Discussion Question of the Month

Hey all! This question is from a group on google+ that I belong to. It is called, Writers, Authors, Bloggers. It's a really great site run by Danny P. He is beta reading for me, therefore he is great! Anyway I thought it would be fun to respond to his monthly question here and then I'll post it around. Here is the link to the community. Great advice on there! Check it out!! Writers, Authors, Bloggers

Where do your characters come from?

Where, indeed...you see, if we have unbelievable characters, our readers will say, "Oh come on!" And turn against you faster than Benedict Arnold. So many characters can lead to bad fiction, it's sad but true. We may have an amazing story to tell the world, but if the story involves a slew of characters we can't connect with, it can lead to disaster.

So where do you get your characters from to make them believable? From life? People watching? Family? Friends? Memories? Maybe even from your own story?

The best way to create believable characters is to know what you're talking about. Do some research. If you're writing from the point of view of a nineteen year old boy, you should know how that boy acts. I'm a twenty two year old woman, so I would have no idea to get into the head of a young guy. I don't know how guys think or how they talk to each other. I would have to do some research. 

 I think dialog is an important way to shape characters. Dialog shows the characters voice. You can tell if they're grumbling- they're in a bad mood, if they're shouting- they're loud. Dialog is a great way to showcase character traits and to show how your character asks. Dialog is hard to do. You don't want to rumble on and on, so dialog tends to be cut short. It still has to make sense. People, generally don't talk to their friends in proper English or complete sentences. You're writing should reflect that.

People watching! I love love love people watching. You can learn so much about people from just observing how they act. For instance, I know tons of people who like to write in public. This is because you can look up and copy what someone is doing. You can tell if someone is nervous when they keep twirling their hair. You see two teenagers flirting and you can copy it. People watching is such a great way to make great characters. 

I think a great way to keep track of your characters and make sure they make sense is to write profiles. I have pages upon pages of character sketches and traits and everything. You have to map it all out! Know how your character will react if they get angry. Will they close themselves off? Break things? Fight back? This is all important. Write it all down! 

Phew. Good question. Now go to the website and check out what other people are saying.

Ta Ta For Now. TL