GOT CHARACTER?

I love meeting quirky people in life. They give me such great ideas for creating characters in my writing. Like my friend who ate nothing but beef jerky for months after her husband left her. Or the two guys in my high school who literally looked like cavemen but carried their guitar cases filled with poetry to calligraphy class. Or my boss who uses the language of a trucker but talks baby talk to the office cat. (Love you, Martin.) These are the kinds of characters that bring a story to life. You can't make this stuff up. Or can you?

Here's an exercise you can try to help you get away from cliched characters. Start in the middle of a piece of paper by writing down your character's occupation: ballerina, doctor, bartender, etc. Circle the word then draw six to eight lines out from it leading to ideas typically associated with that kind of career. Some examples of ideas linked to a ballerina would be graceful, hair worn in a bun, strong, and healthy. Then link more ideas to each of those words. In the end, you have a cookie cutter character. This is not someone you want to base your story on.

So...cross out one of the links and make the exact opposite true for your character. What do you have now? A clumsy dancer? Maybe a ballerina that has short spiky hair she likes to dye funky colors? Or maybe she's weak from a disease that affects her performance. Or she loves junk food and loses her role in a ballet because the male ballerina can't lift her overhead anymore. You could go a million different directions here, and each one would each make a good story.

Whatever you do, don't leave your characters flat. Make them unique. Have them do things the readers won't expect while those who "know" them would just be like, "Yeah, that sounds like Natalie." These personality traints won't be easily forgotten. They will make your work stand out.

In one of my books I have a health food addict who dumps hot fudge on her cereal one morning, creating instant panic in those around her. As word spreads that she must be upset about something, a pregnant woman responds, "Hot fudge is actually good on Honey Nut Cheerios." It catches the reader by surprise, but those who know the pregnant woman don't even think twice. It's something they would have expected her to say.

Bringing your characters to life is not easy, but it can be fun. Why write about a pediatric doctor who loves kids when you could write about one who dispises anyone under four feet tall? Or a lifeguard who has nightmares of drowning? Or a comedian with anger issues? Let your imagination run wild, and share your ideas here.