Hello, My Name Is... (NaNo Prep, Week 2)

Getting to know your characters is an essential part of writing; but also one of the hardest.

I've been working on Reincarnation for over four years. (FOUR YEARS. That's, like, high school.) Because I've been working on it for so long, I know the characters backwards, frontwards, sideways, and upside down. To use an overused analogy, I know them like the back of my hand. (Insert obligatory "Oh hey, that's new!" joke here.) I know them better than they know themselves, and working on the story always gets me excited--like I'm meeting up with an old friend.

The thing is that the only reason I know these characters so well is because I've been working on it for so long. To be honest, I thought I'd have finished this story a long time ago--but at the same time, I'm glad I didn't, because getting to know y characters this much has proven to be an incredible improvement to the story--to me, at least. 

The problem with this, though, is that now I don't know how to learn about my characters any other way. I can't spend 4+ years on every story I write--and where NaNoWriMo is concerned, I only have 30 days. So how am I supposed to get to know my characters on the same deep, personal level? 

This is the part I'm always scared about. I'm worried that my characters are inconsistent, unrealistic, or just plain boring. I'm constantly hoping that my characters will actually seem like real, relatable people. I try filling out form after form after form, filling out character biographies that ask about everything from their favourite colour to their biggest fear--even if they themselves don't know what that is. Even after all that work, though, it never quite seems to be enough.

It turns out that the best way to get to know your characters is to discover them through the story.

Whenever I start a new story, I tend to start with a vague idea of what the character's like in my head. It's more of a feeling or aura than a description--because as it turns out, I'm much better at showing, rather than telling. As I go through the story, from the first page to the last, I get to know my character a little better. And with each chapter and each rewrite, they become deeper, vibrant, and much, much more real.

NaNoWriMo is filled with such spontaneity, such on-the-fly excitement that it provides the perfect opportunity to get to know your characters in such a fashion. I mean, you'll have to rewrite it all, anyway. Let your characters change directions as many times as your plot does. That's the only way you'll find out what truly works.

Until later,

- Justyne