Character Creation Practice: Observation

I’m not a fan of idea-stories. Not so much event-stories, either. I’m more tolerant of them in short form, but in a story events and ideas aren’t what what fascinate me and draw me in, over and over again. People — characters — are.

I want to feel emotions, feel viscerally connected to the story in a way that is nearly impossible without characters I can connect to and sympathize with.

I’ve read some excellent books on the subject of creating real, believable characters, and I’ve read some horrible ones. Google, should you ask, will happily provide you with a character creation checklist.

I hate those things, by the way. They instill in me this fear that I must know the answer to every single question before I begin writing, so I stall out and never start. I’d never stick with half of what I wrote, anyway. When I start writing, all I need is some idea of what my character wants and how far she might to to achieve it.

Actions tell us more than anything else. I don’t care that her brother flushed her beta fish down the toilet, or her parents divorced, or her boyfriend cheated on her, or her kids disappeared. What she does about it is what makes me care.

If you’re good at reading people, at figuring out why we do what we do, then you’re already ahead of the game. Even if your character doesn’t understand, you need to. There are so many cues in behavior. Use them. Your story, your writing will be richer for it.

Trust your readers to draw their own conclusions.

Whether you’re good at reading others or not, people-watching is an invaluable pastime for writers. Are they nervous? Scared? Uncomfortable? Happy? High? What gives them away? Sometimes the subtlest cues carry the greatest power and impact.

They certainly add an extra layer of believability. So watch. Pay attention.

And if idea or event stories are what you write, do that. They can be amazing, powerful stories. But if you want to draw me in, give me characters I can care about.