Character Interviews and Questionnaires

We recently discussed that good writing requires engaging characters. In order to create strong, dynamic, realistic, and relatable characters, we must know them in and out. They must become as real to us as our own family members.

So, how do we do that?

One way is to complete character interviews and questionnaires. From physical descriptions to likes

and dislikes, from hobbies to memories, and from pets peeves to quirks, spending time with your characters in such a meaningful way will create the rich, deep, and complex characters readers enjoy.

If you look online, you will find a variety of character interviews and questionnaires from well-known sources.

The Ultimate Character Questionnaire from The Novel Factory

Gotham Character Questionnaire

The Official NaNoWriMo Character Questionnaire

Writer's Digest Novel Writing: 10 Questions You Need to Ask Your Characters

No matter where you start --plot, setting, or character-- taking the time to get to know your characters will build depth and texture into your story.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Destination Imagination

By Suzanne Y. Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Ever have one of those days when your characters run out of breath and fall flat on the page no matter long you keep at it? When my fingers sludge instead of dance on the keyboard, and my rear is shape-shifting to the desk chair, it is time to go on a road trip. Destination? Imagination.

Art Imitates Life – so LIVE!  It is the best way to breathe life into your writing. Do something creative besides writing. Find a creative project at home or try one from the list below. Include family members who might feel second fiddle to your characters!

        

  Try these and use your senses as guide: Sights, smells, sounds, textures, tastes.

·      

      Museum

Soak in any collection. People watch. Are kids curious, bored, dragged behind Mom? Is anyone sketching? Are they good? Observe paintings from a distance and close up. The woman’s hat with a ribbon? It’s a smudge of color with a curling swipe of black. Simple, isn’t it? Stop at a craft store on the way home for inexpensive supplies—and try it. How does it feel to put a paintbrush to canvas? Frustrating? Exhilarating? Do the paints smell funny? Pretend to be Monet—or one of your characters. How would each react?

·      

      Hotel Lobby

Take a seat in a fine hotel lobby. Note details in elegant carpets, gorgeous flower arrangements, uniforms of desk clerks. If they serve tea, go for it. Select the best dressed guest and imagine you or your character has an appointment, or is swept off your feet. What happens next?

·      

     Historical Site

Where I live in New England, you can climb aboard a whaling ship at Mystic Seaport, listen to sea chanteys and pull on ropes pretending to be a sailor. The blacksmith’s ring on the anvil and mob caps of Sturbridge Village churn up historical adventures. Warm your fingers to wood fires and smell the goose stew cooking at Plimouth Plantation, or card wool in Old Wethersfield. Your hands feel soft from the lanolin in the wool.

·       

      City Park or Hiking Trail

A walk and fresh air is all you need. Listen to leaves rustle. Look for insects lugging a load. What creature might be living in that hollow tree? What if it needs a friend? What if it wants to go to outer space?

·       

      Airport                              

Even without a passport in hand, a Departure Board at an international airport is a great Destination Imagination. Rome? Tokyo? Toledo, Ohio? Who is going where? Business travelers with a purpose? What’s in the briefcase? Make it up. Any tearful good-byes? Joyful hellos? A family in matching T-shirts? Make up their emotional reasons. Imagine taking your characters on a trip. Where and why? Anyone afraid to fly?

·       

      Memory Lane

If you are housebound or seriously time-crunched, close your eyes and take yourself there.

What places take your imagination to greater heights? Let us know!

Got Characters?

By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Need someone new to fill out your cast of characters?

Attend your Summer Reunion!

If you are a writer holding an invitation to a reunion this summer, what are you waiting for? RSVP YES!

Not only will you reconnect with old friends or family, but your attendance will be rewarded with a surprising roster of characters to add to your writing power!

Not everyone enjoys a reunion, especially if the initial experience was one that took several years to forget let alone spend money for hotel and gas in order to remember. High school reunions usually elicit a "meh" from me, but this summer an invitation came to a reunion I couldn't refuse: a once-in-a-lifetime 30 year reunion of a camp staff I had worked with as a teenager. I had spent a few nearly idyllic summers on a lake in western NY working as a cabin counselor and waterfront/boating staffer at the most wonderful camp in the world. I had to go.

