Comments on: Creating Fictional Characters—Part 5: Developing Background And Traits Using A Character Chart, Bio, Diary, or Interview

By: Lillie

Lillie — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:48:02 +0000

Melbourne,

That’s why I love reading—you can let your imagination have free rein.

By: Melbourne

Melbourne — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:14:19 +0000

Don’t you love when the characters build in your head. Sometimes it’s a shame to see the movie as the characters in your own mind are much better played and cast.
Melbourne´s last blog ..The sound of a tree

By: Lillie

Lillie — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:01:43 +0000

carol,

Yes, you want consistency in your characters up to a point. Real people have inconsistencies and characters should, too. But the inconsistencies should be consistent. In other words, a character can have two traits that are sometimes in conflict. She may be punctual and dependable but also be a very attentive mother. Her punctuality may become inconsistent because she spends more time taking care of her baby in the morning and ends up late for work. Does that make sense?

By: carol@event management birmingham

carol@event management birmingham — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:24:59 +0000

I think the most important thing,for me, is to keep the character consistent. You don’t want confusing inconsistencies in a character, it’s annoying and indicates a lazy writer. I like the idea of asking the character questions too, for more indepth character building.

By: Lillie

Lillie — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:13:22 +0000

Darren,

Writing, especially fiction, is a creative endeavor, so every writer needs to be creative. However, often times people have a better imagination than they give themselves credit for.

Good fiction writers tend to make up stories in their heads all the time and to ask the question “what if.” If you like to people watch and wonder what the lives of the people you see are like, you’re creative. If you read something in the paper, and wonder “what if” something else happened next, you have an active imagination.

Most of my clients are people who are great storytellers but not necessarily good writers. Anyone can learn the mechanics of writing, but I think there needs to be a spark of creativity to be a storyteller.

If writing is something you like to do, then write. You may be quite surprised at how creative you turn out to be. Once you allow yourself to write freely, your imagination may become more active.

And there are writing prompts and creativity exercises to help you get started thinking. The best thing to do is just start writing, and if you need a jumpstart, look for some writing prompts. You can search online for “writing prompts” or you can come up with your own. Find a picture that intrigues you and write about it. You can create an entire story from one image. Or read a newspaper story and asked “what if …?” What if the story ended differently? What if the life of someone in the story had taken a different turn (good or bad)?

And remember, what you write doesn’t have to (and in fact won’t be) a masterpiece. Just write for your own enjoyment, and the more write, the better you will write.