I wanted to alert you to a terrific set of articles in the July 2017 issue of Writer's Digest. The theme of the issue was "Crafting Better Characters." They zeroed in on four topics: Good, Evil and In-between, 10 Techniques to Add Authenticity, the Power of POV, and Too Many Players.
In discussions I've had with agents and writers, they have always brought up the fact that if the characters in your manuscript don't draw them in, they're not interested in the book, no matter how good a writer you may be. In other words, they said, "why do I care about this character?" These are the cardboard cutout characters that we all write about, but why would the reader care about a character that a whisper of wind could blow over?
I've written characters like this ... the height, the hair and eye color, maybe her job, the scene setting (which I'm really good at) -- yet not tapping into their core feelings as they move from one scene to another. What I've learned in my workshop this year was to close my eyes and become that character, to see what she sees and feel what she feels - good or bad. It's not easy to lose yourself in someone else, and sometimes I find it exhausting. In one of my manuscripts, I have a character who is being stalked by someone... she has no idea who he is or why he's following her. He shadows her at the beach when she is alone... she feels him, but can't see him. When she's in a group, she wonders if he's there, one of the men? Feeling her fear and witing it so the reader feels it is the key to this story.
This issue of WD also had a great article on what's the correct number of characters who need to live in your story. I tend to write with too few, I think. Sometimes, I feel that my character needs a confidant, someone she can tell her secrets to. I end up adding a childhood friend, college roommate ... someone she trusts and cares about. For my male characters, it usually shows up as a sister, brother, or brother-in-law. I love finding these people and making them come to life :-)
I thought that a little writing task might help us to develop better characters. We all listen to music and feel different things when certain songs come on. It's that feeling that I want you to capture... those random thoughts that go through your mind, those memories.... For my male readers/writers, I'd like you to listen to Blake Shelton's "Every time I hear that song" and write a page about who it makes you think of, what do you feel and why. You don't have to show it to anyone, but write those raw feelings down. For my female readers/writers, how about Little Big Town's "A Better Man." We have all had atleast one and maybe more men in our lives who have disappointed us, broken our hearts, ... share those feelings. Writing this page might help you develop characters that feel happiness, sadness, cry, laugh, and are real 3-D people. I bet your readers would start to care about them. Try it, I think you will discover something very important about your writing.
Till,
Judi
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