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taolie

Member Since 2007

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Thursday Nov 29, 2007

Nov 29, 2007
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How does a writer create characters? More to the point, how does he create characters that people want to read about, who develop a life of their own?

I read a lot, and my favorite authors are those whose characters come to life within the first few paragraphs of a story: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robert Heinlein. I don't even get past the first page of any of their books without becoming intensely interested in the characters. By page two, I absoutely have to find out what happens to them.

Conversely, writers like Michael Crichton, who I think is marvelous at creating ideas, plots, suspense, etc., has characters that I can't tell apart, even three quarters of the way through the book. I loved Jurassic Park, but at the end of the book, I still could barely tell who was who.

I would love to be able to write, to tell stories that other people would want to read, that would affect people emotionally, or at least make them laugh. I even have ideas, some rather interesting, that might be turned into good stories, but for one major stumbling block. I don't have the slightest clue how to make my characters come alive.

With all the reading that I do, I can recognize excellent character writing when I see it, but reproducing it is another matter entirely. It's like recognizing the craftmanship in a perfectly created gourmet dish, but not having the cooking knowledge to be able to recreate it at home. Frustrating, no?

I plan to try to take some creative writing courses, starting next January, but in the meantime, if there are any writers out there who have discovered any secrets or tips for good character creation, I'd love to hear them.

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