NaNoWriMo Survival Guide: Take the Time to Know Your Characters

This month, we’re taking the SURVIVAL acronym from a wilderness survival guide, and using it to lead you through the depths of the forests, lakes, and crags of your writing journey. Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke from Chick Lit Is Not Dead tackle ‘U’ — Use All Your Senses, Undue Haste Makes Waste:

S – Size Up the Situation
U – Use All Your Senses, Undue Haste Makes Waste
R – Remember Where You Are
V – Vanquish Fear and Panic
I – Improvise
V – Value Living
A – Act Like the Natives
L – Live by Your Wits, But for Now, Learn Basic Skills

They say two heads are better than one. And in our case, we must agree! You see, even though we went to the same high school and college, have names that sound similar and write identical narratives, our writing process could not be more different. And while that difference may have caused some pretty major girlfights early on„ it’s now something we celebrate. (Well, most of the time anyway…)

Liz is a self-proclaimed corner-cutter. She races through her chapters without so much as a second look. Lisa, on the other hand will over-think each plot point to death, editing and editing and editing some more. The truth is that neither of these approaches are good for your writing. So after a few slammed doors and harsh email exchanges, we’ve finally learned to meet in the middle. 

The key to great writing? If you ask us, that answer is: Take your time (but not too much time!).

Ask yourself these questions before you get too deep into your novel: 

Will my reader understand my characters’ motivations? Think about your characters as you start writing. What are their likes and dislikes? Where did they go to school? What are their fears? The better you know them, the stronger you will make them and the better your book will be. Make sure that you’ve provided enough context so that people will understand why they make the decisions they do. 

Do I have any cardboard secondary characters lingering in the wings? Confession: Our first two manuscripts (which didn’t sell) had some seriously flat husbands trailing around our heroines. Double check to make sure that your protagonist’s sister/husband/wife has a personality and isn’t just there to fill a void.

Am I being consistent? Make a list of your characters and their physical attributes so you can refer back to it as you write. That way you can make sure your main character doesn’t have green eyes on page 10 and sapphire ones on page 150!

We wish y’all the best of luck with your writing!

xoxo,

L&L

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been BFFs for 25 years. They are the co-creators of the popular website Chick Lit is not Dead and co-authors of The Toast, to be published by Atria/Simon & Schuster in May 2014.

Photo by Flickr user mermaid99.