Pearl Kirkby asked A.R. Simmons:

When dealing with an array of characters, how do you project their personalities in a way that the reader can actually "hear" their voices, the way that you, being personally acquainted with them, hear them? Backstory? Their thought processes?

A.R. Simmons Pearl, Thanks for the question.

I have to think about this one because the process of projecting a character’s personality for me is an ongoing thing. Characters develop, and just as we get to know real people gradually by seeing, hearing, and interacting with them in a variety of situations, so it is with the people who populate my stories. I try to do it by the dialogue, both what they say and how they say it. Of course, actions speak louder than words, so projecting character by narration has its limitations. Backstory is useful, just like knowing about a real person’s past. However, the immediacy of interaction via dialog and the inner dialog of thoughts is better I think.
I do actually hear my characters speak. I also know that the engaged reader will be able to do that. I try to remember that what I hear and learn about these people will be slightly (or perhaps not so slightly) different from the reader’s. My hope is that I do my job well enough that the reader will care about each character.

flag