The wonderfully zany and multi-talented author
Tristan Bancks said I had to write a blog post about my character or he’d never speak to me again. I mean, he invited me to be part of a character blog hop. You can meet his character
Tom Weekly here.
Since it’s quite a long time before you’ll the character who’s taken over my life and computer right now, I’m going to introduce Nim. Even if you’ve met her, you might find out something new.
1) What is your character’s name?
Nim Rusoe.
2) Is Nim based on you?
Of course she is! She’s brave, adventurous, resourceful. A bit hot-tempered too, but I had to make some things up.
But Alex Rover, the agorophobic adventure writer is based on me too. Maybe I should say that Nim is based on how I’d have liked to be when I was her age. In fact, when I was writing the first book, Nim's Island, Nim didn't come to life until I remembered how I'd felt when I was 9 year and wrote a story about a little girl who runs away from an orphanage to live on an island. I wasn't a particularly brave or capable kid, so I created a character who could be all the things I wished I was. Thirty years later, that character and her story grew into Nim.
3) How old is Nim?
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| Abigail Breslin as Nim |
I never wanted Nim to have a specific age. When I wrote the first book I wanted her to be whatever age the reader wanted her to be – and because she didn’t go to school or have human friends, it was easy to do that. But when you see a movie you know how old the actor is, so in the movie Nim’s Island, Nim was 11, as the actress Abigail Breslin was at the time. In Nim at Sea she was between 11 and 12, but in the film of that book, Return to Nim’s Island, Bindi Irwin was 14, so Nim was too. In Rescue on Nim’s Island, I think she’s close to 13 – but she’ll be older in the film. |
Bindi Irwin as Nim
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4) What should we know about Nim?
She’s really just a normal kid whose life has made her become braver and more self-reliant than she might have been if her parents had worked in the city and sent her to school. But after meeting other kids in Nim at Sea and Return to Nim’s Island, she does want to have human, kid friends as well as her animal friends. She has to learn to do that in Rescue on Nim’s Island (as well as discovering fossils, blowing up caves, etc.) Learning to get along with the other kids and figuring out what’s going on is the hardest thing she’s had to learn!
5) What are Nim’s personal goals?
I don’t know if Nim would say, ‘saving the planet’, but in some ways that is her aim. She certainly wants to save her island and all the species on it.
And she wants the horrible twins Tiffany & Tristan to like her. (Sorry, Tristan!) And for Edmund to really like her.
And for Selkie and Fred to stay happy and healthy forever.
And I think she has a secret wish about her dad and Alex Rover…
6) Where can we find out more about the books?
Just click the links below. Nim's Island is the first, and Rescue on Nim's Island is the newest - it just came out last year.
And now I'm going to nominate
Sheryl Gwyther and
Kathryn Appel to introduce their characters. Check their blogs next week or so and see if they've taken up the challenge!
In graduate school for creative writing, I had a classmate who conceived of an elaborate way of track her characters. She combed consumer magazines clipping advertisements for furniture, perfume, and clothing that her characters would buy. In three-ring binders, she would carefully glue her characters' homes onto pages and pages.
When she returned to edit her work, she could review the pages and center herself in her characters' lives.
But what if you are, like I am, not as meticulous at tracking your character details? In Margo's question posted last week, she wondered what are some good ways to keep track of character details? I have a couple ways that I keep track, but they are generally not cut-and-paste and a three-ring binder.
First, I find that with my work, I like to start writing first. After I've written several pages, I backup and develop my characters' personalities outside of my story. Sometimes I'll take out an unlined piece of paper and sketch what I think my main characters look like. But mainly I will build out the characters by building their bio.
Some writers prefer doing this electronically (in a spreadsheet, for example). I prefer to write about my characters in a handmade spreadsheet on a piece of notebook paper. Pen to paper allows me to doodle and write in the margins--something I feel is more free flowing and creative.
