Writing Characters
I always wonder how other authors go about writing characters. In interviews, most of them say they start with a character. They come up with an idea for someone and see where it takes them.
That happened to me with my first two Donne novels. I started with Donne. Where is he in his life? What's he doing? Okay, now what can come in an really shake up that status quo for the 250 pages or so?
This book, however, was different. I had a scene in mind. I thought I had a character, but as I've been going from draft to draft, I've realized I had a character type. But the actual character wasn't there. He needed to be developed.
Each draft I've learned a little more about him.
And here's the funny thing.
Once I figured him out? I needed to figure out another 7 or 8 characters.
That's why revision is so important. I have been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I've been trying to fit my characters to the action and that's always wrong.
A good reader will notice it. And that's why my agent is so helpful. His instincts are good and he can tell when a character isn't doing what he's supposed to be.
So, I've got five deep characters. And I'm trying to make two more deep as well.
Only then can motivations be believable. Only then will a reader be willing to follow these people through hell.
What do you writers think? How do you go about creating characters? Does it come before all the writing? Or does it come in the revisions?
That happened to me with my first two Donne novels. I started with Donne. Where is he in his life? What's he doing? Okay, now what can come in an really shake up that status quo for the 250 pages or so?
This book, however, was different. I had a scene in mind. I thought I had a character, but as I've been going from draft to draft, I've realized I had a character type. But the actual character wasn't there. He needed to be developed.
Each draft I've learned a little more about him.
And here's the funny thing.
Once I figured him out? I needed to figure out another 7 or 8 characters.
That's why revision is so important. I have been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I've been trying to fit my characters to the action and that's always wrong.
A good reader will notice it. And that's why my agent is so helpful. His instincts are good and he can tell when a character isn't doing what he's supposed to be.
So, I've got five deep characters. And I'm trying to make two more deep as well.
Only then can motivations be believable. Only then will a reader be willing to follow these people through hell.
What do you writers think? How do you go about creating characters? Does it come before all the writing? Or does it come in the revisions?
Labels: Characters, Creating Characters, Revisions, Writing, Writing Book 3
posted by Dave White at 8:00 AM
3 Comments:
With my first book, I had two similar experiences. First, I had a scene. All I knew what which characters were in the scene. I made the decision that I'd write the story chronologically and get to the scene in the course of writing the book. By doing so, the characters I saw came alive (since the scene is in Act III) through the course of writing. They were kind of like cardboard cutouts and, in the process of writing all the chapters that led up to it, the people became real.
Word verification: thinker
I usually know the main character pretty well but everyone else is developed on the fly. In the early stages they tend to be one dimensional but as I start combining two or three flat characters I get some good well developed characters
It takes a lot of time to develop characters that have a relevant, believable, and interesting soul. I find that the best revisions come when I'm taking a dump and the layers of the character come away like the poo out of my butt.
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