Introduction to Getting To Know Your Characters!

This is one of the sections that I’ll be addressing! In this section, I’ll be writing about:

• Arcs
• Memories
• Opinions
• Voices

If you want me to write about anything else, comment below, or ask in the Forum!

To check for posts in these categories, as well as many others, check the main Blog page, or head to the blog feed!

Getting To Know Your Characters is a series of ideas I’ve come up with to help you find out about your characters. Just like real people, characters are complex beings, and can’t be defined by one simple trait. Throughout a novel, characters change, just as people change.

Arcs: In these posts, I’ll (try to) explain the concept of ‘character arcs’, and give exercises to help you understand your own characters’ arcs better.

Memories: In these posts, I’ll give you exercises to help you get to know you characters’ backstories. What was their home like as a child? Who was their best friend? What memories do they have that affect how they are today?

Opinions: In these posts, I’ll give you exercises to do help you discover how your characters feel about the other people in your story. Does your antagonist secretly admire the protagonist? Does the side-kick think the hero is self-obsessed?

Voices: In these posts, I’ll give you exercises to help you find out how your character speaks. What vocabulary do they use? How do they express what they want to say? How do they differ from other characters?

I’ll also be writing posts about the other main sections:

• Discovering How You Write
• Writer’s Block Cures
• Writer’s Jargon Dictionary
• Books and Websites for Help with Writing

to explain what sections I’ll be going through.

(There isn’t a link to the last one yet because I haven’t posted it.)