Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-development"
Book Characters
Every once in a while I steal a few minutes to research writing topics. This last month I tackled characters.
The temptation is to put characters down as strictly human, only in novels. How wrong this is.
Characters are as or maybe more important in nonfiction writing. Non human characters are not only possible but can upstage the people. Even setting can become a character.
A memoir is a way to pass down your memories to other family members. If your family is like mine, some of those people haven't seen you in years if at all. To them you are the main character in your story set at a time and in a place they will never know.
A nature story may have no people in it at all. The plants or animals or the setting itself must become the main character.
Novels of course have main characters. And minor characters who are not supposed to steal the limelight too much.
The same rules apply for all of these characters. They must be likable or someone the reader loves to hate. They must seem real. They must do something and change in the process.
Before any of these can occur, the writer must know their characters well. This can be advance planning listing traits and personal data. I find it works better for me to have a basic idea of who a character is then write a rough draft letting the characters develop themselves. This method does require rewriting so the characters at the beginning and ending of the story have much the same definition except for how they have changed as the plot unfolds.
Now that I have scratched the surface of how to better develop my characters, I will try to steal a little more time to learn more.
In the meantime I will try to apply what I have found out to Ridge, his family and friends. Of course, there is that car. Perhaps it should join the list of characters. I wonder how that would change the story.
The temptation is to put characters down as strictly human, only in novels. How wrong this is.
Characters are as or maybe more important in nonfiction writing. Non human characters are not only possible but can upstage the people. Even setting can become a character.
A memoir is a way to pass down your memories to other family members. If your family is like mine, some of those people haven't seen you in years if at all. To them you are the main character in your story set at a time and in a place they will never know.
A nature story may have no people in it at all. The plants or animals or the setting itself must become the main character.
Novels of course have main characters. And minor characters who are not supposed to steal the limelight too much.
The same rules apply for all of these characters. They must be likable or someone the reader loves to hate. They must seem real. They must do something and change in the process.
Before any of these can occur, the writer must know their characters well. This can be advance planning listing traits and personal data. I find it works better for me to have a basic idea of who a character is then write a rough draft letting the characters develop themselves. This method does require rewriting so the characters at the beginning and ending of the story have much the same definition except for how they have changed as the plot unfolds.
Now that I have scratched the surface of how to better develop my characters, I will try to steal a little more time to learn more.
In the meantime I will try to apply what I have found out to Ridge, his family and friends. Of course, there is that car. Perhaps it should join the list of characters. I wonder how that would change the story.
