Tonight has been spent trying to clarify some of the finer points of the main character for Beast Within. Building her character so that she is a living, breathing individual who will grow and change over time.
The best characters you read are the ones that you feel like you could call up and invite to coffee. The ones whose birthday you have in your calendar.
I want to create a character that is alive.
That being said, what makes a great character come to life? The fine details. As a writer I need to know EVERYTHING about them.
What music does she like? Does she eat meat? Did she have bad acne as a teen? Was she popular? How many friends did she have in school? Did she go to preschool?
OK. Some of those things may not really be relevant. The point is that the more you develop your characters back story, the more alive they will be to your readers.
I read once that writing is like acting.
This works great for someone like me who has done LARPing (and was pretty darn good at it) fully immersing into a character over the coarse of a weekend was kind of freeing. To be able to step away from whatever crap may be going on in your personal life and live as someone else is awesome and I wish I could do it again. Someday I will but for know I am doing it on a smaller scale.
I created a twitter account for Elizabeth Channing. The main character in Beast Within which is told from her POV. She is a teen girl who has learned that she is a werewolf.
Not just any werewolf mind you, she is an Alpha Shapeshifter from the werewolf clan.
It has been interesting getting into the mind of a teen goth juvenile delinquent whose best friend is a witch. I strongly recommend trying it out if you are struggling with connecting with your characters. Make them a facebook page or spend an hour listening to the music they would like. Anything that will bring your mind into the space where theirs is.
I think writers are just people with multiple personalities that come out through words and we all run the risk of going insane if we don't write. The trick is finding out how to connect with the people in your head.
Howl at the moon and make some magic,
Iniriba
The best characters you read are the ones that you feel like you could call up and invite to coffee. The ones whose birthday you have in your calendar.
I want to create a character that is alive.
That being said, what makes a great character come to life? The fine details. As a writer I need to know EVERYTHING about them.
What music does she like? Does she eat meat? Did she have bad acne as a teen? Was she popular? How many friends did she have in school? Did she go to preschool?
OK. Some of those things may not really be relevant. The point is that the more you develop your characters back story, the more alive they will be to your readers.
I read once that writing is like acting.
This works great for someone like me who has done LARPing (and was pretty darn good at it) fully immersing into a character over the coarse of a weekend was kind of freeing. To be able to step away from whatever crap may be going on in your personal life and live as someone else is awesome and I wish I could do it again. Someday I will but for know I am doing it on a smaller scale.
I created a twitter account for Elizabeth Channing. The main character in Beast Within which is told from her POV. She is a teen girl who has learned that she is a werewolf.
Not just any werewolf mind you, she is an Alpha Shapeshifter from the werewolf clan.
It has been interesting getting into the mind of a teen goth juvenile delinquent whose best friend is a witch. I strongly recommend trying it out if you are struggling with connecting with your characters. Make them a facebook page or spend an hour listening to the music they would like. Anything that will bring your mind into the space where theirs is.
I think writers are just people with multiple personalities that come out through words and we all run the risk of going insane if we don't write. The trick is finding out how to connect with the people in your head.
Howl at the moon and make some magic,
Iniriba