by Eldred Bird

When it comes to plotting out a new story, I’ll admit I’m a hardcore pantser, but when creating characters, not so much. I need to know who I’m writing about before I can tell their tale. My theory is the more real the character is to me, the more real I’ll be able to make them for the reader. Also, the better I get to know them, the more they will be able to tell me their story.

One way I get to know them at a deeper level is to sit down and have a conversation. Sounds crazy, right? Maybe, but it gives me the opportunity to hear their voice, see their expressions, and observe their body language. The more time I spend with them, the clearer the picture becomes, resulting in a more three-dimensional character.

Here are the 10 main questions I like to ask my characters and what I expect to learn from them.

1. Where did you grow up?

This question seems like an obvious one, but it’s one of the most important. Where someone spent their formative years lays the foundation for everything to come. Was it urban or rural? What was the culture like? What accents are prevalent? What colloquialisms and traditions were popular there? Things like this can have an effect on behavior, speech patterns, and general likes and dislikes.

2. Where do you live now and why?

Whether a character chooses to stay close to home or get out of town can tell you a lot. Did they stick around out of fear of the unknown? Maybe they left town to escape the past. A character might go somewhere new to seek work or follow and old love, per chance to rekindle the romance. Some strike out on their own seeking adventure, others might be run out of town by the locals.

3. What was your family life like? Do you keep in touch?

This is where I usually end up dragging the family skeletons out of the closet. Secrets can either build a strong bond between family members or tear them apart. Either way you’re bound to extract some dirt that ends up creating a good bit of drama that has a lasting emotional effect on the character.

4. How do you get along with others?

This question gets me deeper into the character’s personality. How someone behaves in a social setting is very telling when it comes to what’s going on inside their head. Are they an introvert or an extravert? A leader or a follower? They may be the peacemaker in social situations…or the quick tempered one that gets tossed out of the bar for starting fights!

5. Who is your best friend?

The people one chooses to surround themselves with can speak volumes about them. Do they forge long term friendships, or jump from one person to the next? They might gravitate toward people like themselves or seek out relationships that fill in qualities they feel they’re missing. One character might cling to someone stronger for protection, while another might see themselves as the protector. Of course, there are always the loners who never develop strong bonds with anyone. Think about your own friendships and compare them to your character’s.

6. Who is your worst enemy?

No matter how nice or likeable someone is there will always be that one person who can’t stand them and will go out of their way to make their life miserable. It may be something in the character’s past that keys the reaction, or it could be as simple as jealousy because the character appears to have everything going for them.

Of course, there may also be legitimate reasons a character has enemies. Those reasons could be personal, professional, political, or legal, just to name a few. The character may also be unaware they have enemies, leading to a both a good plot twist and an opportunity for self-reflection for the character.

7. What is your biggest fear?

We all have fears, whether we want to admit it or not. Fear can drive a character to veer off on a different path rather than staying on what appears to be the better road. It may be a single fear or a whole constellation of them. Fear can get the character into trouble or help them avoid it.

What feels like an irrational fear to one person may feel totally justified to another. They can be external (heights, wild animals, etc.) or internal (fear of failure, or even success.) Either way, fear can create conflict within a character that must be delt with and overcome to succeed in their quest.

8. What is your greatest accomplishment?

This question is all about the victories, great or small, that help to establish ego. Remember, this question is about what the character sees as their greatest accomplishment, not other characters, or the outside world. It’s all about self-image.

If the character can’t come up with an answer or downplays the subject it may show humility or a lack of ego, whereas someone who trumpets their victories from the highest mountain probably has an overdeveloped ego. Keep in mind that they may be talking big because they have a poor self-image and are over-compensating and hungry for attention and approval.

9. What unusual talents do you possess?

I’m not talking about the normal things like knitting sweaters or throwing a killer curveball, I mean the strange off-the-wall stuff that makes people stop in their tracks and pay attention. Details like this are what set characters apart and make them interesting. Having a special talent to call on may lead to a creative solution to a character’s current predicament. A good example of an unusual talent can be found below in my bio. Go ahead and scroll down. I’ll wait…

10. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

This is one of my favorite questions. It not only sets expectations for the character, but the author as well. Where the character sees themselves headed and the author intends to send them are often two entirely different places. This helps to set up roadblocks for the character to overcome to get to the final resolution of the story. I’ve found the farther these expectations are apart, the better the story end up being.

Some Final Thoughts

This is just a small sample of the questions you can ask to gain a deeper understanding of your character. If other questions pop into your head, ask them. You never know where they might lead.

Also keep in mind that this is an exercise for you, the author, to get to know who you’re writing about. Not all the information you dig up will make it into the final draft, nor should it. Just weave in the important details the reader needs to know and keep the rest in your head as you write. I think you’ll find that a better understanding of your character’s flaws and motivations will help you keep them real.

