Here i will share my journey of hopefully one day recognising my dream of becoming published writing what i love to read; Romance!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Creating Characters

Lately I have been reading a lot about Character creating and thinking about my own process. I tend to just write them when i get an idea and they evolve as they come to me.
Which causes a lot of problems and i tend to stare at the computer screen trying to figure out what they are going to say now and why they aren't reacting the way i want them to. I'm trying to make my characters act out of character to fit my story.
There seems to be a need to get to know your characters before you start writing your story. I just don't have the patience for this, i have to leap in and start writing the darn thing! But i can see the benefit of it, it would make the process so much easier.
There are some interesting discussions on Maisey Yates's blog and Jackie Ashenden's Blog on Characterisation with links that fellow writers use to understand and get to know their characters either while they write or before they start their writing process.
Which do you? What works best for you?

6 comments:

  1. Hey Kerrin, thanks for the shoutout! Yep, that's my problem in a nutshell too. Making the characters act out of character to fit my story. And it's a very difficult habit to break, let me tell you!
    I'm trying to think about my characters first before I do much more on the current wip because it's much easier than doing it after the stupid thing is written. :-)

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  2. yes, i have a friend who is doing character profiles before she is writing and she is having so much fun, makes me seriously think i should be doing it too, hmmm...
    and no worries about the shout out - i love your blog!

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  3. Hi,

    Strange as it may seem my characters appear in dreams, their past life much like a mini synopsis, each revealing their stories as I write.

    Maybe I'm mad!

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  4. Had to chime in here and ask a question... Do any of you ladies write outlines for your stories?

    I write the whole story out with characters, conversations, etc... I just leave out the description (other than that of the characters) and let the beginning and end get out of my head on onto paper! (Word Processor to be exact :-) )

    I find that once I have it OUT of my head in full, I can concentrate better on adding richness to it on the first edit! :-)

    Okay... just wondering if anyone else did this?? :-)

    Lolo Dee

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  5. Hi Lolo Dee
    I write a rough outline for my stories, basically the ones that i have a rough idea on what happens in it anyways :) I use the outline to work out where i want it to go and what happens and bits about the characters etc. I'm a "plotter" so i like to have most of it mapped out so it's easier to write later when i come to back to it. I know where i'm headed next, although this usually changes as i get ideas as the story and characters develop while i'm writing.
    Hope this helps
    Kerrin

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  6. Hey Kerrin,

    You and I are VERY similar in our outlining... Reading your response, I felt like I was reading my own! :-)

    My outlines can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to literally 30 to 50 pages in length, single spaced!!! :-)

    I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year...

    Thank you bunches for responding!! :-)

    Lolo Dee

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