Barbra Hesson

WHO ARE YOU?

When we are writing our stories we want to have characters that the reader can see.

We need to describe how a person looks, (facial features, clothing), on the outside as well as on the inside (personality, how do they react to different situations.) Tell us what they are thinking. The reader needs to be interested in the person and should care about what happens to them.

Interviewing a character is a good idea so that YOU really get to know him/her.  How can the reader know the person if you don’t?  You won’t use all the info in your story but it will help you tell the story about them.

Some sample questions:

Name/Nickname

Age, Birth date, Place

Height, Weight, color of eyes, color of hair, facial features

Father’s name, brother’s, sister’s, mom’s, pets

Address, house description

Mannerisms:  grooming, speech, voice, favorite phrases

Clothes

Music, Reading, Movies, Sports, Food

Name of School, favorite subject, teachers names

Friends

Good at, Bad at

Now that the reader knows your character and cares about them, they want to see what happens and so this person must somehow change in some way by the end of the story, usually for the better.  A bully finds a friend and learns to share, a sad person finds happiness through friends, a goal is achieved.

Other characters in the story matter too, they must get involved in the main person’s transformation.  You can interview them, but don’t focus on trying to change them.

One thing I have done that has been helpful is to find pictures of what I think my characters look like and put them with their interviews.

Good luck finding and creating your special person.

It’s kind of like being Dr. Frankenstein!  Have Fun!