The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Birdie's Quill

Birdie

Snatching Characters from Everyday Life

The young father shuffled along the sidewalk in front of me carrying a baby while a little girl around three years old walked by his side eating an ice cream cone. The child wore bright pink flip-flops that matched little flowers dotting her yellow shorts. Her chunky legs worked to keep up with her father, but her pace slowed as she lapped melting ice cream. A light breeze blew her tangled shoulder-length hair and slowed her pace. With sticky fingers, she tried to brush away strands of hair glued to the gummy residue around her mouth.

What makes readers care about characters? Believable, interesting characters guide readers into the story's plot and let them experience new worlds tantalizing the senses and stimulating the imagination. Readers need to care about and relate to characters. If they don't care, they won't finish your story.

I noticed a pattern in my writing. Characters exhibited similar traits, temperaments and mannerisms. Why? They evolved from the same "bloodline," generated in my imagination. I needed to shake up my muse and force-feed my imagination.

People Watch
I decided to people-watch with a new motive. Fresh characters surrounded me. You can't get any more believable than the real world. Today's little girl is a perfect example. I've never written a story involving this "character." Original possibilities surround you and me. The trick is to learn to pay attention, to remember the details, to launch the birth of new, interesting characters.

When you walk through the aisles in the grocery store or walk among crowds at the mall, pay attention to the people you see. At some point in the day, jot down the details of one character that caught your attention. In my case, the little girl's flip-flops caught my eye. Catch the reader's eye in the same way. Zero in on a detail like the bright pink flip-flops. If you found it interesting, chances are readers will like it too.

Snatching characters from the real world reminds me of fishermen using a dragnet. You come away with more than a character sketch. You see the character move, react, and even collect a slice of the world in which they live. All of these elements percolate within the imaginative pool of possibilities.

At a time when I least expect it, this child may step onto the stage of my mind directed by the muse. I can use the way she walks, the sound of her flip-flops slapping the soles of her feet, or the way her attention focuses on her ice cream rather than her father. She fits into a myriad of scenarios, but until today in my mind she didn't exist. Now she belongs to a cast of characters waiting to perform.

Not only does flip-flop girl wait in the wings, but vague shadows of secondary characters huddle around her. An undefined father and sibling wait to interact and draw her into focus. When or if needed, I'll breathe life into them.

Keep a Journal
Make it a habit. Watch people. Select one person each day. Keep a journal of characters. Don't write a thesis. Keep your entries short. What made you take notice? Use the detail to name the character, i.e., "Flip-flop Girl."

Note details that drew your attention to the person: lines etching an old man's face, stringy, dirty hair, a shuffling gait steadied by a cane, sun-baked wrinkled thighs wearing a tennis skirt, bouncy hair tied into a ponytail, wide smile, Capri pants on slender legs pedaling a bicycle—each one of these items served as a trigger to generate a "character for the day" in my journal.

Snatching characters offers more than a snapshot; it's more like a video clip. As a writer, your part as the writer is to take the clip and let others see it. When you do, you'll introduce a believable, fresh character.


About the Author
Author and freelance writer, Donna Sundblad, resides in Florida with her husband, Rick. Check ePress-online for details regarding her soon-to-be-published book, Pumping Your Muse. As an owner/editor of Team Spirit Critique and Editing, LLC, Donna helps other writers follow their dreams. Visit her website at www.theinkslinger.net for more information.