A gripping plot can only carry an interesting story if it is carried by convincing characters. When I an creating a new character I start with visualising them. I may start when I go to a shopping mall or store, by watching someone then later I'll write a description. From there I add traits to go with what I observed.
Perhaps, if the person is a man in his twenties who is a bit grubby. I'll think about why that might be. Perhaps his wife insisted he drive her to the store when he wanted to relax and watch TV. I'll guess he’s been putting in long hours and wonder why he let his wife talk him into doing something he didn’t want to do. Then I think about what his relationship with his wife is like and I continue to ask myself questions until a convincing character begins to emerge.
Of course, the type of story may suggest the sort of characters to be included. For example, I write police procedurals, so my main characters are police officers. I needed to think what I could do to make them person unique and different from other police detectives in stories I had read.
With Hunter Wilson, he is a son on the manse who has a distinct work ethic and respect for rules. Tim Myerscough is intelligent, handsome and extremely wealthy. He could do anything he wanted to do but is called to serve in the police by a desire to do good and repair the family's reputation that his father destroyed. However when I created Jane Renwick, she is not only female but a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
To succeed in a world mainly populated by straight men, she had to be special and competent both mentally and physically. She has to be skilled in dealing with people and observant. I made her wife a police officer too because her job takes up so much of her time. Their relationship is good, but, like all couples they don't always see eye to eye.
I want to know a lot about my characters before I start to write my story. I what to know various things about them including their physical characteristics, their backgrounds (this includes their families and their education. I also want to know about my characters' attitudes and beliefs, their dominant traits and how they react to various situations I might put them in.
Of course a person’s education and family background affect attitudes and behavior. A man who had to quit school and go to work will view life differently than if he went to a prestigious prep school and college before taking a position in his father’s firm.
I also enjoy creating scenes between two characters I have developed separately and put them together. The dialogue can emphasise the different ways the characters see their situation and react to it. The way they speak will show how they feel about things too.
You’re bound to learn more about both characters during the conversation. Of course you couldn’t possibly include every facet of a character in your stories, the more you know about them, the more convincing they become. I usually learn to know my characters so well that when I finish a story, I go through a grieving process. It’s like losing close friends who have gone on to a separate existence. Perhaps that's why I write series, the characters reappear and develop in the next book.
If you work on getting to know your characters, you need never again be stuck with a two-dimensional character. Your stories will contain credible people that your readers will care about.
The Author
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
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