YOU'RE QUITE THE CHARACTER

Creating interesting characters for stories takes practice. All writers, even the best, look for ways to improve.

Stop and think about what makes an interesting character. Consider the people you have met or know. A favorite uncle and his boring wife, your aunt. Are there people you envy, and why? People you despise, why?

Look at those around you as characters in a book and embellish their personalities. Mom is a good cook. She is meticulous about the ingredients of each dish she makes, the preparation, the cooking utensils she uses.

Create a character who is a struggling chef in a restaurant. 

The chef is too busy to go to the farmers market for tonight's patrons, one a famous person, but sends his trusted assistant. The food and the assistant never arrive back at the restaurant. The night is a disaster.

How would the chef act? What would he or she say? What happened to the assistant and would the chef's meticulous mannerisms be important to the rest of the story? Do you introduce another character to help or hinder the main character?

Would one build a house without a foundation? Of course not. Could you build a story based on the example of the chef? Without the chef's particular characteristics what good would the plot or story be?

The writer Graham Greene once wrote.

 I agree, once the character takes hold you become an observer.

If you need help on how to build and create characters there are hundreds of books and articles about the subject, which I have several.

One I found was quite simple and helpful, and it's free. Here is the link creating a character.
Writing fiction takes practice. Developing interesting and believable characters is part of the process. 

We're Writers-We See the World Differently

A pedestrian walks down a busy street with one thought. "I must arrive at my destination." 
A writer walks down the same busy street with many thoughts.
"Who lives and works behind those doors.
Fifty years ago. Fifty years from now. 
What monsters lurk in the shadows.
An unnoticed nickle on the ground. 
A window, a table, two chairs, a couple falling in love.
A lone soul, hands in pocket, head down, shoulders bent, everything lost.
A boy and his scruffy dog running down an alleyway. Bumper to bumper traffic, anger, happiness, laughing, yelling."

To a writer, every thing they observe is a prop for their stories.

#writers,#imagination,#stories,#character development,#building a character,#character,#plot