Let's talk about... how I write my characters
I get this question a lot: "How the hell do you come up with these people?"
I usually answer: "I just talk to myself until I sound like someone else."
It's about time I explained what I mean by that...
The saying goes, "Write what you know." A lot of my peers in the writing world pull from the people around them to give their character's life and depth. 526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2yu4ZuLB2
One of my closest friends says that when she's trying to come up with a character, she'll open up her Facebook friend's list, close her eyes, and scroll until her husband says when. The friend she clicks on will become the foundation for her new character. She even goes as far as to make their name sound similar. 526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRJ0ua3e2L
Another example: one of my blogger friends says he sits on a public bench (usually at a bus stop) and he'll watch for someone that catches his interest. I guess it's no surprise that most of his main characters end up being female. I tease him about this fact all the time.
Other writers like to play on Archetype. Depending on who you ask, there are twelve to twenty literary archetypes out there. (But if you've ever been on tvtropes.org, you'll know there are apparently a billion.) Crash Course: Archetypes are basically symbols and ideas that are recognized by everyone. For example, The Hero is an archetype. Hero characters are courageous, born leaders, and are only held back by their own humility and selflessness. In contrast, Villain characters are charismatic, selfish, evil, and ambitious. These two are the most popular archetypes, but others include The Creator, The Magical Help, The Rebel, The Anti-Hero, The Damsel/Innocent, The Minion, AND ON AND ON AND ON.
Personally, I like to take a trait and turn it into an aspect of an archetype. I usually write dialog before I ever write plot. When I have the tone of a character's voice (sultry, monotone, caustic, perky, morose, serious, sarcastic, bitter, catty, lugubrious, et al.), I'll shape the character around the descriptor word that defines their speech. 526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOacQ8PXKiy
For example: CATTY. This character is seen as lazy, spiteful, and unambitious, but seems to succeed at everything they do. They are picky, temperamental, and don't want to be caught being loyal to anyone but themselves. They are impeccably groomed and become dramatically morose if even one hair is out of place on their head. They literally turn their nose up at things they can't abide. They are physically graceful and fit. They are quick to flight if they are faced with a situation they can't handle. For some reason, they survive deadly encounters with ease, making it appear they have multiple lives... Enter character Jude Holland (Badar Consultant Agency).526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9bvd5ZOrR
See how much can be extrapolated from one defining trait? 526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cWxB9GLD5
Look, I made a person. Only took me, like, ten seconds.526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdAT2y0vVR
When I was first writing Woody (another character from BCA), it was after hearing the laboriously difficult to pronounce word, Lugubrious. It's a word synonymous with Tragic. When I heard Woody's voice in my head, the first thing I thought was, "Jesus, what a Daisy Downer. He sounds so fucking lugubrious." And it stuck. Woody became a Tragic Hero, complete with a Tragic Backstory and a habit of hoping things will get better... but knowing, deep down, they can only get worse.526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqK4X3e0l0s
As an aside, It was only after I heard their sarcastic banter in my head that I decided to play on the archetypes of The Werewolf and The Vampire. Admittedly, the only reason I decided to include supernatural elements was because it was easy--not because it added any other element to the story--at the time. If you really think about it, The Werewolf is just The Outsider dressed up in an animal skin. The Vampire is just The Addict dressed in black. The Tragic Hero is its own archetype, and The Cat has its own symbolism too. (And, to me, vampires and cats share the same lazy grace... and lone werewolves are tragic and empathetic.)
To me, dialog reveals the archetype under a person's skin. 526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiY5GryR4RN
In real life, I know I am The Creator archetype. I'm prone to melancholy and mania--because of my "artistic and idealistic nature". As such, my dialog is acerbic and light, but can easily switch to seriousness that's full of gravitas and drama. I am also The Narcissist and The Lover and The Reluctant Hero and The Coward... The way I talk and act reveals all of these things--and these things are universally recognized as characters unto themselves.526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GGXj2UPF2
When I write new characters, I start with how they sound... and as the character talks and interacts with the others, their core archetype is revealed. Some characters don't change from inception to page; page to page; book to book. But some morph and shape and change as the words come out of them. Some change so much that they start as one archetype and end the story as another--which I can then pretend is their character arc, and I totally did it on purpose.
Sometimes writing a character is easy. The dialog comes fast and funny, and I know exactly who they are and how they operate. Sometimes, writing a character is like getting to know someone: I may not even know them that well by the end of a story, and that's okay... most of the time anyway. Sometimes characters don't mean what they say... Sometimes characters say exactly what they think... Some characters don't speak at all...526Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG65y2ijKBe
Writers that I've talked to don't really like writing characters through dialog, but I can't see myself writing character-centric stories any other way.
How do you write your characters? Do you fill out a form? Does someone you've met or respect pop into your head when you see one of your characters? Do you enlist a "cast" of actors to fill the roles in your plot? Do you talk to an imaginary friend? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers! --Blondie
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