Pre-Nano Course: Character Building
October 26th 2009 11:51
Today I want you to make the official decision of what your main plot is going to be about. Summarize your main story in a sentence. Keep this on a separate sheet of paper from the main exercise, because this sentence is going to be a basis for the brainstorming and outlining exercise coming up in a couple of days.
Take a look at what you wrote yesterday. You should have some idea of a character from what you've written. Maybe you have an image of black hair and brown eyes clashing against pale skin wandering around in your head. Maybe it's a voice that's settled in and started making snarky comments. Maybe you see a cloaked figure limping through a battlefield littered with corpses.
Write a point form list of things you can tell about the character from this scene. These things should include any details about appearance, details about names, details about their emotional state (shown by how they react to whatever is going on in the scene), things like that. You may or may not have figured out your character's name.
If you haven't figured out your character's name, I suggest you go to Behind The Name, a website where you can find lists of names from different cultures, and find out more about those names. You don't have to pick a name from there, but it's interesting to look at, and you can also acquire names to use in later books. (I have huge lists of names for places and people in one of my binders.) Select three or four names you like and think fit the character from this site.
Now talk to your character. You can either do this in your head or write a scene where you meet your character. Introduce yourself, and ask them their name. If they don't give you one right away, then ask them a few other questions about themselves and the life they lead, and then return to the question of a name. If you can't get one from the character themselves, then give them one that you think fits.
Don't be afraid to change the names at any point throughout your novel. This is a first draft, there's plenty of room for change.
Using the details you've gathered throughout this process, write your character a basic profile. If you can't fit them all onto one page, keep it one page and don't sweat it; tomorrow's exercise is a character questionnaire that will tell you more about your character and allow you to use all of these details.
For today, instead of a prompt, I want you to write another scene, about your villain. You already know what the main conflict is, and there has to be someone behind that conflict, someone who doesn't like your character or who is destroying whatever your character is trying to protect.
I want you to also write this in first person, and I want it to be 1, 000 words. (It can be two scenes if you like, one in the character's childhood and one just before the story begins) Just freewrite, knowing only one thing about what you're writing: that it's about your villain.
Thanks for reading,
~Dianna
Take a look at what you wrote yesterday. You should have some idea of a character from what you've written. Maybe you have an image of black hair and brown eyes clashing against pale skin wandering around in your head. Maybe it's a voice that's settled in and started making snarky comments. Maybe you see a cloaked figure limping through a battlefield littered with corpses.
Write a point form list of things you can tell about the character from this scene. These things should include any details about appearance, details about names, details about their emotional state (shown by how they react to whatever is going on in the scene), things like that. You may or may not have figured out your character's name.
If you haven't figured out your character's name, I suggest you go to Behind The Name, a website where you can find lists of names from different cultures, and find out more about those names. You don't have to pick a name from there, but it's interesting to look at, and you can also acquire names to use in later books. (I have huge lists of names for places and people in one of my binders.) Select three or four names you like and think fit the character from this site.
Now talk to your character. You can either do this in your head or write a scene where you meet your character. Introduce yourself, and ask them their name. If they don't give you one right away, then ask them a few other questions about themselves and the life they lead, and then return to the question of a name. If you can't get one from the character themselves, then give them one that you think fits.
Don't be afraid to change the names at any point throughout your novel. This is a first draft, there's plenty of room for change.
Using the details you've gathered throughout this process, write your character a basic profile. If you can't fit them all onto one page, keep it one page and don't sweat it; tomorrow's exercise is a character questionnaire that will tell you more about your character and allow you to use all of these details.
For today, instead of a prompt, I want you to write another scene, about your villain. You already know what the main conflict is, and there has to be someone behind that conflict, someone who doesn't like your character or who is destroying whatever your character is trying to protect.
I want you to also write this in first person, and I want it to be 1, 000 words. (It can be two scenes if you like, one in the character's childhood and one just before the story begins) Just freewrite, knowing only one thing about what you're writing: that it's about your villain.
Thanks for reading,
~Dianna
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Comment by ski guy
Skiing Reviews
Bargain Value
skiingreviews.net
EL CHEAPO
having a conversation with your potential
characters. Fleshing things out ahead of time
makes the actual writing process go smoother.
Ski Guy
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Yes, yes it does. I am not one for very detailed outlines of the stories themselves, but I like to learn all that I can about the characters in them and the worlds in which they take place.
~Dianna