Blogger KRISTI HOLL is the author of 42 books, including MORE WRITER'S FIRST AID.

Share |

Pages

RSS Writers First Aid

Blogroll

Archives

Categories

Give Your Characters YOUR Secrets

July 21, 2008

I’m always reading articles on writing with your original voice and writing honestly, so I read Rob Parnell’s article “Baring Your Soul: a Writer’s Guide” with interest. It’s about having the guts to write honestly about what you think, how you feel, what you’ve done, and who you are.

After I read Rob’s six exercises (see below,) I couldn’t help thinking that the answers to these questions would make great traits and backstory and fodder for your villains and quirky characters in your novels.

Do go and read the whole article, but here are the questions. Copy them into your writing notebook or your idea file, then take time to answer them–honestly. I plan to!

1. Write about the worst thing that’s happened to you. Get it all out, every feeling, however low, every nuance of how it went down, who was to blame and how much you hate the people or events that caused it to happen.

2. Write about the most horrible thing you’ve ever done. It’s easy for us to write about nice things and the good in ourselves but we hide from our other, darker side. No more – write down the most nasty vicious things you’ve ever thought or done. Don’t be afraid, you don’t have to show them to anyone – but you do need to purge those demons and get them out on paper.

3. List your crimes/sins in detail. All of us are a mess of good and bad. The facade we present to the world is an amalgam of what we want others to see. We all have bad thoughts and evil moments – it’s how we deal with them that makes us who we are. Get it all out in the open.

4. Name your enemies and describe them. Really try to get inside the people you don’t like – describe their physical appearance but also try to imagine how their minds work -and what they think about – especially about you.

5. Write about your embarrassing habits. Leave no stone unturned. No matter how bad, write about the things you wouldn’t mention to a soul. Write down exactly what it is you enjoy – or hate – about those private little things you do when nobody’s looking.

6. Write about your secret prejudices. We all have them – thoughts and notions that we know are not quite politically correct or acceptable, even to ourselves sometimes. But get them down on paper, explore your logic behind them and how they shape your more conventional notions.
Post tags:

2 Comments »

  1. LOL! I laugh because this is exactly what I did! When I wrote my first full book, I was constantly thinking of little things I had experienced and done and putting them in there, embellishing a little, to give my character quirks:-) It is fun to read back over and see my own little imprints. My story is completely different than anything in my real life, but those little things make it my book!!

    Comment by Krista Phillips — July 23, 2008 @ 2:22 am

  2. I wish I had thought of this years ago. What a great place to put all the dumb, embarrassing, shameful things we’ve done in our lives! And no one has to know that that quirky or weird character was really us at one time!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 23, 2008 @ 1:23 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment