Today we welcome guest blogger Carrie Lewis.
For over thirty years, Carrie's writing took a backseat to
full-time work outside the home and to her small business painting portraits of
horses and other animals from across the country.
In 2008, she rediscovered writing and, in late 2009, became
a full-time artist, which opened up time each day to pursue writing. She has
been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers since 2008.
Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and political
thriller, with manuscripts in the works in each of those categories. She also
is an active crit partner for other authors, both published and unpublished.
How Can You Make Your Characters TALK?
How do you get acquainted with a character who refuses to
talk with you?
It may seem hopeless at times but there are techniques that
might draw your characters into conversation with you. Here are four.
1. Character
Interview
I have a standard set of 100 questions that I present to
every lead character and the antagonist, as well as a few secondary or minor
characters. The list begins with basic information like name, age, where they
live and whether or not they're married. Topics include physical appearance,
the character's attitude toward work, money, family, religion, and personal
ambition. The list I have concludes with the character's thoughts on his or her
fellow characters.
You can use this list like a standard resume and fill in the
blanks, as though building a dossier on the character without his or her direct
input.
2. Meet with Your
Character
You can also use the basic interview questions in a more
traditional interview style in which you 'sit down' with your character and
discuss the questions.
The first time I did this, I was in a moment of desperation.
I'd been trying to figure out the why of my lead's behavior and 'fell into' a
discussion with him as we sat on the back deck of his house. It ended up being
an illuminating exercise.
The most interesting such interview – and the one that
proved to me the worth of this method – was when I sat down to talk with a
professor character. Since he’s an overachiever and quite proud of his
accomplishments, I thought his office was a good place to start. The interview
went wrong almost from the start. Just as I was about to call the whole thing
off, he suggested a change of venue. We ended up at his favorite near-campus
restaurant, where we talked about all sorts of things. It was one of the most
productive character conversations I’ve ever encountered.
The pivotal factor with this approach is to meet at a place
where your character is comfortable. It does imply a basic knowledge of your
character to begin with, but a lot of times, the process of characterization
doesn't break down at the very beginning. It happens later on.
With this method, you can go into it with an idea of where
it might end up, but don’t be restricted by that idea. Part of learning about your
character is learning what works and doesn’t work for him or her. Let that sort
of discovery happen without too much author influence.
3. Drop the Character
into a Crisis Situation
That's right. Imagine a crisis situation. Put your character
right in the middle of it. Watch to see how he or she reacts then record what
happens. Granted, this might be a short exercise of 100 words or less, but it
might also be the very ice breaker you need.
This works best if the situation is not related directly to
the story you're trying to write. That event may end up in the story, but it's
more likely to be a character-defining event in the character's past. Something
no one else knows about.
It might also be something you set up just for ‘fun’. What
would your character do in an earthquake, for example? Think outside the box
for this kind of exercise.
4. Start a Character
Journal
Let your character rant, rail, whine, moan, and otherwise
express him or herself in the pages of a personal journal. Don't write as the
character's biographer (which is the way most writers write). No. Write as the
character. You can start with a question in mind, but don't consciously ask the
character that question. Begin just like you might begin your own personal
journal.
Stumped for ways to get started? Consider these potential
opening lines.
·
I can't believe things turned out the way they
did.
·
Who would ever have thought X would treat me
that way?
·
I always knew X would come to no good.
The subject might be personal to the character (as in the
first three examples) or it might be about someone the character knows (as in
the fourth example). It could be about relationship, politics, business,
hobbies, anything. Find something that angers, frightens or excites your
character and you've made a good start.
This again implies a basic general knowledge of your
character, but as I mentioned earlier, that's not usually where problems occur
anyway.
Conclusion
These are four of my favorite methods. There are others, of
course, but these will get you started.
Whatever method you use, the most important thing – in fact
the KEY – is to be patient. You may need to coax a reluctant character into
confiding in you. That's okay. Not every person you meet on the street spills
their life story to you on the first encounter.
Chances
are, your characters won't either.
