How I Develop Fictional Characters

 

     I know it sounds crazy, but I love talking with my characters in my head. It helps me give them different voices and antics. And I learn a lot about them.

      Sometimes I create scenes for a character, and sometimes I create a character for a scene. Either way, I need to know a few things from them before I write them in a part.

My main characters in The Blue Sky and the Yellow Sun: Aspen Eleanor Jevensy and Tristan Lee Faye

      1. Appearance. This can be general, such as hair, eye, and skin colors. I feel like this helps me get a sense of what their personality should be. For example, a brunette guy with green eyes might tell me that that character should be stern and serious. A blonde girl with blue eyes might tend to be more fun-loving but not as adventurous as she might be if she were a brunette. I’m not saying my characters are always these stereotypical, but knowing what they look like gives me a good jumping-off point to discovering the rest of their character.

 

     I'm over at my friend Aimee's blog today talking about writing fiction (my fave!) Join me?

 

    Yes! Read on!

 

~Madeline