Loading…
5
Always thought character sheets were a waste of time, but my buddy's trick changed my mind
I was stuck on a detective story for months, couldn't figure out why my main guy felt flat. My friend Mike said, 'Just fill out a dating profile for him, but as his ex.' So I wrote a fake profile from his ex-wife's view, listing his annoying habits and secret fears. It took maybe 20 minutes, but suddenly I knew exactly how he'd react in a tense scene. That one weird trick gave me more depth than pages of backstory. Anyone else got a weird shortcut for fleshing out characters?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
leem346mo ago
Ever notice how we explain people to others?
8
lee.casey6mo ago
Heard a writer say they interview their characters like they're on a podcast.
6
samw796mo ago
My old writing teacher made us do character interviews on cassette tape. It felt silly at first, but hearing their voice out loud fixed a plot hole for me. That audio trick still works better than any outline.
1