Do you talk to your characters? What questions do you ask? Let me know in the comments below!

About Eldred 'Bob' Bird

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking, and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives).

His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.

Top photo credit from Depositphotos.

Bob with knives photo provided by the author.

by Laura Baker

There are two parts to a story: story and character.  They depend on each other to make the story whole.  But let’s depart from the usual and take a different look at the story and the character.

At the heart of every story is a character who faces a struggle and makes a discovery.

The STRUGGLE is the plot, the outside forces, the story arc.

The DISCOVERY (or insight) is the character arc.

The first is what your story is about: plot, struggle, story arc, what your character has to do.

The second is what your story is REALLY about: character and the insight.

In the following examples, I’ve broken down the Struggle and the Insight from real movies.  See if you can guess what the movies are:

My story is about a girl trapped in a terrible situation who dreams of a better life, and about the obstacles she has to overcome.

What my story is really about is how risking what is safe rewards us with the power of our true self.

---

My story is about a selfish, greedy guy who will do anything to save his business.

What my story is really about is that our riches are measured in our willingness to sacrifice for love (or for others).

---

My story is about corruption and violence in a police force—the good guys are the bad guys.

What my story is really about is “what constitutes justice?”  What are we willing to do to get justice?

---

My story is about an introverted woman who has to come to the rescue of her sister.  Lots of suspense, twists and turns, until she finally beats the bad guys and saves her sister.

What my story is really about is the story of a woman longing for a hero in her life, but uncertain of her own worthiness to be loved, who in the end realizes she can be her own hero—and thus is rewarded with true love.

---

Now, the movies I used for these examples:

1. Cinderella
2. Rainman
3. LA Confidential
4. Romancing the Stone

But the first example could also be from While You Were Sleeping, and the second example could also be from Star Wars.

The First Step

The first step toward defining the struggle and the insight is in the inciting incident.  So let's look at where I begin my Discovering Story Magic class, with the Inciting Incident.

The Inciting Incident is possibly the most important scene in your book.  It must have drama.  It must have emotion.  The Inciting Incident is the set-up for your whole story. 

Within the Inciting Incident, we see the character thrown off balance (which means we actually understand that this event throws the character off balance), we see the struggle of the character to regain balance (so we know exactly what the character falls back on in her emotional make-up when things don't go as planned), and we get at least a hint of the antagonist (which foreshadows the crisis, black moment and realization for the protagonist).

Planning Your Inciting Incident

With so much riding on the Inciting Incident, how in the world do we figure it out? 

Ask yourself: if Event X does NOT happen, would my character still begin on a road to change?  If the answer is no, then Event X is the Inciting Incident. 

Here is a planning cheat sheet:

___________________happened

forcing a choice by ______________(character)

who will have to face _______________(their flaw and their fear).

This template forces you to consider:

1. Who is your story about?
2. What throws the character off balance?
3. What will the character have to face and change at the end?
4. The Inciting Incident is not a random event.  It must have meaning to the rest of the story.  It can seem random—a car accident, a murder, catching a fiancé in bed with your best friend—but this event rocks the world of your protagonist.

And possibly the most important element:

• The Inciting Incidentis NOT the event.  It is a CHOICE your character makes within the event that changes their life’s path.

So now look again at the template:

Something happens

The protagonist makes a choice

And this INCITES the story.

Including the Antagonist in the Inciting Incident

Ideally, you want the event and the choice to include the antagonist because in this way you are introducing the emotional force that's going to be brought to bear on the protagonist.

Here are examples of Inciting Incidents from some movies:

Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire has a twinge of conscience about his job, writes the Mission Statement and is fired.  He then asks who will come with him.  Dorothy goes with him.

An Unfinished Life

Einar's daughter-in-law, who he blames for his son's death, shows up with a granddaughter he didn't know he had and asks for a place to stay.  He turns them away until he is introduced to his granddaughter.  He lets them stay but has no use for them being there.

Good Will Hunting

Will Hunting has to make a deal with the math professor in order to get out of jail, that includes working with the professor and seeing a professional therapist. 

Two More Templates

Remember, the Struggle is the plot, the outside forces, the story arc. The Insight is the character arc.

Here are two more templates for you. 

The first part is the STRUGGLE:

MY STORY IS ABOUT______________

Who must _____________________

In order to ______________________

And this second part is the INSIGHT:

But (character must face) ___________________

And In the end _____________________

For example:

My story is about a heroine who must go on the run in order to save a child from his dangerous and relentless mother.  But fearing betrayal, she manipulates all relationships for her own agenda and endangers their lives.  In the end, she learns that a life worth living depends on having faith and trust in others.

And there you have what the story is about (the plot/struggle) and what it's really about (her Insight).

