My Process for Creating My Characters

 

                                                   Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash

As promised, in this blog, we will be reading and discussing great literature and I will be sharing aspects of being a writer in the 21st century.  

One of the most important aspects of creating a novel or short story is the development of interesting characters.  Where exactly does this come from?

I was thinking about this as I looked at images on Unsplash-- one of my favorite places to search for images.  I love working with my hands-- woodwork, making handmade cards and ceramics.  I think this image here captures the process I use to create my characters.  I start with clay... the clay is like the heart of the character or some distinctive aspect of them.  In my short story collection, Peter's Moonlight Photography and Other Stories

Peter's Moonlight Photography and Other Stories, the title story's main character, Peter, was inspired by my close friend.  My friend, Steve, had at the time I lived in California two things I admired-- his determination to make it as an artist and two, a massive amount of talent in his work.  Whether one should keep pursuing art when one has been told one is "mediocre" is a topic for another blog!  In this case, Steve's moonlight photography has been displayed in national venues.

So I began writing that short story with Steve in mind-- but not the whole Steve, not all the details of the actual Steve.  I used those two main aspects as the clay and then slowly began to add to it the fictionalized pieces of his character-- his choice to create "nymphs" in his photography, his relationship with his ex-wife among others.

The final product is a new character!