Random Thoughts on Creating Characters

By Lisaorchard @lisaorchard1

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after taking a week off for Spring Break. We didn’t go anywhere but we did have a nice week away from school and work even though it SNOWED.

Photo on Visual hunt

I was so disappointed when I woke up to snow on April 3. We were supposed to go up north, but when the snow hit we decided to wait until it was a little warmer because we’re tired of winter.

So to make sure my kids didn’t get bored we arranged a couple of sleepovers and one of them was with their cousin. When he was over, they stumbled across the show “The Office” on Netflix.

OMG! This show is hilarious. When I watched a few episodes when it first came out, I didn’t get into it for some reason. Probably because my kids were small and I didn’t have time for TV. Since I’ve been reintroduced to the series, we’ve been binge watching it over this cold and snowy weekend and the whole family enjoys it.

It’s a great show to watch from a writer’s perspective. I’ve been working a lot on creating characters and it’s so interesting to see how the different personalities in this show interact and conflict. My favorite character is Jim. He’s so easygoing and plays practical jokes on all the others. It’s fun to watch how the different characters react especially Dwight.

Speaking about shows that have incredible characters, there’s “Breaking Bad.” One of my all-time favorites. If you need a good representation of character arc, just take a look at Walter White and see how he transforms throughout the show. It’s amazing and totally believable.  It’s not a comedy like “The Office,” and it’s incredibly intense, but it’s an awesome show to watch.

I’ve been working on developing my characters so that they’re more three dimensional because that’s what readers want, right? So I’ve been working on their strengths, their flaws, their goals, and their quirks. Humans are so interesting and they’re full of contradictions. So our characters should also be that way. Wouldn’t you agree?

When you’re creating your characters dig deep. Find their strengths and weaknesses and create other characters that have strengths and weaknesses that conflict with your main character. Because all of us writers know that the greater the conflict the greater the story. Right?

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Just a few writerly thoughts on a cold, snowy spring day. How about you, how do you determine the personalities of your characters? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

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