As I looked at
Elana's (compelling characters) list I thought to myself, what can I contribute to the conversation? I don't have a book
(yet). I'm not agented
(yet). What do I bring to the table? I decided I bring experiences to the table...and what do characters need?
They need experiences. They must have suffered highs and lows. They must have loved and lost. They must have won and been beat... All of your character's experiences may not make it into the final manuscript or book, but defining them helps you develop their character. :)
Just for fun I thought I'd give you a little bit of someone's life:
"Knowing that he had been a loving father to her was hard. It made me want to leave, but I knew I had to stay and give him a chance to be a father to me, even if it was twenty years too late..."
Watch the world around you, listen to the people around you and take notes...You never know when you might want to use them.
Do you listen in on conversations? Do you keep notes?
Experience is the spice of life, no? And it's fun to write about FIRST experiences, too. They can help shape and grow a character.
ReplyDeleteYes! Just the other day I heard one of my students use the word, burpalicious - I immediately had to write it down. :-)
ReplyDeleteExperiences are so important. They are what helps to shape us and be the way we are. A past experience of a character can be used as an excellent motivator or an explanation for actions.
ReplyDeleteSometime, not often, I keep notes, but I'm always listening to conversations. My wife says I'm nosy. I just like to hear other people's stories.
lee
Tossing It Out
It's so true...I hear snippets of conversations and make note. I see unique people and make note. Those things can all go into creating a fictional character!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! Experiences are so important.
ReplyDeleteCD
Great post. I do listen to those around me. Plus experience is very important to any story! =)
ReplyDeleteSo true! Experiences completely shape who people are. And I totally listen to other people's conversations...especially my kids' LOL Great inspiration there :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about finding a character's backstory and their experiences. I don't listen to random conversations that often, but they always give me good ideas! Especially conversations between friends--such interesting dynamics.
ReplyDeleteExperience is so important to people; without that, we'd never be able to do much at all! I never thought about experience playing such an important part, but it's definitely true.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved your post! Experiences are vital for any story to work. People go through so much in real life. Why should fake people (or characters, as they call them...) be kept away from that?
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I take notes. It's my healthiest way of stalking ;)
I'm an eavesdropper, I admit it. But is it really so bad if I'm doing it for creative purposes? Not like I'm trying to score someone's PIN or anything.
ReplyDeleteI try to carry a little notebook with me and jot things down. Experiences are vital to any good story :)
ReplyDeleteI've been chided many times by my fellow writers for talking about my lack of experience. I'll tell you the same thing. Don't allow yourself to worry about whether you're published or not, whether you are an "author" or not. You have a keen mind, you have ideas on writing, and you have plenty of people who want to hear them. This is a great post, and I'm glad I've found your blog. I'll be coming back for more ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI'm always taking notes on my travels. Written notes, mental notes and I have even recorded my thoughts on my mobile, sorry, I mean cell phone.
For instance, I overheard a lady tell her partner in the supermarket, 'I need chicken breasts'. I thought, 'hey..whatever.' :-)
I personally incorporate my experiences into my sleep-inducing blogs, all the time.
Have a great weekend.
With respect, Gary
Dialog is by far my least worry, well at least that’s what my reads tell me.
ReplyDeleteIf the rest of my book—such as narration and scene setting could flow as naturally as my dialog then I might be happy with my work.
Needless to say so far it isn’t… but I am still working on it and won’t stop until it is.
Thx
wonderful take on this. You are very right! They need experiences. Great post, and I know I'm a blogfestaholic- do they have an AA for that? lol
ReplyDeleteOh I always and forever eavesdrop on conversations - some unintentionally, others are thrust upon me - as in people yelling down their mobile phones. So great advice - there's character inspiration in the everyday!
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
That is so true! They had lives before the story that was written that helped form that character!
ReplyDeletehi miss sharon! for me i just learned its real good to make lots of notes. i got a cool journal i won on a blog. i do notes in it. i talk to lots of people and listen lots. sometimes its just nosy like when my sisters got her friends over. ha ha even being not so old i still got lots of different kinds of experiences. thats important for writing
ReplyDelete...hugs from lenny
Oh yea, I always watch the world around me, I'm just not too good at taking notes! I hope you have a very wonderful weekend!
ReplyDelete:) Nice bit of narrative there. I know who you're talking about too.
ReplyDeleteGood point--experiences makes characters lives enriching and interesting!
ReplyDeleteThey DO need experiences! With each character I deposit something from someone I know, or have seen, and sometimes a piece of me:)
ReplyDeleteYou are the first person today to mention experiences. Experiences are so important. They are what shape us, what make us who we are. Our characters are no different.
ReplyDeleteExperience - good one! No one's mentioned that aspect yet.
ReplyDeleteGreat angle, loved this! Good food for thought. Thanks for coming by and following my blog.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Karen
I love listening to my middle schooler talk to her friends!
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, finding out what their experiences are - their highs and lows - will help us create compelling characters. =D
ReplyDeleteListen and take notes...EXACTLY!
ReplyDeleteEverything comes out of what I hear around me. My characters are all mixtures of the people I know and love (and don't like so much), and so often key lines in a dialogue come from real life.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard, write what you know. These are some good tips. When we read, we want to know who the characters are and why they are that way.
