Connecting Readers with Characters

Happy Sunday readers,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, whether you are relaxing or working (I have been doing both). Any of my readers out there planning to watch the Super Bowl? I have yet to decide if I will be watching or not. Usually, I only watch for the commercials and maybe the halftime show depending on the performer.

In my last post I asked for requests for future topics for me to write about. The first request comes from a fellow author whose work I admire. He is also one of my beta readers. Today I will be discussing how I create characters in my book that matter to the reader.

This is a little tough to put into words now that I sit down to write this blog. I write what I know. I put a little of myself into each character, add traits of people I know or have read about. I try to make my characters all seem real. They have their faults, their weaknesses, their strengths. They may even have strengths that they have not realized themselves, but the reader may start to notice. It is human nature for us to not always recognize our own strengths, although others may notice them and be the ones to point them out.

I must confess I do not always plan out all of my characters right away or plan to have some characters. But as life happens so does a book. New people appear when your character or the story needs them. In my book I am currently writing I have had at least 5 unexpected characters appear within my book. Characters that helped the story grow and take on a life of its own.

To fully develop the characters I occasionally attempt to fill out a character profile, but sadly I still haven't found one I really like. Often when developing characters I write a quick description in my file of notes about each character and details I need to remember. Not all characters have been fully developed if they only appear for a brief interaction. I would not mind suggestions on character profile sheets my readers find helpful when developing their characters.  I might try using a Facebook profile or Linkedin profile to help me develop my characters. 

I hope this answers your question Josh.

Readers keep those topics coming. They can be about being a SLP, an author, or about my dogs.