What do I write down? Here are some suggestions to start with (some more obvious than others):
- Age (this will color a lot going forward)
- Eye and hair colors and other physical traits
- Education
- Favorite book or music
- Likes and dislikes (foods, movies, cars, clothes)
- Major motivation(s)
- Describe what is in his/her pocket/purse
And if I'm editing and, as the author, had forgotten to create the spreadsheet, I will start the spreadsheet as I edit. As I find gaps in my descriptions of the characters, it becomes an exercise of filling in the blank. Such a system can also help to flesh out errors in the characters' descriptions when you find that the main character has blue eyes on page 10 and brown eyes on page 54.
What characteristics do you generally come up with first in your writing? Also, if you have a question about editing (or writing), ask in the comments section and I'll (try to) answer you in my next post.
Elizabeth King Humphrey received her master's in creative writing from UNC Wilmington. One of her professors, Clyde Edgerton, has written some very colorful characters--check out his work if you haven't had a chance.
Whoa, that convo would never take place!
Ever read a novel and have that thought come to mind while perusing the dialogue? That situation happened to me this week. Twice, in fact. One incident involved a YA novel. As an educator, I hear enough teen talk to know what's real and what's phony as a $3 bill. The other time I was critiquing a short story. Everything flowed in the piece, except the dialogue. Nothing like stealing that "feel good" feeling from a great piece of literature. (Insert frown here.)
Writers need to keep dialogue real; otherwise, readers will tune out. What are the best ways to pump up the reality volume of what your characters are saying? These tips will help you fine tune your characters' messages:
- Listen and Learn Unless you isolate yourself from the outside world, conversations that you can learn from take place all the time. Call if eavesdropping, but if you just sit and listen to people talk, you'll learn to pick up speech patterns, key words, phrasing, and rhythm - all which will help you write a realistic scene. For example, I attended a comedy show last night and paid attention to the comedian riff with an audience member. The comedian used timing to his advantage, creating this natural conversation with the guy in the front row. As the dialogue continued, even the audience member seemed to pick up on the established rhythm the comedian employed. It was a perfect example of listening and learning how individuals talk and respond to each other. One of the best methods for improving dialogue technique may require popcorn. Watch a movie and discover how each character treats the dialogue. It's more than words. Dialogue also means you're creating a mood, setting up a reaction, and propelling a character into new situations.
- Precision Trumps Surplus Once you've mastered listening, put your skills to the test. Dialogue shouldn't provide full disclosure. Instead, writers need to discern which information should be offered through dialogue. Info overload makes dialogue sound stilted. What's the best advice? Precision. Precision. Precision. A character's dialogue should make a point. Otherwise, it sounds fake.
- The Rule of Three Repetition can be a writer's best tool to drive home a point. When writing stand up comedy, you give two examples and then bam! hit the audience with a twist the third time. It's the same "rule of three" idea with fiction. Writers employ a key word or phrase three times in a row to emphasize a point. Moderation is the key with the rule of three. Too much of a good thing makes dialogue sound phony.
- Speak Up Once you've completed a scene, read it aloud. Do the words match the intended tone and message? Or does the conversation sound bogus? Sometimes I'll record a scene as a .wav or MP3 file, play it back, and hear where changes are needed. If you're part of a critique group, read snippets of dialogue to group members and use their input to decide whether or not the words flow or if the conversation needs to be rewritten.
Perhaps Alfred Hitchcock summed up realistic dialogue when he said, "Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual term
When I interview a subject for writing an article, I prepare by writing a list of questions. I realize that I don't always come off as the sharpest knife in the drawer when I'm in the midst of interviewing. Why? Because I sometimes make the interview subject explain a basic concept to me. In fact, earlier this week, I had someone explain something I sat through a workshop about.
When the interviewee repeated himself, he spoke in a different manner. In a conversation and not a lecture mode, he presented the information differently to me. And it was in a mode more easily conveyed to my reader than his lecture.
I may already know a fact or concept, but I can't assume that all of my readers do. My interviewees can often convey that information best.
Fiction can work in the same way.
Think about what you know about your characters and how long they have been living in your head, in your notebooks and on your computer screen. You may know so much about them that you know how they would react to an event that never even appears in your work. (Or how the characters did react to an event that was then edited out.) Your characters may be second nature to you. But don't assume that your readers know everything about your characters. And who is the best person to convey information about the character?
