In writing the second part of ‘Hadeon,’ I have come to a point where it is time to introduce a new critical character. I write diary entries from this doctor’s point-of-view and he has a lot of contact with my MC. At first, I attempted to use some helpful character creation checklists, but I found they were too much, as the character isn’t major enough. But at the same time, I don’t believe in giving the character a name and developing him as he goes. My main character was created in this way, back when I rejected planning and such, and it will hurt, when it comes the time to rewrite.
A problem I find with creating characters on the go is they end up stereotypical. An old person is not always tired and grumpy; a woman is certainly not always passive and homebound and people of authority are not always right. Sometimes assumptions are made and it is the writer who is prepared to shake these assumptions that end up on top.
As I’m writing this post, I’m getting a rough idea of what my doctor is going to be like. I’ve already written a diary entry from his point-of-view, purely ‘on the go,’ and it gives me a rough idea, though I won’t be able to continue until I know exactly who he is, and what his motivations are.
writing, characters, stereotypes
I use profiles, but often I skip over the questions that have no relevance to the story (never with my main characters though). Yes, sometimes it is good to know the extra information, but sometimes (especially with a minor character) the writer doesn’t need to know this stuff.
If a character comes into the story for one scene, then it’s unlikely that the reader will form any real attachment to him/her, so there’s no point having a full history for that character.
If the character has a solid place in the story, I’ll draw up a profile. Otherwise, I’ll draw up a mental picture of where he/she came from (along with their motivations for being in the story) so I can them in sync with everyone else.
The site looks great, just so you know.
I’m writing my first novel, “Devil’s Pie”, and am experimenting with lots of methods of introducing characters, places and even themes. I’ve really found, at least for my attention span and writing style, that just letting it happen works great. My characters start out a bit unlikable at times, and then they develop and grow into more complex beings which are sometimes still unlikable. It simply seems more real to me for the characters to come to us as actual people would than to give a character some type of code that they are then stuck with for the rest of the story. I do suppose, though, that a lot of it depends on how the writer writes and what their tolerance for excitement is. All of that said, my book might suck:).