know your characters
We all have favorite characters we'd love to meet even though they only exist on a page and in our heads. And, what do all these favorite characters have in common?!
A writer who brought them to life with internal thoughts and feelings and conflict and quirks and depth and personality and relationships. Just like all things with writing, there is so much behind the scenes work happening that you don't even GET TO SHARE.
It's not interesting for me to share what Luna ate for breakfast before the Game. But I know it. Because knowing everything about your main characters helps make them characters your readers will care about. And, they should care when Luna is lost in a purple haze vision from the beetle-like Shifter (by should care, I mean I want them to care, k?).
This is what worked for me to really get to know my characters almost too well:
Write the backstory. All of it. Even the boring bits. Think about if your character is an introvert or extrovert, what types of clothes they wear, if they speak sarcastically, if they've faced any hardships, what food they like, what hobbies they have.
Draw a scene with your character in it, maybe somewhere significant to them, or maybe just in their room. I was skeptical of this, but actually found it really helpful. And I can't draw. My crescent moon looks like a banana.
Compelling characters aren't boring. And your characters aren't boring either. What makes them interesting? What desire or need or goal or conflict or mystery do they have that drives them? They don't have to be good or bad, but they DEFINITELY should not be boring.
After completing steps 1-3 you should begin the next phase, which is talking to your characters inside your head and/or dreaming about them. They won! And so did you. Got any tips to share?? I'd love to hear what works for you.
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