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Luke King · 09-03-2010, 03:28 AM

Take a pause from writing, and work on your main character.

Answer a whole lot of questions about them. This is the list I work from: sex, age, race, physical defects, heredity, bodily care, temperament, introvert/extrovert, talents, hobbies, skills, morals, sex life, ambitions, secret wishes, secret fears, frustrations, neuroses, tastes in food/clothes, qualities, unique traits, education, family, occupation, class, political affiliations, religion, nationality, social groups, home life.

Beyond that, you can:
1. Try describing them physically, ask why they have particular objects (or simply ask why about something),
2. Give them a particular quirk (from a real person or imaginary),
3. Try describing their environment (where they live and/or work, or both. What personal things have they got there?),
4. Ask how they feel about a certain fact/thing about themselves/their lives (write a paragraph),
5. Lock an emotion inside them (describe something emotional that’s happened to you as though it happened to them),
6. Take the same feeling and give them a different cause for it,
7. Describe your character in action (doing something simple, perhaps, but doing it characteristically—making a cup of tea),
8. Describe the action again starting with I (to reveal the character’s thoughts),
9. Get the character to write a letter to us explaining/describing himself,
10. Get them to describe a stranger you have seen (or another character in the story—what do they reveal about themselves in what is chosen or ignored),
11. Put them in conversation with a stranger or another character and let it go wherever it does,
12. Write another physical description—one that is flattering and one that isn’t,
13. Write an account of a typical day for them,
14. Sketch their life history (childhood, home life, work, close relationships, family, pets, relations with neighbours).

All of this takes time, and it's a pain, but once you know the character, you will find that he/she simply writes the novel themselves.

How much you do or don't do of this sort of thing is up to you, but it is useful to ask yourself what a character wants and why they want it. The want refers to the story goal: it creates the action of the story and gives the plot direction (eg. Indiana Jones wants to find the Lost Ark).

The why they want it relates to the character's conscious motivation.

The character's need, on the other hand, is different from what he/she wants. And this relates to their unconscious motivation.

There are always two levels of the story happening at the same time. One is the outer story, the other is the inner story. (eg. Indiana Jones might need to find love.)

If the character's want doesn't drive the story, then his her need must. So if you work out (at least) what your character both wants and needs, you'll find it a lot easier to make progress, and it is also good to have tension between their wants and needs.

Hope that helps.

09-03-2010, 03:28 AM	#2
Luke King Member Retired Posts: 173 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Take a pause from writing, and work on your main character. Answer a whole lot of questions about them. This is the list I work from: sex, age, race, physical defects, heredity, bodily care, temperament, introvert/extrovert, talents, hobbies, skills, morals, sex life, ambitions, secret wishes, secret fears, frustrations, neuroses, tastes in food/clothes, qualities, unique traits, education, family, occupation, class, political affiliations, religion, nationality, social groups, home life. Beyond that, you can: 1. Try describing them physically, ask why they have particular objects (or simply ask why about something), 2. Give them a particular quirk (from a real person or imaginary), 3. Try describing their environment (where they live and/or work, or both. What personal things have they got there?), 4. Ask how they feel about a certain fact/thing about themselves/their lives (write a paragraph), 5. Lock an emotion inside them (describe something emotional that’s happened to you as though it happened to them), 6. Take the same feeling and give them a different cause for it, 7. Describe your character in action (doing something simple, perhaps, but doing it characteristically—making a cup of tea), 8. Describe the action again starting with I (to reveal the character’s thoughts), 9. Get the character to write a letter to us explaining/describing himself, 10. Get them to describe a stranger you have seen (or another character in the story—what do they reveal about themselves in what is chosen or ignored), 11. Put them in conversation with a stranger or another character and let it go wherever it does, 12. Write another physical description—one that is flattering and one that isn’t, 13. Write an account of a typical day for them, 14. Sketch their life history (childhood, home life, work, close relationships, family, pets, relations with neighbours). All of this takes time, and it's a pain, but once you know the character, you will find that he/she simply writes the novel themselves. How much you do or don't do of this sort of thing is up to you, but it is useful to ask yourself what a character wants and why they want it. The want refers to the story goal: it creates the action of the story and gives the plot direction (eg. Indiana Jones wants to find the Lost Ark). The why they want it relates to the character's conscious motivation. The character's need, on the other hand, is different from what he/she wants. And this relates to their unconscious motivation. There are always two levels of the story happening at the same time. One is the outer story, the other is the inner story. (eg. Indiana Jones might need to find love.) If the character's want doesn't drive the story, then his her need must. So if you work out (at least) what your character both wants and needs, you'll find it a lot easier to make progress, and it is also good to have tension between their wants and needs. Hope that helps.