Create Characters that Blow Minds and Touch Hearts

Whether you’re writing fiction, nonfiction or memoir you’re going to want to highlight scenes, stories and anecdotes with fully dimensional people inside. That’s why it’s time to talk about characters, because it’s through our humanity that we connect at the deepest level.

Characters aren’t just random or invented people; they are inspired by the meaning of what you’re writing. That goes for fiction or memoir. People don’t just show up in your life or your book for no reason. They are spawned by your why.

When I start a story, I’m really explicit about this process. I make a chart. At the top of the chart I put my big question (it’s like the theme in the form of a question), and then I make a short list of important characters in the left-hand column, and fill out the rows by writing in how each of them would answer the big question. This is a great way to get an early feel for the character’s voice. This is the first glimpse of the story itself because it shows how the alchemy between the characters and the theme is going to work. Below I’ve provided The Christmas Carol as an example and tried to have some fun with it, just as Dickens would.

When you play around with this exercise, you’ll see how it fizzles into content, dialogue, and action. A Christmas Carol is so direct in the way that the characters represent the values behind the meaning; it’s almost like a fable. When we understand the relationship between Scrooge and the three ghosts, we understand how the big question has transformed itself into an experience. Scrooge won’t simply be lectured about his lesson, he also has to learn it the hard way by interacting with each of the other characters.

Once you’ve established their basic role, it’s time for you and your characters to get to know each other a little better. Rather than do a classic character question sheet, try a more free-flowing conversation by asking questions and letting the character respond. I like to use this exercise while at an actual coffee house but, of course, this whole conversation takes place inside a notebook so as not to freak out the other patrons. Even if these characters are actual people from your life, get in their heads and try to understand them at a deeper level.

Just listen and let them talk about whatever they want to talk about—their home, family, and job, as well as their hopes and dreams and nightmares. Don’t worry about how all this information is going to fit into the story, just let the ink flow with abundance, and you’ll be surprised at how seemingly random ideas can become useful in your plot.