It’s roughly week three of my preparations and things are
still going strong, if not quite as quickly as I was expecting. I always get a
little too involved with my character descriptions and end up with pages and
pages of notes. I like to think there’s no such thing as too many notebooks.
When people ask me about creating characters, I always liken
it to having imaginary friends. It’s just that I’m 22 and I don’t make my mum
set a place for them at the table (anymore). For a story to work, they have to
be so real that sometimes you forget they aren’t actually there. You have to
feel guilty for all the bad things you inflict on them and celebrate when you
can finally let them win. After all, that’s the same journey you’re asking a
reader to go on as they read your novel.
One of the best tips I ever got for character plotting was
in my first year Creative Writing seminar. My tutor asked us to write a series
of questions we’d use if we had to interview that character for the position of
“hero” or “villain” or whatever role they were going to play. We were asked to
tailor it to the job description and the story we were writing as closely as we
could, then answer it in that character’s voice – exactly as they might behave
in an interview situation. This is also excellent for writers who struggle with
dialogue because it really makes you think about the sound of their voice.
This is my go-to method when I’m struggling to work out a
motivation for a certain action or “scene”, if you like. It’s a little bit like
having a conversation with yourself but on paper, and sometimes letting a
character speak for themselves is the only way to muddle through a difficult
plot point. To any of my fellow NaNo-ers who are struggling with something like
this, or even struggling to get started, I’d have to recommend that you try out
the interview technique for yourselves!
I’m going to try and post again later this week when my next
task is done – organising my desk and finding a permanent home for my plot
bunny friends! All will become clear, I promise.
Hope everyone else’s planning is going just as well!
Emily x
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