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Some of the Blind Sight characters have become like family. I can tell you what books Aniela has read or look in a shop window and pick out clothes for Nate as if I can mail them to Edaion for Christmas. On Pinterest, I know which nail art Aniela would try and which eye shadow Tatiana would wear. Boxers or briefs, wouldn’t you like to know? Other characters, I’m no so in tune with. Instead of having their own voice, I hear echoes of another character speaking through them–muddled and morphed so that it’s neither the original character’s voice nor the intended one.
It makes me want to scream.
Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1395418
The good news is I found an interesting character questionnaire on Writers Write. You’ll have to check them out for the full list, but some of my favorites were:
- How does your character feel about religion?
- What were your character’s deepest disillusions? In life? What are they now?
- Does your character feel self-righteous? Revengeful? Contemptuous?
- Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?
- What do they like to ridicule? What do they find stupid?
Some of them I’ve thought about, but never explored deeply. Others, I’ve never really asked.
How well do you know your characters? Head over to Writers Write and find out.
-Eliabeth
P.S. Get tips like this and more by following our board The Writing Process on Pinterest.
Very cool
I often wonder how well my characters know me. I ask them. More often than not they reply “Who the hell are you?” Maybe we ought to spend more time together; I could tag along on their adventures, and there would be a backward glance, a muttered word, a slight increase of pace. After about the third time, they would turn round and say, “Look, we don’t want you here!” Then I would go back to fantasising that we’re friends and meet up at Starbucks.
Aw heck, let’s face it – characters break your heart.
Absolutely agree about the breaking your heart bit. Sometimes, I want my characters to behave one way and as I’m writing, they do something completely different. I’d have to write to Ermisenda explaining what was going on so we could talk about how her characters would be affected by mine going AWOL.
I love ♥ this answer, Marie! I tried to get around this by writing a character who writes herself and ended up with a personality disorder that didn’t solve much. The character immersion a lot of fun, though.
Thank you for that comment, Anne.
Thanks for yours!
Thanks for the list! I knew the characters in my first novel like I know the back of my hand, but with my second novel, I struggled with this. I didn’t know them separately, or together, at all. Of course, over time, I got to know them, but the disconnection made the first few drafts awkward and lacking emotional depth. It was awful. Luckily, I’m getting to know the characters in my third quite well and pretty fast. If I hadn’t, I would have thrown my computer out a window. 🙂
We can totally relate! For whatever reason, we aren’t connecting to the characters in our second book as well as the first. Maybe there’s a second book curse like the second week at The Biggest Looser house.
LOL! Maybe.
I wrote a religious argument between two of my character for PI&W once. Neither character shares my beliefs, so that was a lot of fun.
I think you really have to know your characters in this way in order to write them. You can’t create life in a character, not literally. They have to already be alive in your heart and in your mind. Not necessarily friends. I enjoy writing the villains and sicko freaks too.