Character Interview

Thank you to everyone who commented on Wednesday's post about first or third person POV. You all had such helpful suggestions. I did some experimenting as many people said I should. I wrote the opening in third person. It started out just fine until about the third paragraph when I felt like it was falling flat. So I kept that opening on the page but went back and started over in first person. At first it was pretty much identical, switching "she" for "I" and whatnot. I wasn't happy. So I took Brenda's suggestion to interview my MC. Thank Brenda! This was such an eye opening experience. (If you haven't checked out Brenda's blog, you need to.)

I put my laptop aside and said out loud--like the crazy writer I am--"Jodi, do you want to tell this story or should I?" Yes, I was literally talking to my MC. And thankfully, she answered. She isn't a pushy character, but she politely asked me to step aside and get out of her way. She has a story to tell, and she needs to tell it her way. So I got rid of my two mediocre drafts, erasing them completely, and I told Jodi to start talking. And immediately, I realized she's a better storyteller than I am. I'm okay with that since I created her.

Now I realize that I sound a little nuts here, but I think many of you understand where I'm coming from. My characters need to take over. They need to take the reins and tell their own stories. So Brenda's suggestion to interview my MC really helped. I had to flat out ask Jodi what she wanted.

Do you ever interview your characters, even if it's just to ask them one big question to get the story started? Do you make character collages? How do you get to know your characters well enough to let them take control of their own stories?