Tiara Talk: Characters

Oh holy geebus. Did you guys think I was nerdy before? Just you wait until you hear how a few of my favorite characters, particularly the heroine of my Camp NaNoWriMo novel found herself developed into a three-dimensional pain-in-my-butt.

In case you haven't noticed through my reviewing method, I think characters are a really BIG deal. For me they can make or break a story. I want characters I can relate to, characters that develop, I want characters who are REAL. I ask a lot of characters and luckily for me most authors deliver. And I know how hard that is. Characters, usually, don't just pop out fully formed and ready to go. You can't just run around the corner and pick one up at the seven-eleven. Okay, you can, but I can just about guarantee you that isn't the kind of character you want to take home with you. Just sayin'. 

Creating realistic characters, three-dimensional beings, is a lot of hard. Usually a lot of hard work to be precise. And without strong characters, your novel just isn't going anywhere. 

Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret, on how my Camp NaNoWriMo heroine, a lot of her friends, and the stars of other novels in this series became fully fledged characters. Are you guys read for this?

Really read for this?

I'm about to admit to full on nerddom here.

...Ready?

Set.

Go.

Hello, my name is Ash and I used to be a text-based roleplayer.

Dun, dun, dun.

Okay, don't click that little X just yet. It sounds crazy nerdy, and a little bit weird, and it kind of is. But it did wonders for my character. The heroine of my WIP was as flat as they come when I first came up with the idea of her, and throughout a great many roleplays she has evolved into the character whom she is today. Her backstory changed dozens of times in the beginning, as did almost everything about her except a few special trademarks, and when it finally got to the point where I was just altering a detail or two here and there I knew she was ready. 

Roleplaying was like a chance to write out mini storylines starring my heroine, to write and rewrite her and get to have her interact with other characters...the best part is I was only concerned with her. I was able to develop her through these interactions and she was my only variable. It was insanely helpful.

Good characters don't pop out ready made. For me, roleplaying really helped me get a feel for my heroine, I feel I can really look at the plot and make choices that fit her personality, they are second nature to me. This is how it should be with good characters, or at least how I feel it should be. You should know. These characters should almost be a part of you if they aren't already.

Character profiles can help too, writing short stories, anything that helps you to get to know your character better. Because knowing them as well, or almost as well, as you know yourself is key.