ReplyDeleteThis has been fun and I would not call myself a writer.
Good advice! We need to know a lot about the characters - but we really don't need to share it all!
ReplyDeleteTotally! Real people have some of the best lines of all ;o) We are all human! I'm always paying attention to things like that and the emotions they evoke ;o) Great post!!
ReplyDeleteYes, experiences makes the characters more three dimensional. Great post.
ReplyDeleteOh I listen to conversations all the time! I also have a horrible habit of making up stories about people...imagining what they might be like and what they are talking about...I even give them names :-)
ReplyDeleteC x
I keep a whole bunch of mental notes mostly. They are somehow retreivable right when I need them :o) Lucky I guess! Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat point! Experiences are very important, they definitely help define the final character and their choices. Nicely said.
ReplyDeleteExperiences - yes good point. I do like to listen to conversations around me and I write them down when I can. There are so many interesting things happening all around us.
ReplyDeleteConfession: I eavesdrop on people constantly. It's great fodder for character and dialogue. Take notes? You bet! I have no shame. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, there is so much hurt and history in that overheard line you quoted. What a great way to build a character.
ReplyDeleteSo true -- experiences shape us, and also affect how we react to the experiences we'll have in the future.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing - what can I bring to the table considering I'm unagented and unpublished. But I guess our experiences in writing books always helps us contribute to such discussions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteExperiences are definitely key to character success. Give a character experiences and that leads to credibility which leads to voice. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely keep notes! Bits of conversations, unusual descriptions, cool words... who knows which things I'll need and use one day. Better to jot down too much than too little, I figure! ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's an entire novel in that quote. (I totally eavesdrop. I consider it research. :D)
ReplyDeleteI definitely listen in on conversations. SO interesting. And wow, is that quote from a book? Or something you overheard? Very intriguing!
ReplyDeleteI do have a habit of spying/eavesdropping on complete strangers just to make notes on interesting mannerisms, accents, quirks, physical features, etc. Does that make me a peeping tom?
ReplyDeleteAnd you just proved that a ton of exposition or backstory is not always necessary. You said so much with that one sentence.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
...this is why you should always sleep with a notebook beside your bed :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great idea to listen to conversations around you! Isn't it funny how we are surrounded by our own character's? Observe and apply! Thanks for stopping by at my blog.
ReplyDeleteLiving life is what gives us stuff to write about. I'm such a people watcher/listener. My husband and kids make fun of me.
ReplyDeleteI too evesdrop like crazy- that is where I pick up my stories from.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post, it just goes to show REALLY good writers dont need to write 151 paragraphs to get their point across :-D Kudos and congrats...good luck with the competition :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the importance of experience in shaping a character. So I totally try NOT to eavesdrop, but sometimes, people say the weirdest, most tantalizing things. Great for writing. :)
ReplyDeleteWish I did, too often stuck to my computer!
ReplyDeleteI am always listening in to the things and the people around me, taking in pictures and expressions to use later. Then I hibernate and conjure it all up again.
ReplyDeleteAnother approach is to have everything around the character be changing, in flux, and watch as they struggle to stay grounded within themselves. Change doesn't always have to be internal.
ReplyDeleteGreat points!
Great advice, Sharon. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI do love that you bring it down out of the theoretical ether and talk about experiences. Very concrete, practical, and real.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice. Sometimes it's the little things that happen around us that can make the characters we're writing seem more real.
ReplyDeleteI'm a terrible eavesdropper! I listen in on conversations all around me and will even shush my husband so I can pick up bits and pieces of the conversation beside us. I'm awful, but I can't help it! It's like reading a book or watching a movie, getting this glimpse into other people's lives. And like you said, it gives me such great insight into how others work and ideas for characters.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! We all know hoe important it is to have a defined set of characteristics, but EXPERIENCE is what shapes many of those characteristics.
ReplyDeleteI do listen to conversations, but I don't take notes. Your point is well taken. Borrowing from life will make our characters more realistic. We need to pay attention.
ReplyDeleteExperiences definitely do define who you are, so it only makes sense to know what your characters have experienced. Great post.
ReplyDeletegreat post....
ReplyDelete:)
iZombie
I seriously don't think it matters if you're agented or have a book or not. It's mostly just luck!
ReplyDeleteI do sometimes scramble for a scrap of paper after I've overheard something golden. I try not to get caught wrtiting it down - that would be embarrasing.
Wow! So many cool comments! I love that conversation and it already intrigued me to a story:) I do listen in on conversations if they are within earshot. I love to understand people.
ReplyDeleteI definately pay attention to my surroundings and conversations people say. This is a traesure trove of inspiration for a writer. Sometimes Hollywood just can;t script these things.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
This is a great point and experiences do shape us.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS FOR STOPPING BY EVERYONE...I HOPE THAT YOU HAD AS MUCH FUN AS I HAD... Don't forget...walk quietly and carry a pen and paper. (wink)
ReplyDeleteExperiences--so true. Experiences in their past affect how they react to complications in the future. Great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Sharon! Each of us does bring experiences unique to us to the table, don't we? I love watching expressions and body language from a disatnce (esp. when I can't hear the conversations) and guess at the relationships and topic under discussion among the people I'm observing.
ReplyDeleteExperiences are key! Good post.
ReplyDelete