Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.
(Step 3 cont.) Last blog I shared 4-8 of the11 things I include in case histories. Here are 9-11:
9. The character’s strengths and weaknesses: Every human personality has both a light and dark side. A balanced mixture of these lights and darks creates a three-dimensional character. But keep in mind that some traits can be both a strength and weakness. For example, the strong, silent type who refuses to open up and communicate with his mate.
10. His idiosyncrasies: What gestures or mannerisms are peculiar to this character? Does he pull on his ear, clear his throat, tap his fingers, fidget with his collar, lick his lips, fiddle with his glasses, twist his ring, or shrug his shoulders? (Of course, if he does all these at once, he has a real problem!)
11. His voice: Avoid the trap of letting all your characters sound alike—like you, the author! Readers “hear” a character’s voice in their heads, and they’ll cringe if he doesn’t sound authentic. Worse, they’ll stop reading if characters don’t have distinctive voices. Determine what rhythm of speech your character has—smooth, flowing sentences or short and choppy? What tone of voice—soft and mellow, deep, nasal, singsong, melodic, breathy, gravelly, or monotone? Does he mumble? Have an accent? Use big words to impress people? Stutter? Speak too loud? Too fast? Does he speak with an affectation that puts distance between himself and others or with a warmth that puts others at ease? Whatever the case, make him a one and only original!
By the time I’ve finished exploring the personalities of all my characters, I have a clear mental picture of how they relate to and impact one another. I also usually select five or six key words that characterize each person in my book; then I look up those words in my thesaurus or Rodale’s Synonym Finder and list the synonyms for each word. These lists remind me of my characters’ essential traits and help me keep my characters consistent throughout the story.