Final Thoughts

Here is the summary on figuring out these two steps:

STEP ONE: Define the Who, What, Crisis and Resolution of your story

STEP TWO: Put these elements in paragraph form using the template above.

I teach a class on these tools called Discovering Story Magic (DSM), a master class with an acclaimed 3-step method that teaches that most elusive skill: Storytelling.

Most writing books include a very important caveat about “storytelling,” usually referring to “an element within great storytelling which cannot be taught.”   Storytelling, they say, is more than skill, luck, perspiration, and dedication.  You either have it or you don’t.

I disagree with this.

Using the Discovering Story Magic technique reveals to individual writers, in their own way, what makes their characters, their stories and their perspective special. Very few writing books teach a straightforward, organic, specific-to-each-writer process for growing story from character. This magical skill is your own X-Factor.

It’s the magic that happens when you know what your story is REALLY about.

When you know what your story is REALLY about, you have found the HEART of your book.

And this is where the MAGIC really does happen.

---

DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC

I am excited to once again be teaching Discovering Story Magic and I want to thank Jenny for the chance to talk about the class here.  Because it's a different kind of class -- a plotting class, but not only that.  And yes, it's a character-building class, but so much more. 

We brainstorm with you on your own story.  And by the end of the month, you have everything you need to start writing, a character arc, the story arc, turning points, the emotional importance of those turning points, the story question, even secondary characters and the subplot. 

Most importantly, you'll have learned a process where you can do this on your own.  And even more so, you'll be excited to start writing on the story we brainstorm because you'll know what it means to figure out what your story is really about.

Join me for DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC and discover your story’s magic, its theme, and how to harness that magic and wield it to make YOUR story the most powerful it can be.

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About Laura

Laura Baker is an award-winning author of romantic suspense set in the Southwest, and the owner of a gallery in Old Town, Albuquerque, featuring Native American art. 

You can find information about her upcoming Discovering Story Magic class here.  Information about her other classes on her website www.fearlesswriter.com. Email her at Lbaker10@aol.com. Laura also has an online store at www.tannerchaney.com.

by Kris Maze

You typed your last keystroke of your manuscript. The room hums with the last words on the page. Celebrate and cha-cha around your living room. It’s a milestone, whether you've done it once or one million times. Take a break and share with someone! 

Finishing your novel is also a single stage in getting your book into print. So, if you want to send the novel to an editor or publisher, you won’t want to skip this crucial task: taking an inventory of all the key events in the book.

There are many benefits we can get from sifting through our masterpiece. (Yes, it is a beautiful work of art, but even great artworks start with sketches, and improve with reworking and practice.)

Does this sound like a tedious additional step? Perhaps, but it is a worthy one that can save you some rejections and fix editing problems we all experience while crafting our novels.

Writing style matters

As a plotter or pantser - listing key events in your novel may look different depending on your writing style. But for both, going chapter by chapter may be useful for many reasons.

1. You can examine your work structurally and before sending your work to an editor fix expensive issues.
2. You can form a query synopsis easier and be more flexible to various agent/publisher requests.
3. You can create marketing materials and promotional items easier with a handy outline of your novel.
4. You will have a better elevator pitch and book blurb, because you will have worked out the deep essence of your story.

Your writing style may change when you create an outline of key events:

• Pantsers may spend more time after the novel to check their work.
• Plotters will see how their work deviates from their original outline/notes and have a clean copy of the actual manuscript as written.

Inspecting your whole novel gives writers a bird-eye view of their book. It takes patience, but the process can save us valuable time in the future.

What do I do? Lemme tell you…

1. The first step is simplistic, but it takes the most time. First, create a list of Key Events for each chapter of your novel.

(I use OneNote to keep this organized, but there are several other ways that work as well. At the end of the post, I have organization methods that many writers use.)

2. Once you have melded down your solid gold words, then take this trimmed down version of your book to examine its structure.

3. Think of the following ways to use your list of key events below.

1. Toggle through the key points.

In the editing phase, I scan through my chapters and summarize key points on separate pages. One note makes this a neat, easy to toggle experience. My current novel has a literal timer throughout the whole story and is one aspect that I have to get right. How much time has passed is critical to the story has to make sense to keep the action moving. I can now figure this out much quicker than other methods.

What has helped me tremendously is that I can quickly flip through the chapters in OneNote and easily see the bullet points for events. and see if the times line up sequentially and align with how much time should have passed.

Want more information on this software? See here for a fantastic post on the features of OneNote, by Jenny Hansen.

