Sunday, June 13, 2021

Creating Characters That Jump Off The Page!

 


How do we create characters that simply jump off the page? As you know (well, maybe you didn't know, but you do now!) I am diving off the deep end and writing a Kindle Vella book - the kind of book that comes out in episodes to constitute a series. I had no clue how I was going to do this, so I just started writing. I was pleased to see the plot developing as I wrote, and the characters basically writing themselves.  

My protagonist, Anne Devereux, is the owner of Anne's Antiques. After a twenty-year career in New York City, she is back in her hometown of Fairfax, VA, running her deceased grandmother's antique business. Part of what defines Anne is that she is now back in a mid-sized city environment, where she knows many of the people. She is part of the downtown business community and has a committed relationship with Tom. Just "Tom". No last name yet, and no occupation. And the series is almost halfway finished! 

What I do know is that the characters of Anne and Tom understand each other, and work well together. There is another character that will play a small part in this series. He is a police officer and has the air about him of being a very caring person, one that is knowledgable about his job, and one that deals with people well. These are all characters that the reader can see and feel. They can see them in their minds doing their jobs. They understand why they make the decisions that they do.

What is important to me about a character is that they are believable, that they act consistently, and that my readers will want to read more about them. I find myself having conversations with my characters, and I let them write their own dialogue. 

If you want to see your characters more in-depth you could use the Myers-Briggs personality assessment. This will give you insight into how they will act, and why they will act that way. There is an online Myers-Briggs assessment available here - Myers-Briggs Assessment

Give your characters skills and the opportunity to use them. Let them be themselves, let them talk for themselves. You will have to do a lot less rewriting!

(c) June 2021 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

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