Novel Writing Made Less Impossible -- Characters, You're Next!

To pick up from last week when we covered generating story ideas through the news and entertainment you put into your skull, what if you already have a character in mind to fight your battles for you?

Good for you! You're ready to rock that plot (the process of which we'll start pretty darned soon).

But what if you do NOT have a lead character in place, let alone the secondary and ancillary ones? That's why you're here! Look at the situation that needs a protagonist. What qualities might make them perfect to handle the situation? I'm actually thinking of personality qualities, rather than knowing the proper spell, possessing the apt super-power, or just happening to have the talisman or device needed within reach.

For instance, if there's a mystery, does the person have a reporter's curiosity or a detective's training (even if they don't have a crime-fighting background)? If the problem is scientific in nature, does the protagonist possess the training in the proper field? Can they locate someone who does?

Now here's what makes a character fun ... what aspect of their personality or situation prevents them from accomplishing their goal easily? What do they have to overcome to reach success?

Professor Indiana Jones is a brilliant archaeologist and fearless in the face of danger. However, his ophidiophobia (look it up!) hinders him as he searches for the Ark of the Covenant. Being Batman would be so much easier if Bruce Wayne didn't have such a hangup about guns. Tony would love to marry Maria, but their union could cause war to erupt between the Sharks and the Jets.

Next, consider their history. What gave the protagonist his/her character quirks, both positive and otherwise? Did they come from loving families? How well-off was their neighborhood? What was their employment history? Who were the oppressive social forces that influenced their everyday lives, then and now? For instance, regarding the latter, consider a poor African-American woman from Georgia who wanted to become an astronaut in the early '60s. Her gender, her color, her economic status, possibly the quality of her education would all be impediments to attaining her dream.

This look at the character's background is only for YOUR use ... just because the hero has an eternal regret that he took Wood Shop instead of Tumbling doesn't mean your reader gives a rip. Just give yourself enough background to know the person, don't know more about them than you'd care for someone to know about you, capice?

Think of some of your favorite characters in whatever medium and analyse their positive and their negative traits. Apply that towards your heroes and heroines ... then next Wednesday, let's talk about your antagonist and your supporting characters, what do you say? :)

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to this blog. We're going to put out something every WEDNESDAY morning or you'll know the reason why. We plan to beef up our output to five times a week eventually.

This weekend, I'll be a guest at ECLIPSE CON in Carbondale, Illinois. I'll be a special guest at what promises to be an awesome convention. Among my friends down there will be Candice Comelleri, Philo Barnhart, Charles D. Moisant, Kenny Sills, Sean Dulaney, Nathan Bonner, Amy Hale, Cathy Jackson, Misti Curry, and MORE! For more information, go to http://studentcenter.siu.edu/eclipsecon/

Don't forget that you can support me via Patreon as well as purchase my works on Amazon.

I'm also on Twitter and Instagram.

And don't forget Silver Phoenix Entertainment.

As long as you're at it, give a LIKE to my Facebook pages for Freelance Words, Rising Tide Publications, and Vulcana. And every Monday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, I host a live interactive broadcast on my Facebook page. See you next Wednesday, if not sooner!

#Writing #CharacterGeneration #Batman #WestSideStory #IndianaJones