tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post7301166898747939207..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Creating CharactersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-13511901427017991252010-01-16T21:02:22.296-05:002010-01-16T21:02:22.296-05:00on writing the first draft of my first manuscript,...on writing the first draft of my first manuscript, the story started out with a simple premise and a central character.<br /><br />It was going to be a short story, a murder mystery in which the barman at one of my regular pubs gets dragged into a tangled web and ends badly. He was going to be a monosyllabic grunt.<br /><br />Somewhere around 2000 words it became clear that the story was going to run a little longer, and then i ended up with a novel length manuscript. But the central character just didn't work, he was dull. He was still a guy who belonged in a short story.<br /><br />Then someone else, one of the other guys at the bar in the opening scene, started talking and i realised he was the main character, and things started to get interesting. Now i have more than one story in my head for this guy.<br /><br />Before that happened, i always thought the guys who talked about 'listening to their characters' were just being arty. Now, i sit and listen to every word my characters say.Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-64840947859515657282010-01-16T17:02:25.275-05:002010-01-16T17:02:25.275-05:00I strart with a sentence, a vision, an idea--never...I strart with a sentence, a vision, an idea--never knowing where it will take me. That's the only fun in it.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-19714239186584012302010-01-16T12:09:35.425-05:002010-01-16T12:09:35.425-05:00I forget where I read this (a lesser man would tak...I forget where I read this (a lesser man would take credit for it himself), but someone smarter than I said the writer's knowledge of the character should evolve. We don't meet someone and know all there is to know about them right away; so should it be with our fictional creations. Each new discovery should make some sense relative to what came before, but I agree with David; writing too much of a Bible before starting would be suffocating. I sketch out some backstory for many of my characters before I start, but their "character" (foibles, tastes, prejudice) evolve as I know them better.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-5479293718238283542010-01-16T09:54:51.978-05:002010-01-16T09:54:51.978-05:00David - Thanks. I had written and posted this blog...David - Thanks. I had written and posted this blog entry before I read Reasoner's post. I chuckled at the ironic timing. When I wrote my Harry Truman novel, I did have a chapter-by-chapter outline and knew where all the players were and what they were to do. The joy of that process was that the characters told me hold they went about their activities. And I forgot about the arm bands. Thanks for the reminder.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-91970679291354552422010-01-16T02:06:44.043-05:002010-01-16T02:06:44.043-05:00James Reasoner over at Rough Edges, talks about hi...James Reasoner over at Rough Edges, talks about his style of writing (the post is titled Instinct) and I've come to emulate it. Basically, have a general outline of where you are going. Maybe five or six chapters and let the characters fill in the pages for you as you write. Not for everyone. But I tried the detail notes route and found it suffocating.<br /><br />I've also decided to have some fun with my character Cash Laramie. Chronologically the seven stories I've written (only one thus published) are all out of order. A character dies in one adventure only to appear in the next. It's more fun that way.<br /><br />And I can imagine that Mr. Doyle had some serious nitpickers back in the day. The rabid following then was much worse. I mean people who take to wearing black arm bands when a fictional character dies probably had some severe thought about the way he was living.<br /><br />(great post Scott)David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.com