When you’re in the brainstorming stages of writing a novel
it’s invaluable to take the time to get to
know your characters. This doesn’t
mean you’ll end up including all the things you might discover about your MC
(main character). It only means you’ve done your homework and you’ve gotten to
know your characters so well you won’t even hesitate when thinking about how
they’d respond to certain situations.
I’m breaking up the clock to help you ask some imperative character
questions. The following will enable you to get better acquainted with those
most important to your story, which will in turn create a more believable,
dynamic novel.
Noon
What is your MC’s favorite food? Is she eating lunch alone?
Does she binge eat or peck away at her food? Does she skip lunch all together
because she’s too busy working? Is she on a night shift and still sleeping at
this hour? Is she tired of turning down an annoying coworker’s lunch
invitations? Is she throwing Lunchables on the table for her four grumbly
children?
1 pm
Does he keep track of every hour, obedient to his OCD
tendencies? Is he polite, holding doors for those behind him when he reenters
his work building? Does he have a crush on every woman he gets in the cab with
but has no idea how to initiate a conversation? Does he chew his subordinates
out in a holy tirade if they’re late to the office after lunch but he’s always
late himself? Is there a quick trip to the dry cleaner? The bar? The woman he
looks after at the nursing home down the street from his office?
2 pm
Is she a loud yawner? Does she beat herself up for staying
out late one too many nights in a row? Is she dead to the world on the couch,
desperate to find the remote? Does she have makeup on and is it wearing off by
now? Does she take her earrings off every afternoon at this time? Is her best
friend waiting to gossip with her at the water cooler? Online? At the mall?
What does her home look like at this time? Immaculate because the cleaning crew
just finished or a tornado of toys because it was her turn to host the
playdate?
3 pm
Is he worked up, regretting the email he sent her last
night? Does he take the dog for a three hour walk? What snack is he craving? Are
there people waiting to hear back from him he keeps blowing off for some
reason? Does he take his sweater off, afraid he’s going to sweat too much and
everyone will know? Is this the time of day he goes to war with his headaches?
Has he gone to a doctor? Is he afraid too because of what happened to his dad?
4 pm
Does she get her second wind? Is she tempted to hit on her
boss? Is she scared the gym coach will be waiting for outside the locker rooms?
Does it take everything inside her not to quit because she needs this job to
feed her kids? Is she pouring her first drink? Her fourth? Is her best friend
complimenting her clothes again this week in attempt to hide that she’s been
sleeping with her husband? Is she signing up for her first missions trip? Does
the idea of spending the rest of the night alone depress her beyond belief? Is
she excited to see her boyfriend after he’s spent years serving abroad?
5 pm
Is he going on his first date ten years after his wife died?
Is he cursing with the windows down in traffic, cutting people off left and
right? Is he dreaming of another life, one where he doesn’t has to face his
ailing mom and deadbeat dad when he gets home? Is he about to get a promotion?
Is his receding hairline pissing him off so he yells at his kids and then feels
bad about it? Does he scrub up before surgery or forget one time, then fight
fears for the rest of the night?
6 pm
What kind of home does she live in? Is a meal on the table?
Does she check online to whip something up for her family? Has she secretly
thrown out her food for weeks while her parents applaud her for her excellent
grades and her nomination to student government? Who is excited to eat dinner
with her? Who isn’t? Does she talk to the homeless man on the step before she
enters her apartment or does she shove his bottle aside and kick him a little
to make sure he’s not dead?
7 pm
Is he on deadline and hasn’t stopped running all day? Do his
eyes blur when he pulls her picture out of his desk drawer, running his thumb
over her impressionable smile? Does he run seven miles every night at this
time? Is his beer belly starting to grow? Is he rooting for his favorite team
at the bar with his friends? Or by himself as he wonders when the hitman will
every show up? Does he wish he could go to all the nicer restaurants in town,
counting the small change in his wallet? Or is he at a fine restaurant
wondering when all this—the chandeliers, the over attentive waiters, the tiny
displays of food on his plate became important to him?
8 pm
Is she going to join the circus tonight against her parents’
wishes? Does she wish she had just one more month left to spend with her
growing grandkids? Is nothing on TV so she decides to visit the dealer on the
corner? Or sleep with her neighbor after he’s pursued her for months? Does she
already have her pajamas on or stilettos? Is she exhausted after another day
wheeling around her handicapped child but she’s never felt more fulfilled in
her life? Is she going to make the call? Write the letter? Take the risk? Or
just go to bed early?
9 pm
Does he buy wine for the party where everyone will be
straight but him? And does the hostess know? Will she treat him weird? When
does he pop the question to his girlfriend and will she think it’s only because
she told him she’s pregnant? Does he down two fingers of scotch or abstain
because…? Does he avoid going to bed because sleep is futile? Is it time to go
to the hospital to finally see her? Or time to see the doctor about that little
problem? Why, he wonders, does nighttime always bring so many questions?
10 pm
Is she watching the game? Writing her dissertation? Snacking
for the hundredth time today? Does she beat herself up over telling him her
secret earlier today? Can she trust him? Is her bed comfortable? Are there
crumbs in it? Too many memories of random lovers? Does she write in her diary
that she’s afraid? Her journal? Say it as a prayer she’s not sure will be
heard?
11 pm
Does he sleep with the lights on because that’s what he’s
done ever since the attack? Or since his time in prison? Does he call and hang
up? Is he reading that thriller he can’t put down and secretly wonders if it’s
time he take a stab at writing? Does he wrestle with whether he loves her,
twisting the sheets around himself like a mummy? Or is he wrapping his arm
around her waist, breathing in the sweet scent of her shampoo? Is he playing a
late game of soccer? Or planning his trip to Paris? Or fighting demons in his
sleep? Does he doubt anyone cares he’s alive? In the darkness, is he letting go
for the first time ever?
~
If you ever get stumped while writing a novel ask questions
like the above. Don’t settle for the usual suspects. Probe. Dig. Go out of your
way to get to know your characters. They’ve been waiting.
As June Carter Cash would say, “Time’s a Wastin’” so get to
it! It’s time to bring some characters to life.
So insightful, thanks Wendy!
ReplyDeleteMost welcome, Crystal! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteWow!! Wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :-)
Delete