Do you need help building a character? Have you ever thought of just asking them?

Good to see you again Grinders. How did your Google Earth project end up? Did you find a surprise in either exercise? What one do you think is better detailed? Share it in the comments.

We have 3.5 weeks until NaNo kicks off. Doesn't seem like enough time does it? I have spent a lot of my time outlining plot and characters, and as I do it I cannot help but think about how I have struggled with my character building in recent years. I really didn't understand it, I did everything I should have, I would answer every question imaginable about my main characters and even sub characters, I would detail their height, weight, zodiac sign, school back ground, phobias, parent's careers, all of the way down to their favorite flavor of ice cream. Yet when I put them to paper I found them just going flat from the first sentence. What was going wrong? I just didn't get it. I had detailed spreadsheets on everyone and it didn't seem to matter.

It took a while, but I stepped back and I took some time to think about what the root cause of my issues. I found that I really enjoyed writing dialogue and found that most of my story telling relied on dialogue between people. And I looked back at the dialogue of my characters and found that I wasn't enjoying reading it or writing it. I needed to make a change. But I couldn't figure out what to change. I realized slowly that there was a lot more to building a character then knowing their accent when they spoke or their education level to decide their word choices. I had to know them in a way only my characters could know. Sounds crazy right?

I decided to just do something different and see how it worked because everything I had done so far just wasn't working. I pulled out a piece of paper and imagined myself in the story with my character. I imagined that I was responsible for sitting down an interviewing them. I didn't worry about describing them, I imagined I was just sitting there looking at them, so there would be no need to go into that detail. Instead I spent time asking my character questions like: What was the hardest part about growing up? What do you like most about your best friend? If you could go back and change one thing in your life what would it be? What was your first kiss like? If you could learn anything what would it be?

These may seem like standard questions you would ask when you get to know someone in real life, and they will seem awkward at first when asking a character who is simply in your mind. I felt goofy myself when I did it, but it felt more natural with each question. Soon I got into the flow of the conversation and it felt like I was talking to an old friend. When I finished asking 20 or so questions I went back and read them and I found something very surprising. I found details about my characters that I had never considered. Instead of simply listing their parents careers, I asked what it was like growing up with a doctor or alcoholic or deadbeat or marine as a parent. I learned a lot more than I thought possible.

I find myself doing this exercise with most of my characters, especially my villains because I want to know why they do what they do. It makes for much more believable characters which is our ultimate goal anyway. I also use this technique if I get stuck in a story and I don't know what my character is supposed to be doing. I will put myself in the story again, in the moment that I am stuck, and I will ask the character how they feel, how they think it should turn out, what they are scared of and so forth. Often times I figure out exactly what my character should do next and how it will shape my story.

If all of this seems a little weird, I get it, I do, so here is a wrinkle that may just be the key for you. Instead of interviewing with a gentle back and forth. Try imaging yourself sitting across the table from your character in an interrogation room. And instead of asking soft questions, interrogate the crap out of them, ask them the tough questions, ask your villain why they committed the crime, ask your heroine why she is attracted to the bad boy who has just been arrested. This technique is great for those of you writing suspense, thriller, and mystery stories.

My challenge to you is to take the villain from your current project and interview them, and if that feels a little too touchy-feely. Then shove them into a chair in a small room and get in their face and ask the questions you don't have the answers to, the tough questions, and see how your character reacts. I think you will be surprised how much you learn about your character and what they are all about, deep down, where it counts the most.

Don't forget to share how it turned out in the comments and we will see you again next time.

What are you waiting for? Get back to grinding, November is almost here.