I’m a structured person. Very
structured. I've got more structure than the Coliseum. In the definition of
structured, there should be...
OK, you got the picture.
Anyway, the point being that there’s a myriad of details
that go into a book. If the writer wants to ensure consistency - which I do;
see above about being structured - then those details need to be tracked. Once
I’m immersed in a story, I don’t like to have to stop to invent things, like
clothes or currency, and I especially don’t want to stop to make a note of it
in case I need it again. I resent such intrusions, and consequently I tend to
do a slapdash job. It's probably a left-brain/right-brain conflict. The right
brain has the reins, and doesn't want to give them up!
I’ve gotten around this with world-building by having a
comprehensive set of notes in advance. There’s a map, and a file for each
country detailing those things I’m most likely to need, like physical appearance,
clothes, currency, trade and so on and so forth. It’s great; if I need a detail
while I’m writing I just look it up, slot it in, and away I go. Kind of like
plug and play!
Despite that, I still tend to have a slapdash approach to
characters. I mean, I have some idea of who they are when I start, but really
I’m not much of a people-watcher.
What, a writer who doesn’t like to people-watch?
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| There's a goddess of death in the WIP for which I'm currently character building, but I'm pretty sure she has on more clothes than this! |
I know, I know, I feel abnormal too, but I can’t help it.
People watching exposes me to far too many things I don’t want to see. Like
stupidity. And then my eyes need to be sanitised. And then I get depressed
about the state of humanity. Possibly I feel homicidal. Yeah, it's all kinds of
bad.
Consequently, I struggle to articulate characters sometimes,
leaving them occasionally two dimensional. I try to flesh them out during
revisions, of course, but still… It would be easier if I was a people-watcher.
Then it occurred to me that what I needed was a quick reference
card for each of my characters like I have for different countries. A solution
to every instance in which I ask ‘how would this character respond to that?’
Plug and play characters!
Enter the personality test.
There’s a free resource online at www.16personalities.com which has
pretty comprehensive profiles. The test and a summary is free, and you can buy
the full profile for $16.99, which is pretty cheap in my opinion, and a
business expense anyway – and one I can’t possibly incur more than 16 times.
So I’ve started doing personality tests for my characters.
I know, hard-core right? I know what you’re thinking, and
I’ve heard it before. Anal. Perfectionist. Pedantic. I consider them
compliments. Writers tap their right brain for their creativity, but I use my
left brain equally, so I’m also extremely rational and logical. I am not a seat
of the pants type person. I'm a planner. A strategist. In fact, I used the
website to personality profile myself, and it pretty much said that. INTJ
personalities have a plan for everything,
including a plan for if the plan fails.
So shoot me. Maybe
I’m uptight. I can’t help that. I can’t change me but I can change my
writing process to suit me.
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| I like this goddess of death. |
What I know of the character in the initial stages of
starting a new story is enough to enable me to answer the personality test questions,
and then, hey presto I have a personality profile. I’ve been building character
profiles off the back of the personality profile, making up historical details
to fit the story and the personality as I go. And now, when I’m writing, and
I'm not sure how my character would react in a given situation, I can look at
the profile. Instant consistency. Just add personality profile!
It has also spawned some interesting ideas. The profile for
my latest protagonist said he can fall back on vices like drugs and alcohol
under pressure. Well, the guy is grieving for his murdered wife, and he's been
sent by his king to some backwater to get over it basically, but if we add in
some heavy drinking, and some unreliability, and now we've got a convincing reason why an otherwise stellar
commander has been shipped out to command an outpost no one wants.
It’s early days, and I wouldn’t recommend this technique for
all writers, especially those who are extremely right-brained or definite
pantsers, but so far it seems to be working really well for me. Already I can
feel the characters are more fully-fleshed people, which makes it much easier
for me to write them instead of me.
Suddenly I have that feeling I’m sure is familiar and
natural to nearly all writers – of having another person riding around in my
head.
Current WIP: In the Company of the Dead – a full-length adult
high fantasy novel. Lyram thought life couldn’t get any worse than a prince
wanting him dead, until he fell in love with a woman dedicated to the goddess
of death.
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