Characters: I feel safe saying a writer absolutely must have characters. Without characters we'd have no stories. However, creating these characters isn't always an easy thing. I want my characters to be as fully developed as possible. That means I want my protagonists to have flaws mixed in with their positive traits. I want them to have hopes and fears and dreams and goals. I want them to have achievements as well as screw-ups. Basically, I want my heroes and heroines to be people you'd want to have a beer or a glass of wine with and call them a friend. Developing this sort of character takes time and love and patience but it's so worth it to see them come alive in my imagination, on paper and for other people.
As far as the not-so-nice characters (and sometimes their outright villains) I want you to loathe them. Of course, they may have a moment where they are so human you almost like them but that never lasts. I hope to create characters people can love or hate and feel as if they've really gone on someone's journey with them.
Conflict: Conflict is necessary in a story. The truth is (for me anyway) sometimes adding the conflict is painful. I love my characters and I'm sure that is probably true for most writers. Since I love them, I don't want to put them through bad things. And yet, as I said, it's necessary in order to move the story along. It's necessary to help the characters grow, as individuals and together as friends, lovers, families, whatever the relationship dynamics may be.
Thank you for visiting. Please come back tomorrow and learn about the letter D.
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