Beginning with Characters

I begin with the characters, because I believe that the characters drive the story--they determine every action, and their actions determine the outcome. You have to know your characters, know what they will do or say in a given situation, and how they will do it or say it.

Readers want to care what happens in a book, which means they want to care about what happens to the characters. Otherwise, it's just bodies going through the motions. Yawn.

How do I come up with characters? I'll make a list of names, then cross them out, one by one, until I find a name I like. I read a lot of psychology books, and books about relationships. Elmore Leonard says he "interviews" his characters before he begins to write.

Exercise:
Look in the library for the kind of book new parents refer to when naming their little darlings. Pick out a name and make out a kind of inventory for them: what would this character look like? What does she have in her purse? What does he eat for lunch? What kind of job, house, pet, family, past does this character have? What does this character want more than anything? What's the worst thing that could happen to this character? Those last two questions could determine your whole story.

Do the same thing for a second character, then imagine the two of them in the same room. An exciting story is when the worst thing for one character is what's most wanted by another character.

On my bookshelf:
Beyond Jennifer and Jason by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran

The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders

45 Master Characters by Victoria Schmidt

Just Your Type by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger