I attended a writing conference last weekend sponsored by the Tri-Valley Writers Club, a branch of the California Writers Club. One of the sessions I attended was a very interesting class taught by brilliant Bay Area author and teacher David Corbett. The session focused on building complex characters to drive your plot development. Here is one thing I took away from his presentation that I will be keeping in mind as I move forward with my own work.
Questions to answer when building a character
1) What is her moment of greatest pride? Did anyone witness it?
2) What is her moment of greatest shame?
3) What is her moment of greatest courage?
4) What is her moment of greatest fear?
5) What is her moment of greatest sorrow?
6) What is her moment of greatest joy?
7) What is the moment of greatest harm caused to another human being?
Will the answers to all of these things be explicitly revealed in the book? Probably not. But will they drive how your character behaves? Most definitely. For more information about David's thoughts on character, check out his book, The Art of Character.
Questions to answer when building a character
1) What is her moment of greatest pride? Did anyone witness it?
2) What is her moment of greatest shame?
3) What is her moment of greatest courage?
4) What is her moment of greatest fear?
5) What is her moment of greatest sorrow?
6) What is her moment of greatest joy?
7) What is the moment of greatest harm caused to another human being?
Will the answers to all of these things be explicitly revealed in the book? Probably not. But will they drive how your character behaves? Most definitely. For more information about David's thoughts on character, check out his book, The Art of Character.
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