USA Network. Characters Welcome.

I love that slogan. For me, it doesn’t matter how good the plot is, if it doesn’t have believable, fun characters, it’s a bust. Take the recent action movie, Thor. I’m a big fan of cartoon-based movies, but I didn’t really get into this one because I didn’t buy the characters. Honestly – is Jane, the genius astrophysicist, so shallow that after one look at a shirtless Thor she’s ready to risk her life for him? I just don’t buy it.

It’s not enough to make the characters say and do things. You have to know them. That’s today’s thought.



There are some fabulous books out there that can teach you how to develop believable characters. As a visual learner, they helped some, but I really needed to apply what I was learning. I also needed to make sure I truly understood what I was talking about (because it turned out that I didn’t). It’s taken me a couple of years to really figure this out, and I’m still tweaking it. 
If you’re the kind of person who can read a book, absorb the knowledge, then apply to it everything you say and do, feel free to skip this post. If, however, you’re like me and you read it, love it, and forget it as soon as you close the book, I’d like to offer some practical suggestions.
1. Pick a starting line. There are some great books out there on creating characters, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Find one that interests you and use that as your starting point.
This was my starting out point.

2. Go back to the beginning. You picked your source, read it, then forgot it. Now, go back to the book and skim it again. This time, make note of the things that don’t immediate click with you. Research them.
3. Keep going. You’ve read and reviewed your source (maybe reviewed it a couple of times). By now you feel as if you’re never going to get it, there are too many characteristics to remember, and there’s no way you, a substitute teacher and former hotel worker, can possibly create a convincing character. Eat some chocolate, have a beer, take a day off, then bust out your pencil and notepad.
4. Date your character. Yep, that’s what it says. How do any of us really get to know people? We spend time with them, we go out with them. When we’re looking for a spouse, we put all of our time and energy into getting to know that person so we can decide whether or not we really want to spend the rest of our lives with him or her. Do the same thing with your character. What’s his favorite restaurant? Why types of movies does she like? Are you getting dressed up, or putting on hiking shoes? This lead right into the next step…
5. Regress. It’s time to become a toddler again. Not the tantrum-throwing, diaper-wearing kind. You need to become the inquisitive two year-old. Why? Why? Why? It’s not enough to know your heroes favorite sport – know why it’s his favorite sport. Just keep asking.
6. You time. Now I want you to sit back and learn about yourself. Get one of those personality tests (I picked What Type Am I? by Renee Baron). Go through it and find out about yourself. It’s always fun to spend a little time focusing on yourself, but don’t get lost there. You still need to go back and see if you can find your character in those personality traits. It’s not necessary that you be an expert, but when you realize that an introvert really can be a chatty person, you’ll be able to create more realistic characters.
6. Relax. This was hard for me. I didn’t want to take time to meet my characters, so I rushed right into writing my novel. After scraping it for the second time (and tossing out roughly 90,000 total), I decided that I really needed to focus on my peeps. It actually took me a couple of months to do it, but it’s been worth it. Now as I write, the only thing that slows me down is my poor time management, not my cartoonish, unsuitable-for-adult-fiction characters.
So that’s my spin on creating characters. 
QUESTION: What gave you a character-making breakthrough?