2. Fix plot holes. 

Maybe your timeline works, but in my book, I noticed some chapter events were thin while others were bulky with bullet points. I asked myself a few questions and smoothed out my novel in the process:

• Where do I have long chapters and how can I break them up into more manageable reading chunks? 
• Do the characters need to do all the action scenes I have? Can some be cut or moved from overloaded chapters?
• Does the order of the actions make sense? For example, would someone clean off their shoes and then go outside to the barn? Or the other way around?
• Do the actions fit the character’s personality? And do they show growth throughout the novel?
• Do the actions match the setting? Could another setting improve the flow of the novel or intensify the action or plot?

3. Spread out the action. 

Watch out for conversation parties.

In my WIP, the main characters have been forced to live underground while trying to communicate with other survivors after an asteroid hit their city. There are plenty of tense events as their world threatens to collapse from above, but they also are developing a friendship. 

While scanning through my events, I noticed some chapters were filled to the tippy-top with conversation. Using up all their air in the bunker with words. Conversation while cooking, conversation while learning how to tend to underground crops. Conversation about past conversations all to fill in the backstory. Some of it had to go away.

Even out your action and downtime scenes.

I realized that I added those details after an intense string of action scenes, but just too much. I needed to pull it out, break it up, and find places to add the quiet daily doldrums back into my story to balance out the action scenes. The effect is a smoother read.

4. Is there enough action? 

Maybe you find chapters that don't have many events. Think about a tricky spot in your novel and try to rework it with new action.

1. Look at this scene. Drinking coffee or tea or water. We all do it. But why do we want to read about it?
2. Can your characters witness an accident outside their window?
3. Does your MC fall or drop their fully prepared anniversary dish across the kitchen floor?      Does the cute waiter slip a note on a napkin to his secret crush? 

Make the most of the daily events and consider your plot.

• Can you add activity? If a scene is a reveal of a secret over coffee, perhaps your characters can spill the news while horseback riding on the beach or hunting down the missing bad guy.
• Add an interesting action. The more unexpected, but plausible, the more the reader will continue out of curiosity. 

Adding more action to an introspective scene can propel the reader on and you lessen the risk of them abandoning the book during a slow spot.

5. Is there enough internalization?

 Look at your key points. Include these internal revelations for each chapter as well. The character's growth arc should be apparent while scanning through these events. Consider the following questions and examples.

• Did you write the a-ha moments your characters have? How many?
• When do they realize they have feelings for someone or when they discover they would rather be a florist than a lawyer? Is this at a pivotal point in the story?
• Do the flow in a logical order?
• Does the character have a satisfying solution to their initial struggle? 
• Do they have enough growth to wow the reader? 
• Do you get feelings from their growth? Will your readers? If you can evoke these feelings in your reader, they will connect with your MC and want more of your story.

6. Do you have a sense of setting in each chapter?

            Make a clear connection

Be certain your events have a clear connection to place and that is evident on the page. They may force your MC into stealing the magical brooch, and even though the reader may remember from the last chapter, it is a nice courtesy to add details that help them remember it. Readers want a clear, seamless, enjoyable read. This is one way to help that happen.

 But How?

Add pieces of furniture. She searched the queen's floral etched vanity, sure she wasn't noticed by the guards. She handed chunks of bacon to the queen's hounds sitting patiently outside.

Add other characters. The guards, her dogs, in the previous example.

Add time of day and weather. The sun lit the area, spraying low angled golden streams over her royal bed and Persian rug. She noticed the queen hardly touched her soft boiled egg, but preferred her half eaten toast and jam. It is morning; it is not raining. 

Help your readers build your set with details about time and weather. Remember to show them where they are in each chapter so they will focus more on your story and characters.

OneNote

Using OneNote, Microsoft's organizing software is my new spring love. I just tried this organizing tool, after realizing it’s part of the Microsoft tools I already have. It made sense to use it since it also adds value to paying for their tools yearly. 

Don’t want to use OneNote or comparable software? Try other ways to organize your novel’s key events.

How do can you do this with other programs? Or in other methods?

• Other ways I have used were building these pieces into one lengthy document (Word, Google, OpenOffice). 
• I you are old school and love the paper experience. I still use binders, a 3 hole punch, and my trusty home printer that I bought years ago for less than one refill of ink.
• Sticky notes, or paper and tape, on any blank wall. Just remember that this one isn't portable, or searchable, or has the multitude of features that free you up to focus on your creativity. I'm not the only fan of OneNote - see Jenny Hanson's post above on how OneNote's top features can work for you.

Have you picked up a tip that could be helpful? Which of these have you used the most? Tell us your go-to organizing tool for the editing process. I’d love to hear them.

About Kris

Kris Maze is an author and teacher. She has worked in education for many years and writes for various publications, including Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish and the award-winning blog Writers in the Stormwhere she is also a host. You can find her YA sci-fi and horror stories and keep up with her author events at her website which is currently getting some new fun features!

A recovering grammarian and hopeless wanderer, Kris enjoys reading, playing violin and piano, and spending time outdoors with her family.