Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The Writer's Crystal Ball: 5 Ways to get to know Your Characters



One challenge we often face as writers is creating memorable characters. It cannot be argued that a great character with a unique voice oftentimes carries a novel, so characterization should be at the top of the list when it comes to literary techniques we want to nail. For many writers, main characters come easily or they evolve from an already realized plot. For other writers, characterization can be a struggle, particularly when dealing with side characters or characters of a different age or gender. To that end, I’ve put together a list of ways we can get to know our characters before writing them into a story (or to enhance a character during your revisions). Not only will these techniques help your story, they may also aid in strengthening your creativity and imagination.

1. Pretend you are your character for a day 

Basically, you’ll want to wake up and inhabit your character’s body. What is their sleeping position? What are they craving for breakfast? What are their daily routines/habits? How do they walk? Who do they text throughout the day? As you go about your normal daily routine, imagine doing it as your character. Find their mannerisms, brush your hair differently, laugh differently, talk to other characters in your book. 
2. Talk to your character on a park bench
This one will require some meditative skills. You could play some new age music without lyrics, or just relax in the silence and drift away. You’ll then want to envision meeting your character on a park bench, sitting beside them, and talking. What do they say about themselves? How do they look in the sunshine? What kind of conversation are you having? Are they discussing their home life? Their childhood? What they want out of life? Ask them personal things. Interview them. 
3. Write down your character’s traits and their history
We’ve all seen character lists and forms: what color hair, what color eyes, hopes and dreams, wants, likes and dislikes. Take a notebook and write down everything you can about your character, down to any freckles, moles, or beauty marks. Find their quirks, superstitions, and bad habits. Open up any book to a random page and use the first noun you spot to make up a character trait, habit, or feature (I just found the word “glasses” for example). Here is a link to one of those character forms (credit: Gotham Writers' Workshop): https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/character-questionnaire/gotham

4. Make a playlist of your character’s favorite songs

This is one of my favorite activities. I don’t feel like I can know a character well if I don’t know their favorite songs, so I make a playlist of what they would listen to in a normal day, when they’re happy or sad, when they’re driving in their car, or when they’re having fun on the beach. This one works very well with side characters as it’s oftentimes difficult to know them as well as our protagonist. Are they edgy and like rock music or metal? Or maybe they like 60’s music and are a bit of a hippie. What kind of character likes club music? What kind of character listens to hip-hop? 

5. Discover their voice

Does your character have a high speaking voice or a deep voice? Soft and subtle or loud and booming? Does their voice dominate a conversation? Or are they so shy we barely hear a whisper in social situations? Is it light and feminine or low and masculine? Listen to different voices on TV and movies, or perhaps you will discover their voice on your own by imagining a conversation with them. Do they have accents? Do all of their sentences sound like questions? Is there a specific word they always pronounce incorrectly? Have fun with this!


I hope these exercises help you with your writing. If you can think of any other writing activities to help with characterization, let me know in the comments!

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