Fleshing Things Out

Fleshing Things Out

I mentioned in one of the first posts in this little blog thing I've got going on, that I intend for most of my characters to be interesting, and have their own background, no matter how much they contribute to the story. I've started doing that some more recently. I bought a nice notepad and a few pens and have spent the last few days seeking free time to jot some things down.

Starting with the most influential people in the story, Lawrence and Louise, I jotted down their ages, where they were born, who they're affiliated with and who they're antagonised by. On top of that, their interests and disinterests were written and explained to give them a more personal feel for when I'm writing. After those two were done, I started out on other members of the story, some in not so much detail but I kept a minimum of age, place of birth and who they work with and against throughout.

The reason why I'm so interested in doing this, is because I believe one dimensional characters can be boring. Naming someone Harry for no evident reason, and giving them some filler dialogue has to be less interesting that a first name and second name, and knowing exactly in your mind what that person would be like in reality, which will in turn influence their speech and mannerisms.

Another large reasons for it is because I feel I'm a rather good at having empathy for people, and can easily move into the minds of characters, and as I'm only young and aren't likely to come close to some of the experiences dealt with in the book, fleshing people out helps me put myself in the situation and get things written correctly.

At the end of the day, I'm doing this because it's fun, and anything that can improve the writing and embrace the fun of the project is a yes from me.