The promise of being 17 Again (i.e. sans the spouse and kids for an entire weekend) was enticing…It's the title of a fun Zac Efron movie and exactly the way I felt driving from Connecticut across New York state.

"You look exactly the same!" "Really? So do you!"

Teenage years are spent running along the brink of life, deciding the biggies: what to do with our lives, where to attend college, what values to stand for and who to love. Exciting summers filled with goofy, spontaneous fun and deep conversations. Endless days of lakeside fun and evening songs around the bonfire. It was a personal thrill to see beloved faces and hear voices that remained familiar after three decades of silence. 

The writer in me found a gold mine. 

"Gotta be some golden characters in them thar hills!"

Changes are not so obvious in people you see daily or even yearly. A reunion provides an opportunity to compare how people were “back then” with a snapshot of the “now.” 

Those yearbooks proclaiming some faces as “most likely to” probably actually really didn’t; in my reunion’s example, the “class clown” turned out to be one of the most successful as marketing director of a company that is a household name around the globe.With a collision of “what was” and “what is” in front of your eyes, your writer’s mind will easily be energized, like a magician conjuring many “in between” stories.

Try it for yourself! Have you met new characters this summer?

Crafting Characters

by: Stephanie Burkhart

Characters are the heart and soul of your story, but what makes them cross the line from two-dimensional to three-dimensional? What makes them compelling?

Author David Corbett offers four elements that you can add to your characterization and I think they're spot on.

To cross the line, keep your character's internal compass consistent, yet ensure they can still surprise you.

First, a character has to have a driving need, desire, or goal. What makes a character interesting is what that character wants, and the stronger the desire, the more compelling the drama. Desire helps to create conflict, and how your character manages conflict makes the story interesting.

Second, secrets make interesting characters. If there's a trait or an incident the character wants hidden, but is revealed, it might make that character lose standing with family and friends. What makes secrets delicious is that they tell readers what characters have to lose and why.

Third, contradictions bring to light what readers can't predict and thus shows surprise. For example: a character can be desperate, yet proud, and decide to take a job that might not be up their alley, just so they can earn a living.

Lastly, nothing draws a reader to a character than vulnerability. When people need help or are wounded, we're drawn to help or feel sympathetic to that character. Secrets play into this trait. If the character is afraid of the secret getting out, it gives the character a vulnerability they might not have had.

What can you do to help deepen characterization? Flesh your characters out. Cast the character. Write character bios. What do they like? Dislike? Write a flash fiction or short story to get to know them. Draw on real life inspiration such as friends, family members, and co-workers. You can also make a list of your emotional triggers. For example: What's your greatest fear? When did you show true courage? By drawing on your triggers, you can bring added dimension to your character's desires, wants, needs, secrets, contradictions, and vulnerabilities.

If you're new to writing, I suggest using a character bio sheet to help you fill in the basics about them. For me, it also helps to "cast" the character. For "Aly" in First Flag of New Hampshire I think of a young Claire Danes. A simple character bio can look like:

Name:

Born Where?

Lives Where?

Languages spoken:

Hair/Weight/Eyes/Height

Likes:

Dislikes:

Greatest Fear?

Wants to be what when they grow up?

You can modify the character bio to fit your writing/story. I usually spend about 2-3 weeks "prep" time before I even write researching the story, the setting, the time period, and compiling my character bios.  The time I take to prep and prepare character bios really helps when it's time to put paper to pen.

Question for you: What do you do to help you understand your characters?

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. She's also an assistant den leader for his son's Cub Scout Wolf Den. She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, but went to live in California when she got out of the Army. She loves coffee and adores chocolate. You can find her at: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

Reference: "Hooked on a Feeling," by David Corbett, page 32-36, Writer's Digest, Jan 2011.