Most of the time, my story ideas begin with a character. Or, as with ARROW & NIGHT, a group of characters. So for me, I can’t really figure out what my story is about until I know who it is about.
Whether or not yesterday’s post helped you nail down your story concept, today we’re going to contemplate who we’ll write about in November. And if you didn’t identify your ‘so what’ factor yesterday, maybe knowing who you’re casting as your leading lad or lady will help.
Who’s your main character? What character opposes him? Who’s his sidekick? Who does he love? Who gave birth to him? Who raised him? Who has scarred him? Who provides comic relief? Who lives next door? Who does he meet on his journey?
Whether your book begins with a world, a person, or a question, you’re going to eventually fill it with people. So that’s what we’re going to do today. Fill a page—whether an electronic one or actual paper—with characters.
Today's Links:
My favorite place to brainstorm characters is Pinterest. When I’m plotting I create a private board for my story and the first thing I fill it with is characters.
2015 Update:
This is probably my favorite day of the whole plotting month. I am such a character driven writer that I feel like I have no clue what my story's about until I know WHO it's about. Today I started my Pinterest Board for this new project and I may or may not have spent waaaaaaay too much time casting characters whose story is begging to be written.
Who’s your story about? Who or what inspired him/her?
This one is fun! I had too many characters, though, so I blended a couple together. Thanks for sharing your Pinterest board!
ReplyDeleteBlending some together is a great next-step to this exercise! Character economics are key.
ReplyDelete