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Tag Archives: creating characters
Begin at the Beginning – a Plotter Tries Being a Pantser
Which came first – the chicken or the egg? The beginning or the end? When you write a story, do you start by knowing the characters and the opening, and then write to see where it takes you? (Option 1, writing by the seat of your pants, or Pantser) Or do you start with the characters, the situation and the ending, and write to get there? (Option 2, plotting the story in varying degrees, or Plotter) For the first time, I’m experimenting with Option 1, being a Pantser. Well, not exactly the first time. My mind usually percolates a situation, character and end, and I build the plot and the character together until they work. What-ifs can show up – I definitely don’t outline everything – but I’m still writing to meet the ending I’ve envisioned. It just works best for me. For NaNoWriMo one year, I did try writing … Continue reading
Posted in Characterization, Plot, WIP, Writer's Life
Tagged creating characters, creative writing, Jennifer Jensen, NaNoWriMo, short story, WIP, WRITING, writing fiction
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6 Ways Your Friends Can Help You Write
Friends can be stumbling blocks to your writing: interruptions, temptations & invitations, not to mention occasional put-downs and other negatives. But your friends can also further your writing, whether they know it or not! 1. Borrow your friend’s mannerisms or quirks to make a character come to life. Does she wear heavy jewelry or too much make-up? Finger a locket when she thinks of an old boyfriend? Does he have a horse laugh? Tell hilarious stories that begin with, “but that’s not really how it was?” Does she jump high, punch the air, or do the hokey-pokey when she’s excited? Use judiciously, though – you want to add characterization, not make your friend the character. 2. Tell him or her what you really think. Admit it, there’s that one thing you’d love to say, but you value your friendship too much to really let loose. So give your characters the … Continue reading
Posted in Characterization, Plot, Writer's Life
Tagged creating characters, creative writing, fiction, novel writing, Plot, WRITING, writing fiction, writing life
10 Comments
Discovering Characters
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
Posted in Characterization
Tagged character development, characterization, creating characters, creative writing, fiction, novels, WRITING, writing fiction, writing novels
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