Authors may have a commitment to writing, but inspiration and enthusiasm, it seems, come in waves. After months of writing, I am stuck and I need your help.
Help, my writing is…stuck!
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Tag Archives: Character
More character development
What is the difference between a novel and a short story: the development of character…the characters change in some way. The novel I am writing will take place when my main character is 17 years old. Through a series of flashbacks, the reader will get insight into various events from the protagonist’s past. The main character has no idea of who she is or of her heritage, but she learns this throughout the novel – in this way, she is changed: she learns who she is, she accepts and steps into this knowledge.
Creating character
I have been creating more characters for my novel and, given the novel has some historical basis, I have been researching too. History is rife with interesting tales. As a writing activity, select a place, breifly research its history, its culture, etc., and write a brief character profile on one of its previous inhabitants – in whatever format you want (dot points, a list of characteristics, a character biography paragraph. As you write, try to find the ‘voice’ of the character. It is a useful exercise to write this for a character who is completely different to you, trying to write in a voice that is not your own, but that belongs fully to the character.
Writing characters
Author, Louise Doughty encourages writers to “…start to build up a body of material-anecdotes, notes, stories.”
Any writing you do can be applied to your character(s), to build depth of character, to help you understand their motivations, their thoughts, how they act, what they sound like, how they respond to their environment. 1) Take a previous piece of writing and give it to one of your characters. Re-write the piece. 2) Try sitting in a café and jotting down overheard conversations, then giving some of this to your characters. Re-write the conversation with your characters as the speakers. 3) Write a diary entry of a day in your life, then give this day to one of your characters. Re-write the entry as though it was a day in the life of your character.
Creating characters
Today is all about characters. I find it useful to write a character profile so I have an idea of who this person is – it helps me determine how they might behave in certain situations and what their motivations are – and this can help build fuller, more rounded, authentic characters.
I have come across character profile forms from 1 to 35 pages long! They get writers to consider basic facts, like a character’s age and gender, on to such things as their appearance, behaviour, familial background, medical records, voice, grooming, etc., etc…the list goes on.
Get writing
In A Novel in a Year, Louise Doughty says, “Naive enthusiasm is a huge asset in the early stages when the most important thing is to write.” She encourages us to write…which is after all what writers do – right?