Get to Know Me

I was reading over Toni Morris's writing process and the rituals she engages in before she begins writing and I found myself thoroughly enlightened. She spends quite a bit of time, almost two years, getting to know her characters and their circumstances before she begins to construct the language of the book. She stated, "I've spent a couple of years, probably eighteen months, just thinking about these people, the circumstances, the whole architecture of the book, and I sort of feel so intimately connected with the place and the people and the events that when language does arrive, I'm pretty much ready." Lately, before I start writing my novels, I develop an outline that forces me to think about the main characters of my book--names, occupations, hobbies, background. It's a quick, one page outline that I often go back and reference during the writing process. In the past, I'd just write and let the story come to me as I wrote; however, that has often left me altering the character's dynamics because I never had a blueprint for the character to begin with. 

When readers engulf themselves in my work, or any work for that matter, they connect with the characters. The single mother or the emotionally conflicted drug dealer is a real person for the reader and they connect with the character's mannerisms, actions and history, and as a writer, it is important that the character remains consistent. The moment the character starts off as a sassy, independent single mother with a heart of gold and then ends up as a weak-minded neglectful parent with a devious side is the moment the reader pulls away from the read and questions the writer's ability. Yes, there are going to be to the times where a character will evolve throughout the course of a novel, but it has to be believable. Everything in the character's past must culminate into who this character is evolving into, and the second something doesn't make sense is the second the reader catches on. I'd like to think that I write to a smart, sexy and detail oriented bunch of readers that can't be fooled by my foolish inconsistencies so it's important that I get to know my characters. 

I'm almost done editing my novel Dealing Broken Promises and I've already written the outline for two more novels. I'm excited because I've spent a lot of time thinking about my characters. I've spent so much time rewriting and revising because I've spent a large amount of time crafting my characters in a way that is true to their title and that often involves the act of revamping an entire scene or section of dialogue in a way that seems more realistic. I think about my characters as more than just names on a page but real people with real issues. If my character was real, what would he or she be doing right now? I want to take the Toni Morrison approach and spend more time getting to know my characters to the point where their old friends, old lovers, long-lost family members that I've reconnected with. Ultimately, by getting to know my characters, I am doing my readers a great service. For example, they know Erin would say that or do this because that's in her character, they know her. 

So, as a writer, get to know your characters and their circumstances so well that when your readers cozy up to your novel, they know your character just as well as you do.