Creation

I thought I fill up some white space with a little bit on creating characters.

I love to create characters. They seldom appear within pages unless I know them very well.

I keep notes and files on physical, mental and spiritual aspects of my protagonists and antagonists.

I know what they like to eat. What they will put on when it is raining outside. I know their favorite books and phrases.  I also know their deepest want and what they will simply never do.

I keep my back stories in these files.

Many of the things in my character files do not appear in my books or short stories but I know them just the same.  These things help change a sketch, a stick person or an avatar into a full-bodied character worthy of my reader’s care.

“The character must be produced on the page, whole and alive, his breath congealing on the air. It is not not necessary that we know instantly what he is, for it is the process of learning about him that interests us. As in the representation of any living reality, characterization is rooted in the detail. It is the trifles and what they imply or reveal that create the living entity.”

Oakley Hall – The Art and Craft of Novel Writing

How to Use Setting to Challenge Your Characters (& Make a Better Story) is an excellent article about Character.

I have uploaded a few of my character work-sheets on the Forum. You can upload them.  Please use them if you wish but please don’t share them.

The post is in the General Discussion area in a thread called Character Building.

 

 

 

 

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