Characters can create themselves. #writetip It’s a great experience when an unplanned character appears in a scene. Don’t stop to think about it. You can go back later and create a bio for the character. Depending on the character, a Bio can be as short as one line (the character’s name) or it can take up a whole spreadsheet.
I’ve used a few characters across three novels and need to keep track of them. Some of the things I record are:
– appearance
– habits
– personality traits
– relationships
– likes
– dislikes
– secrets
– something unique about them
– important information about the past (before the novel’s starting point that the reader may or may not know about)
You can keep whatever you might need to look up later. To keep the bio up-to-date, when I reread or edit my novel, I add details as I go.
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Can I use the technique in real life too? It would be really helpful right now to create a character who is nice looking, comes to work on time, likes his job, is in a good stable relationship (hence, no spouse bashing), has secrets but keeps them to himself, and the unique thing is – he efficiently handles all my paperwork and ‘to do’ lists in reality – not just in my imagination. Guess it’s time for me to stop dreaming and get back to work (without my new character). Maybe you can lend me a character sometime!
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I’m going to imagine the perfect person walks in your door and works hard the entire day. In reality, it might not help much . . . but what happens in your mind is more important.
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