readers would notice! So I do think it is important to do your research too.

Another important piece of helping your characters come to life is to give them some special human trait that is their own. Everyone has little nuances that are just theirs. Some people crack their knuckles when they get nervous. Sometimes people snort when they laugh. Some people’s voices crack when they are sad. Some people twirl their hair or bite their nails when they’re concentrating. What does your character do? I had a character that I wrote once that when he was feeling shy or embarrassed he would rub his hand across his chin and around to the back of his neck. I put this description in the story here and there, when the moment was right, to make him really pop and to make the reader be able to picture and feel his lack of comfort.

Lastly, don’t be afraid of taking the time when your character is first introduced to provide a detailed description of them. Take a paragraph or at least a few sentences and really describe their physical attributes so that the reader can picture them. The reader’s pictures can be different than yours, but they should be able to see something in their heads when they read your work. Remember that as your other characters get to know this new character, new details about them can show up later on, but the reader should have a good, basic picture to start with. Don’t forget too that you are the creator. You can change anything that does not seem to fit the story at anytime. You have the power for that.

That is all the wisdom I have for now about characters my friends. I hope it has been helpful. For my writer friends, keep creating, keep your chins up, enjoy the process and your own craft and remember, writing=happiness ;).