How do you make sure your reader can keep pace with your characters and who they are? One basic technique is to interview your characters. Ask them some of the simple questions you may already know, but maybe no else one does. Take notes about their responses. Practice writing the responses in the tone and voice of the character.
Think about how your character sounds giving a lecture versus having a conversation with a friend. What about meeting someone new at a cocktail party versus a favorite lunch place? What questions are asked? What do you want to know about that character? What words would he/she use that differ from another character?
Get back to learning the basics about your characters so you can do a good job of introducing them to your readers. Remember that we (generally) don't learn everything about a person during that first "interview." The information is teased out while a friendly connection is strengthened. But remember that you don't need to be the sharpest knife in the drawer to learn more about someone. Just curious and full of questions.
Elizabeth King Humphrey (Twitter-handle @Eliz_Humphrey, is a writer and creativity coach spending way too much of her time asking questions.
By: Anne Greenawalt Writers know that creating strong, memorable characters is one of the most (if not the most) important part of writing a story. In a blog post earlier this month, I wrote about how to
create dynamic characters in five easy steps. And now, as promised, I am following-up with a character-creation writing exercise.
This is one of my favorite writing exercises and benefits writers of every age and writing level. I learned this exercise as an undergraduate. I have lead several creative writing workshops for students ranging in age from nine to 18 who also benefited from it. Adult writers have also told me they find this exercise useful, so I hope you will, too.
The Character ListFirst, consider the character you’d like to develop. Next, grab a piece of paper, or open a blank word document, and jot down an answer or description that matches each of the categories below. Feel free to add your own categories to this list.
· Character’s name and age
· Hair color and style
· Nose shape and size
· Most noticeable feature
· Type of clothing
· Body type
· Education
· Occupation
· Describe a scar or tattoo
· Describe character’s voice
· List a phrase your character often says
· Favorite food
· Least favorite food
· Favorite past time
· Worst nightmare
· Best childhood memory
· Most embarrassing moment
· Life goal
· Describe best friendDescribe worst enemy
The Character ScenarioNow, using this new information, you can write a short one-page story about your character. Here is the scenario – your character boards a plane going to _________ (insert location of your choice). As your character settles into her/his/it’s seat, her/his/it’s worst enemy sits in the seat beside her/him/it. What happens? If you get on a roll and want to write more than a page, that’s fine.
The exercise will help you see and hear your character, learn your character’s thoughts, see your character’s actions and how your character interacts with others. These are all key elements to creating a great character. It’s important for a writer to know her/his characters inside and out. You should know your characters’ birthdays, what their parents were like, how many times they have seen the Shrek movies. It’s useful for you, as the writer, to know this information even if it is not a part of your story or novel.
Other Character-Creation ExercisesStill need more help getting to know your characters? The character interview is another great method for developing your character. First, imagine you are your character. Next, have friends, family or writing group members interview you. You have to answer each of their questions from the perspective of your character.
Do you have any other character-creation exercises you find helpful? Please share! We’d love to hear them.
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Elizabeth--Your list serves as a good reminder. If we don't know our characters well, how can we expect our readers to get to know them and love (or hate) them?
I like to know what their pet peeves are, what their mannerisms are, and what kind of clothes do they tend to wear.
Thanks for the post, since I am 1/3 of the way into a crashed and burned NaNo project, but still plugging away---slowly.
We have a GREAT Character Trait Chart and Personality Components Worksheet posted on WOW that I suggest you all check out. It has almost everything I can think of! The personality components chart is extremely helpful.
Thanks, Elizabeth and Ang. Now, I need to actually do it. This last novel I'm working on, I did character traits/profiles before I started writing in a notebook and I can barely read my handwriting! :)
Hiveword.com has a great way to organize your story, character, plots, scenes-- and keep it all online. Great advice and questions to ask in this article as well.
Thank you, Elizabeth. I've always felt I need to focus more on character development at the very beginning of writing, but I tend to focus instead on just getting the setting written down right away. Do you find developing characters immediately is typically the most effective, or is it sometimes equally effective to develop setting and then think about the kinds of people who would inhabit that setting?
--Sara Felsenstein from http://sketchingastory.com