Creating characters

Creating interesting and strong characters takes some thought. Before you start writing your character into your story, what do you know about them? Think of someone you've known over the years and fill in their profile:

How old are they?

Where do they live?

Where were they born and raised? Their parents background?

Do they like animnals? If so, what kind?

What music do they like?

Are they the outdoors type or a mall cruiser or a computer geek?

What's their favorite hobby? Sport? Colour?

If they could go anywhere in the world, where would they go?

You get the idea by now. Give it a try on a 500 word exercise about someone who is standing up for what they believe in. Even if you write non-fiction, this still works and prevents us from giving the reader bland boring characters.

I'd love to see what you've written. Email me at: dreambg1@shaw.ca

My recent book RV Canada On A Dime And A Dream is chiefly about two characters, myself and my husband Dave, but when you read it you are never bored. It's the story of how we dared to take our dream to RV across Canada on the road with very little money. People have called it a page turner as they wondered how we would get out of yet another problem and get back home... which we did 10,299 miles later. But we had such fun, we are taking it back across for 4 months. Bet there will be some new characters in the next book.

You may ask why the picture of the drum? Because just as drumming has rhythm so does writing. You never know what creations will sound off whether drumming or writing.

Happy writing. Make it a daily habit and watch it grow!

Barb