Flathead River Writers’ Conference — character sheet

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.)

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