30 Days of Writing: #9
Sep. 7th, 2010 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathriel(in case you missed it, I'm nixing the other 30 day meme until after i finish this one- so many of my friends are doing it too, I don't want to completely clog up your friends pages!)
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
I wish I had a solid answer for this, because I'd be a lot more prolific if I did.
For the most part, I get ideas through every day life- small moments that stick out from the rest, that inspire, that trigger some chain of fantasizing in my head until I've imagined some one that has taken root in my brain, and demands to have their story told. For me, the problem is usually that they're shy about telling me their story even though they demand I tell it.
I find, though, that my characters reveal themselves best by writing them. I've tried to character sketch sheets, to no avail. I've tried putting them in other situations and writing about them, but it doesn't feel right. The best I've ever gotten to know a character is by writing a draft, and by the end I can usually see who they really are. When I go back and do revisions or re-writes, that character is solid and real in my writing and in my mind.
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
I wish I had a solid answer for this, because I'd be a lot more prolific if I did.
For the most part, I get ideas through every day life- small moments that stick out from the rest, that inspire, that trigger some chain of fantasizing in my head until I've imagined some one that has taken root in my brain, and demands to have their story told. For me, the problem is usually that they're shy about telling me their story even though they demand I tell it.
I find, though, that my characters reveal themselves best by writing them. I've tried to character sketch sheets, to no avail. I've tried putting them in other situations and writing about them, but it doesn't feel right. The best I've ever gotten to know a character is by writing a draft, and by the end I can usually see who they really are. When I go back and do revisions or re-writes, that character is solid and real in my writing and in my mind.
