Creating Real Characters

[Lycoplax]

Originally Posted by savagelilies

I tried "planning" my characters once--outlining their personality traits, looks, and such--but that just doesn't work for me. I'm not an outliner. It sucks all the life out of writing for me--out of the writing, and the characters.

When I write, I have a very vague idea of who my characters are. I don't really "create" them, so to speak. I feel like I'm following these people around rather than creating them. I don't know quite how to explain it... they sort of come to me half-developped and while writing about them they become full-formed.

Where's that Ray Bradbury quotation when I need it? It resonated with me so much, and now I can't find it. ACK. Okay, so, Google is telling me the quotation is, "First find out what your hero wants. Then just follow him…" but I feel like it was longer than that. Whatever. That's how my characters work, anyway: they want something, and I'm just along for the ride, following them as they try to obtain whatever Thing it is they want, and their characterization develops as a consequence of that. I let them be who they will be.

This. Exactly this. My characters can be so tight-lipped until the right scene comes around, then I get a precious glimpse into their true selves and motivation.