"What Is Your Biggest Shame?" And Other Character Tricks

One of the hardest aspects of writing is building deep, complex, believable characters. Characters with meat on their psychic bones, who you care about, root for, cry with. Characters who have relatable issues but rise above - or sink under the surface and are mourned. One-dimensionality is something to be strictly avoided whenever possible with any character, regardless of their place in your story. But for your heroes and heroines, they need even more.

So how do you write these kinds of characters? The ones readers chomp at the bit to find out more about?

Years ago, one of my writer buddies, the divine Jennifer Brooks, came up with a brilliant solution to this quandary. She was writing a book with an omniscient POV and several main characters. The BMW’s (my critique group) were having trouble keeping all of them straight, and we badgered her to do something about our inability to “get” who was who. (Many times, POV problems are a result of not knowing your characters as well as you should. If you know exactly how your character will react in a certain situation, what they’ll say, how they’ll feel, your POV will fall into place.)

Have you ever been sent an email survey by one of your friends, the kind that has a huge list of questions that either you or said friend must fill out? They ask detailed questions that are meant to show how much you really know someone. My friend, in all her brilliant glory, decided to fill out the survey as her characters. Since many of her characters were in relationships or strong friendships, she allowed the characters themselves to ask the questions of their friends and lovers. It gave her a stronger grasp of who each character is and how they could be presented in the story to help us, the readers, keep them straight. It worked wonderfully. The characters came alive for her readers. And, I daresay, for the author herself.

I've used this trick several times in the past, and I know with the internet this advice has circulated a lot. But just the other day, another divine writer, Paige Crutcher, asked about getting deeper into a character, and I suggested this method. She found the Proust interview and sent it along, which I've included here. It's as good a kickoff point as any I've seen to get into your character's head. 

Just FYI, this is a bastardized version of the Proust Questionnaire. Here's a link to the story behind this, and the original interview, too. 

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

What is your current state of mind?

What is your favorite occupation?

What is your most treasured possession?

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

What is your favorite journey?

What is your most marked characteristic?

When and where were you the happiest?

What is it that you most dislike?

What is your greatest fear?

What is your greatest extravagance?

Which living person do you most despise?

What is your greatest regret?

Which talent would you most like to have?

Where would you like to live?

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

What is the quality you most like in a man?

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

What do you most value in your friends?

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Whose are your heroes in real life?

Which living person do you most admire?

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

On what occasions do you lie?

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

What are your favorite names?

How would you like to die?

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? 

What is your motto? 

I posit that this list is missing one of the biggest, most important, juiciest character building questions of all time, so I will add it here.

What is your biggest shame? What is the one thing you hide from everyone, even, sometimes, yourself?

Know that, and you will know your character's true nature, and their heart.

And just to explain the picture above, my all-time favorite meaty character is the one and only Heathcliff. I know, I know, but I am a sucker for the Byronic hero.

Who is your favorite meaty character? And if you have tips or tricks for building them, feel free to add them in the comments.

Best Links of the Week

The Business Rusch: A Warning To All Writers Who Need Help Indie Publishing  (hire 52Novels or @BrettBattles instead)

How 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Dominated Publishing - Peter Osnos - The Atlantic (there are exceptions to every rule in social media)

There’s Something About Gillian Flynn (or, When There’s More to Genre Than Meets the Eye) BOOK RIOT (Hits the nail on the head - especially about how women are supposed to be cool girls for their mates...)

3 Tips for Writing When Life is Chaotic and Crazy - Author, Jody Hedlund (Super, especially as we're all settling back into our school/work fall routines)

Author, Jody Hedlund: How to Prepare For a Book Launch (Good stuff here...)

And for something totally fun - Alternate Histories: 7 Ways the World Could Be Completely Different - Mental Floss (So cool - love futurists)

Are You Really A Writer?

We are our own worst enemies when it comes to taking ourselves seriously.

We want to be writers. We want to share with people that we're writers. We want to sell a gazillion copies of our books and be lauded for our efforts. But when it comes down to it, to that butt in chair, time to get to work, we ... fall away.

