What a character.
We say that a lot here in the South, usually when we’re shaking our heads over some strange comment or behavior.
Right now, I’m faced with expanding some characters I’ve already written about. The agent who’s agreed to represent my middle grade novel wants another (let me pause here to take a deep breath) 10,000 words.
My entire manuscript is 25K, so he’s asking me to write the equivalent of another half a book.
That’s okay (even though it sounds daunting), because he tells me there’s a better chance of selling my story if it’s closer to the length of most mid-grade books. And besides, he’s not asking for a lot of new scenes or action; he just wants me to give the characters more time on stage.
So—how do you beef up your characters, and make them feel alive for your readers?
One way is by turning real life into art. Start by observing people around you.
Here’s an example. One Sunday afternoon, I noticed a striking woman in the grocery store. She wore a simple, black dress that fell to her calves, and her long, straight hair–which was also black– reached almost to her waist. She was pushing a buggy in the cereal aisle, checking out the Fruit Loops, when I noticed she had a pair of fuzzy, black bedroom scuffs on her feet.
She was probably in her 50s.
Until I got to the part about her slippers and age, you might have pictured her as a Goth.
But those shoes told me a lot. I know how it feels to wear high heels all day, and since it was lunchtime, I thought she’d probably just come from church. She may have stopped to pick up a few things and changed into scuffs because her feet hurt.
Maybe they hurt because she wears heels everyday to an office. Or maybe she’s not used to heels at all, and only wears them on Sundays.
Her black dress and long, unstyled hair also made me think she might attend a fundamentalist church.
It doesn’t really matter, because I’m writing fiction, and I can use details like those to flesh out my characters. You can, too; all you need is a good memory, or a pen and paper to jot down ideas for later.
Later I’ll share some prompts for writing memorable characters that I learned at a workshop given by award-winning Latina author Meg Medina. Stay tuned.
