Melanie Nilles

I always wonder how good I could act if given the right character to play. As a writer, I play several characters per story usually, although only one per scene. Or is it the other way around?

It can be hard switching characters with the different motivations and backgrounds and viewpoints. But it is fun! The best part is when the characters come alive and “speak” to me about what they feel, see, think, etc. Then the writing takes off and blossoms. When the characters are that well established in a writer’s mind that they become almost a living entity, the stories are richer and easier to write.

But it doesn’t start out so easy. When I write, I first plan. I start with an idea and narrow down the focus with a main character in mind but not yet clear. I usually know how a story will end and fill in scenes between A and Z as they come. Along the way, the other characters materialize out of the ether, although they start out fuzzy. It’s in these planning stages that I get an idea of what characters I see and try to define them according to not only what I think I want them to be but also what I see through the mist. The physical appearance is usually the easiest, along with a brief background (upbringing, education, experiences that stand out). However, the personality comes later.

We often refer to a real-life person as a “character”. By that we mean that they have some distinguishing trait(s) that defines them in our eyes. Our fictional characters are the same. They are characters because something about them, usually in their personality (for me, at least) has a particular trait or traits that stand out and make them unique. They grow in clarity in the writer’s mind and in so doing develop into a full-blown living person, or creature. I, like most writers, love when this happens. More often than not, I don’t start out with this in mind. However, when I reach that point that the characters in my stories achieve this level of sentience, I sit back and enjoy the show. That’s when the characters write the book. The writer simply plays God and throws stumbling blocks in the way and watches them react.

You might have heard a writer say that they sat down and had coffee with their characters and discussed the weather or how the character feels in their situation. I’ve been there, although not necessarily drinking coffee. While writing, characters can come to life in their own way. Sometimes they tell the writer something is wrong or add a new direction to the story, but in reaching that state of having a life of their own, they add a new dimension to the writing, a new depth and clarity. Only by knowing how to write well can a writer bring that out, but getting into character is interesting at any level.