Ooh, look at that! Shiny objects! Magpies! RSS Feeds! So many people out there saying so many things and I might miss something if I don't pay attention to everything all at once and what happens if I really try this and what if no one likes it is that a reflection on me do they hate me why won't anyone take me seriously I better go eat some worms.

Yeah. The writer's mind is an ugly place sometimes. We writers are damn good at finding ways to talk ourselves OUT of success.

So I'll say it again. No one will take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously.

I read this great essay last week on the Writerly Life blog called Be Proud of Your Writing. It's about the bizarre self-deprecation we do when we share about out art. We talk around it, like our passion for it is a bad thing. But without passion, what else do we have? Passion equals drive equals success.

I think the difference between the one-offs and the glory seekers and real writers is our unique brand of passion. For literature. For books and bookstores and readers. For creativity. For living on the soul-sucking edge of the pit of despair and dancing with fairies on the tips of the Himalayas - which is basically how we spend all of our days, teetering between the two. For the words, man. The words.

I've been on a Hemingway kick lately, and one thing you can NEVER accuse that man of is lacking passion. He lived for his words. His words made his life bearable. Even through the alcohol and the women and the eventual pain that chased him into the grave, the words were what made him complete. And tore him apart.

Done by twelve, drunk by three.

It might not be healthy, but it's a schedule. Find a schedule, and stick to it, no matter what. Schedules become habits. Habits create consistent output. And consistent output allows you to have a successful career. No one can buy your brilliant novel if you don't sit down and write the thing.

I realize this is sort of two topics in one - but I think the two issues are inextricably linked. Passion in and of itself isn't enough. You have to have skills too. And skills are born of good, healthy habits, habits that include believing in your work. Believeing in yourself. Not allowing the brown noise that oozes through the internet to leak into your delicate ears. Tune it out. Tune out the naysayers, and the shouters and the chestbeaters. Don't let them influence you. Write for you, not for the market. Write what you're passionate about. Do it well, and it will find a home.

The next time you catch that urge to demean your writing, or your writing life, or distract yourself because you're scared, stop. Remember the passion that drove you to write in the first place. Embrace it. Give thanks for it. Take it out for dinner. Maybe even buy it a new pair of shoes. Never, ever, EVER, put yourself and your writing down.

Because if you don't take yourself seriously, then who will?

Rocking PW Review for EDGE OF BLACK

And so it begins.... Thanks, PW! You rock!

Edge of Black J.T. Ellison. Mira, $14.95 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-7783-1372-4

A biological attack on the Washington, D.C., subway system propels Ellison’s suspenseful second Samantha Owens novel (after A Deeper Darkness). Former medical examiner Sam has moved from Nashville, Tenn., to the nation’s capital, where she’s a guest lecturer at George Washington University. When a female student mysteriously passes out in class, Sam takes her to the ER only to discover that the student is just one of the victims of a biological agent released into the Metro. Only three people actually die as a result of this possible terrorist attack. Sam winds up working diligently with Det. Darren Fletcher, a member of the task force investigating the crime, to find the culprit, who Sam’s boyfriend, former Army Ranger Xander Whitfield, believes may have a peculiarly personal motive for the attack. The action builds to a breathtaking conclusion as Sam, Fletch, and Xander seek the connections among the three victims, from the inner circles of D.C. to the wilds of Colorado. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Dec.)

Reviewed on: 09/10/2012

EDGE OF BLACK is available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller.

Best Links of the Week

The Business Rusch: A Tale of Two Royalty Statements  (Lots of good info on accounting of royalties)

Writer Unboxed » Social Media Suicide  (Many great points here for new writers, and experienced ones, too. It's just so easy to overdue the self promotion…)

Steven Pressfield Lighten The Load  (LOVE this concept of minimalism for writers. Less is definitely more)

The Kill Zone “I” is for Integrity: Sue Grafton and the Self-Publishing Blowback (Classy response from a classy chick)

Book Reviewers for Hire Meet a Demand for Online Raves (Paying for reviews is cheating, plain and simple. UGH!)

Fake book reviews are rife on internet, authors warn - Telegraph  (Bravo to those who uncovered & condemned!)

And to end on a happier note: Love Scrabble or Words with Friends? Check this out! Reflections on the Winning Board of the 2012 Scrabble Nationals