Photo by Leanne Dyck
Have you ever received comments like this?
"Your characters sound the same, act the same, and think the same. They're all the same."
Every writer encounters the challenge of developing distinct characters. Creating characters can be difficult because they are born from your imagination. While they may reflect aspects of yourself, they need to be unique. The goal is to craft realistic and complex characters.
How do you do that?
What makes a character unique?
During Word Vancouver, I attended Bennett R. Coles' presentation
What are the Outside Influences on Your Character?
Here's what I heard...
No character exists in a vacuum.
Outside influences can be overt or covert
Overt influences are easy to spot (attended Harvard, grew up in Toronto, etc.)
A writer must work hard to reveal a covert influence. Details must be woven in over many chapters. However, a covert influence may be the strongest influence.
Outside influences can interact with each other
-collaboratively-conflicting
To incorporate outside influences, a writer must...
identify what they are and determine what effect they have on the character.
a)nature of the influence (what effect)
b)strength of the influence
Determine what effect influences have on each other
Show don't Tell
To develop your character collect the following information...
Name:
Age:
Married:
Children:
Profession:
Hobbies:
Relationships:
Core personality:
Profession influence:
Family influence:
Relationship influence:
Societal influence:
Other influence:
Even though your character has turned her back on family, socio-economic status, education, and..., they still influence her.
Get into your characters' heads. Of course, characters are a product of our imagination but they must be uniquely themselves.
Next post: This Friday (November 20) I will be reviewing Every Word (YA mystery/romance)
The Every Word blog tour begins on Monday, November 16th. Here's the link for more information.
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