Yay! Characters!

So, today I sat down at my computer and typed up a character interview. Now, I know I've posted one on here before (see Procrastination), but I have greatly expanded it. Before the list of questions took up a page and a little bit on a Word document. My new one takes up almost 3 pages. Yeek! That's a lot of questions! I haven't started to fill one out yet, but I'll be doing that today, since I have quite a bit of time. :)

Now, let's talk about character development. Let's be honest: without great characters, your story isn't going to be that good. And by great characters, I mean real characters. Characters with whom the readers can connect with. Characters that are more than words on a page, but that seem to be real, living people. If the reader loves your characters, more often than not they'll love your story. So how do you create great characters? Learn about them. Sit down and interview them. Delve into their past. Find out what makes them tick. It's a long process, but it is so completely and entirely worth it. Feel free to use the interview I've typed up (with some inspiration from K.M. Weiland...) and make any changes necessary to it to help you discover your characters.:)

Name:

                Nicknames:

                Does he like his name?:

                What does his name mean (to him, in general):

Physical appearance:

                Build:

                Posture:

                Head shape:

                Eyes:

                Nose:

                Mouth:

                Hair:

                Skin:

                                Tattoos/scars:

                Voice:

                Clothing:

                What people notice first:

                How would he describe himself?

Health disabilities/handicaps:

Characteristics:

                Personality:

                Strength:

                Weakness:

                                How can his strength be his weakness?

                How much self control and self discipline does he have?

                What makes him angry?

                What makes him cry?

                Fears:

                                What people, places, situations does he avoid?

                Talents:

                What people like best about him:

                Interests and favorites:

                                Political views:

                                Collections:

                                Favorite food/drink:

                                Favorite music:

                                Favorite books:

                                Favorite sport/recreation:

                                Favorite color:

                                Childhood daydreams:

                                Current daydreams:

                                How they spend their free time:

                                Pets:

                Typical expressions:

                                When happy:

                                When angry:

                                When frustrated:

                                When sad:

                                When afraid:

                                Most used facial expressions and gestures:

                Idiosyncrasies:

                Laughs or jeers at:

                Ways to annoy him:

                Ways to cheer him up:

                Hopes and dreams:

                                How does he see himself accomplishing these dreams?

                Worst thing he’s ever done to someone:

                Greatest success:

                Biggest trauma:

                Biggest embarrassment:

                Cares about most:

                Secrets:

                If he could be one thing and succeed at it, what would it be?

                He is the kind of person who:

                What do you love most about him?

                Why will the reader sympathize with him right away?

                How is he ordinary or extraordinary?

                Core need:

                Defining moment:

                History:

Background:

                Birthday:

                Place of birth:

                Parents:

                                What was important to the people who raised him?

                Siblings:

                Economic/social status growing up:

                Ethnic background:

                Places lived:

                                Current place where they live:

                Describe their current room/house:

                Education:

                                Where they got an education:

                                Favorite thing to learn about:

                                Special training:

                Job:

                                What they like/don’t like about their job:

                Friends:

                                Lives with:

                                Fights with:

                                Spends time with:

                                Wishes to spend time with:

                                Who depends on him and why?

                                Who does he depend on and why?

                                People he most admires:

                                How do other people view him?

                Enemies:

                Dating, marriage:

                                Children:

Overall outlook on life:

                Relationship with God:

                Does he like himself?

                What, if anything, would he like to change about his life?

                What personal demons haunt him?

                Is he lying to himself about something?

                Optimistic/Pessimistic:

                Confidence level:

Items in his pocket:

Typical day:

               

                

Happy writing!

What if...?

Possibly the greatest two words in your arsenal as a writer. Together they inspire endless opportunities to spark your creativity and make your novel the best it can be. They are the writer's best friends, and magic weapon. Seriously.
So today I pushed my computer back, and pulled out my red, college rule notebook labeled SITU. I opened up to the first clean, white page and scrawled at the top, "What if...?" Then I let my imagination go. I asked as many what if questions I could think of, some crazy, some brilliantly great. They go along the lines of this:

• What if the Captain kills Lark?
• What if the "good" king was really evil?
• What if someone lost a limb?
• What if someone dies on the journey to the castle?

Plus about a page and a half more of rambling what if questions. Then I flipped the page, and wrote in big letters at the top: What is expected?

•  It's expected that they will win all their battles. But what if they don't? What if they all get captured? What if Cooper gets captured, and simply disappears from the book? But that leaves a loose end for the reader...
• It's expected that Captain and Lark will fall in love. And they will.
• It's expected that they'll live happily ever after. But what if Cap become alcoholic and abusive?
• It's expected that the Cap is good. But what if he's an assassin? What if he's a traitor?

Next page: What's unexpected? And you get the point. This generated so many fantastic ideas. I encourage you all to harness the power of "What if". If you haven't already, sit down and try it. Do it with every story you're writing, and before you start writing a new story. It won't disappoint.
The trick is to write down EVERYTHING that comes to mind. Every silly, crazy, questionable answer that dares to peek it's head in. Slap it down on the paper, and don't think about it again until you're done writing. Some of my seemingly most stupid ideas have grown into amazing twists and turns that make my story all that much better.
I hope you guys take this, and use it to the best of your abilities. In your hands I've placed a great weapon, a wonderful thing that will help transform your writing. You can take it and use it to better yourself and your stories, or you can leave it sitting there in the dust. Your choice.


(I thank K.M. Weiland, who first gave me the inspiration to use this writing tool. Thank you for placing the weapon in my hands. :))

Author Review: K.M. Weiland

Hey guys! First off, no writing office tips today, my camera isn't working. Be looking for it sometime this week though. :) Now, onto our author review.

Lately I've been loving K.M. Weiland. I'm subscribed to her monthly newsletters offering great tips for writers. (you can sign up for these fantastic emails here, and receive a free e-book. Yay!) But just yesterday actually I bought the Kindle edition of her book Outlining your Novel: Map your Way to Success. I zoomed through it that day, and loved every minute of it. I started it again today, following her ingenious steps to outlining your novel, many of which I will be sharing with you in my following posts. But not in the way she does. Seriously, go buy that book.
Also yesterday I downloaded one of her historical fiction books, Behold the Dawn, which is absolutely fantastic. Katie has an amazing way of phrasing her words, pacing the action, and making you simply fall in love with her characters. There's the right amount of intense action, humor, romance and mystery to make any reader drool. And flip through those pages as fast as they can. I don't think you guys realize the sacrifice I'm making to step away from the book and write this blog post. :)
There's so much I can learn from her, by just reading the way she writes. She inspires me to publish a book of my own someday, and entertains me in the meantime with her fantastical stories. So if you guys haven't already, check out her blog, sign up for her emails, and pick up a copy of one of her books. You'll be glad you did. She doesn't disappoint.

Updates

Hey everyone. So, I'm going to make a promise to you guys. A sincere and real promise. I'm going to start posting on this blog. Want to know where this came from? Because I've decided to start to seriously write. Like, everyday.
Update on my writing life:
Reverie is taking a break for a little bit until I feel ready to tackle the challenge it's going to give me. I've started working on a new book. It does not have an official title yet, but my working title for it is SITU. Which is what the book is about. You'd understand if you read it. I may also refer to it as my baby, or "The Lark Story", which is the main character's name. Lark. Anyway, we're starting from square one with this book. Together.
I also wanted to warn you guys, there will be a couple posts up today. One about creating a writing space that is effective and fits you and your writing style, and a second book review/author review on a book written by K.M. Weiland. She's fantastic. More details soon. :)