Tag Archives: character development

I don’t like character trait worksheets.  Yes, I know that you need to know your characters backwards and forwards, but I can’t just make a list out of thin air.  Does she like rap or soft rock? Pizza or steak?  Dog person or cat person? Sleek blonde or frizzy brunette?  If she’s a doctor, is she a surgeon or a radiologist?  Obviously, I need to know some things when I start, but many of these list items don’t matter at the beginning. Instead, I tend to discover my characters as I write.  I may have an image of what they look like, and I may know a few key things about them that pertain to the conflict in the book, but the more I write, the more I discover. There’s a scene in my women’s fiction WIP where the mom goes into the daughter’s room the morning after a confrontation.  … Continue reading →