how do you get to know your characters?

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by FeatherPenWriter, Aug 29, 2011.

  1. Mr What

    Mr What New Member

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    I generally agree with this. I don't subscribe to the school of thought that characters are some mysterious non-existant party who can't be controlled or have to be 'known'. You create them, you control them, you know or can decide how they'll react to something, why they'll behave like that, what they'll like etc. You shouldn't need notes to figure this stuff out, it should be instinct.

    I personally don't think things like character sheets, 'interviewing' your characters and so forth are an effective use of time and resources. If you don't know your character by instinct, they either don't fit organically into the story you're telling or you're not in a position to write them.

    If you have an idea for a character but don't feel you 'know them' I suggest you widen your social circle and the variety of books and media you're consuming. Characters are a fundamental part of any story and a good writer needs to have a good understanding of human nature, anthropology, sociology and the underlying philosophies and experiences that drive people or control how they think. The internet is an excellent tool in this regard. Forums are conclaves for the likeminded to gather and as an observer one can spend some time reading these places and see how they interact, think, argue and behave, though of course there are considerations that go with that (eg. online 'personas', anonymity, etc)
     
  2. Dithnir

    Dithnir New Member

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    "In real life you don't get to know someones personality through their age or what school they went to"

    So of course you wouldn't necessarily include that in the novel, the reader absolutely should be able to infer what the character is like from what they do and say in the story.

    However, we shouldn't underestimate the fact that a person at a given point in time is indisputably the result of their background, there has to be a minimal inelasticity to a character's actions based on background or there'd be no drama.

    I'm sure nobody here is advocating writing about a character having no idea whatsoever what their background is, but it's been a very useful exercise for me to indulge it, because it's opened up some very interesting creative avenues when putting together the depth around the basic core of that character and their role in the story.

    An exhaustive background might not be ideal, but to be honest, if it helps a writer get a better handle on things, if they feel their own storytelling is improved by it, then whatever works, right?
     
  3. SeverinR

    SeverinR New Member

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    Location:
    New Madison Ohio
    I write out the basics questions

    Name:___ title (if any)
    Age____
    Sex____ Height_____
    Eye color____(most common brown, not mentioned unless someone is falling in love)
    hair color____
    education:
    occupation:_____
    Family:


    relationship with family:___
    likes:
    Dislikes
    Phobias (if any)
    personality: trustworthy or not, friendly or not, out going introverted.
    neat or sloppy, sane or insane, trusting/not trusting
    And why if it matters to the story.
    Maybe favorite food, favorite drink, favorite sport,
    Prefered weapon, fighting style if unusual.

    small things that make a person more real.

    Not really an interview, although I have did the interview to see if I missed anything.
    Having it written down somewhere helps to keep the little traits the same as I write.
    It helps all the more when I began writing a sequel to a novel and had to look back at the info on the characters to make sure I describe them the same.

    I hopefully will never use half the information I write on the sheet in the books, but I would rather have too much then not enough.
     
  4. Fantasyphanatic

    Fantasyphanatic New Member

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    For the character in my book, I decided first with a name and then let my imagination take care of the rest. I really didn't know firsthand at what his background was going to be, but then as I got into the act of writing, I found my imagination working and forming his background. You can also decide if you wanted to, to include a basic background, and then as you progress in your story, change it and change the way how the character feels about life and his or her surroundings.
     
  5. Phantomwriter

    Phantomwriter New Member

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    For me, when I write my characters, they just come to me. I will be sitting somewhere and WHAM there they are. I have lots of characters and sometimes have to drop them because they aren't that developed but I may add some qualities to another character. Really it's like creating another person for me and I imagine what it would be like if I put this person in a situation and see how they would react. I never tried actually imagining what would happen if I actually met them.
     
  6. Tallandboring

    Tallandboring New Member

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    Depending on certain emotions I'm feeling, I write my character in that emotion.
    This might be weird for some people, but I think it works great.
     

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