Slipping Beneath the Skin: Thoughts on Conjuring Characters

Originally posted on PORTALS AND PATHWAYS:

Every author has favorite parts of the writing process, or particular strengths or weaknesses. One of my passions in storytelling is characterization. I don’t like reading books about one-dimensional characters who act like their personalities came off of statistic sheets in a Dungeons and Dragons game, and I don’t write people like that, either.

Yes, I said ‘write people.’ That’s the key to good characterization—don’t ‘create characters.’ Characters...