What a great time I had last weekend at the Flathead River Writers’ Conference in Kalispell! In my Sunday afternoon craft class on character, I detoured a bit to talk about how I develop my characters and use that detail to flesh out my idea. I referred to the character sheets I create for each book, but alas, did not have a copy to share. Here are the topics I explore for each character:
– Physical characteristics
– Family & friends
– Personality traits & their source
– Work
– Quirks
– Images: is there a particular image associated with this character?
– Goals & motivation – generally & in this novel
– Conflict, both internal and external
– Growth: General story line
(A few of these items, and other aspects of my method — such as it is — are drawn from Jess Lowery’s Pyramid Method, which I discovered in The Writer, February 2011; the article is reprinted by the Mystery Writers of America — Jess teaches it in a class at the traveling MWA University.)