Who is your story about?

 We all know as readers and movie-goers, video game players and theatre patrons, that a story must have a protagonist, a hero. Your story must have a main character (or characters) that your reader connects to, and if you are anything like me, your protagonist and their relationships with your other characters are what drive your story.

 But how do you craft characters that feel real? That your readers become attached and want to see achieve their greatest dreams, conquer their darkest fears, and grow into someone worth knowing by the end of your novel?

 Well, let’s get to know them and find out.

1.    Let’s start with the basics.

 It’s important to visualize your characters, and truthfully, I think this part is one of the most natural and fun parts of the writing process for a writer. I mean, who doesn’t have a Pinterest board filled with awesome character images and inspiration?

 So since this is the easy part, let’s get down the basics for each of your characters.

 General character information:

• Name

• Age

• Hair Color and Type

• Eye Color and Shape

• Skin Tone

• Height

• Weight

• Body type (ex: lean, muscular, bulky, curvy, skeletal, etc.)

• Body marking (ex: scar, beauty mark, skin discoloration, tattoo, etc.)

• Race/Ethnicity (varies depending on what genre of story your telling)

• Societal status (Ex: upper class, lower class, middle class, etc.)

• Education Level

• Occupation (if applicable)

• Relationships

• Anything else you think create the foundation of your character

 The answers should come naturally to you if your characters revealed themselves with your muse. I highly recommend browsing Pinterest too and collaging any images you find that inspire the way you visualize your characters. You can even make a collage on Canva and save it as your desktop background on your computer!

2.    Interview your characters.

 I believe truly that the characters that live in our heads have a mind (and voice!) of their own. So why not talk to them? Lord knows that’s why they are there, right?

 When I was a kid, I used to pretend that my Barbies were actors doing interviews for press tours (Strange, I know, but bear with me.), and I would get to know their stories based on how they would answer the reporter’s questions. Little did I realize that I would do the same thing as a writer. Just without the dolls.

 So I challenge you to pull up a blank sheet of paper or a blank word document and jot up some questions you would ask your characters as a reporter investigating all the juicy details a fan might want to know.

 Some of my favorites to ask my characters are:

• What is your favorite childhood memory?

• Which parent are you connected with the most?

• Who is your role model?

• Where did you learn your skills?

• What experience traumatized you as a kid? (This can be a legitimate event or silly childhood experience.)

• How old were you when you realized your childhood dreams were going to be harder to achieve as an adult?

• What is your biggest fear and why?

• If you could be someone else, who would you be?

• Where do you see yourself in ten years?

• If you could go back in time and change moment in your childhood, what would it be and why?

• Who were your childhood best friends?

• What are/were your favorite hobbies?

• What brings you the simplest pleasure?

 Asking questions like these digs into the heart of the character, making them real. Ernest Hemingway wrote in Death in the Afternoon that “When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” Making your characters come alive by adding depth and experiences is what will make your readers care for them. The characters will feel like long lost friends. After all, isn’t that why you love the characters in your favorite books?

 3.    Rinse and repeat.

 Now that you’ve made a fully fleshed out profile for your character, do it for all the other characters. Even your minor ones!

 While you may not use every detail you come up with on the paper in your story (which honestly, you shouldn’t), you still want to make sure that you know them well enough to insert subtext. These documents will become a reserve you can pull from when you hit that dreaded writer’s block again and don’t know where to push your characters next. Look back at these profiles and see what experiences and passions you can exploit in a scene. What motivations can be fueled by what you learned from their response?

 You’ll be surprised where the characters take you once they’ve poured their hearts out to you.

 Next week, we will build off these profiles and talk about character backstories! So stay tuned! Don’t forget to subscribe so you can stay up to date!

 Sending you lots of good writing vibes!

Xoxo,

Kelsey