Characterization: Collecting Characters

You have an idea for a story you want to write, but you are unsure about how to create the main character. Don’t over think this. If you do, you will come up with very little. What I like to do is collect characters. More to the point, I collect character traits I see in other people. Write this information down if you have to. I don’t. I tend to keep up in my head. I shouldn’t do that, and neither should you. Some people really strike a cord with me to the point that I can’t forget them. One such person comes to mind. I met her at the casino last week. She was nice but then turned into one who spoke down to my friend and I like we didn’t have a brain in our heads. I listened with a smile and thought, I’m going to use this in a short story. So my mind started coming up with a story right there on the spot.

I was irritated with the above example as it was happening. That’s ok. Those emotions worked toward the story being played out in my head. That’s good. Collect what is in front of you. Something else you can do is combine personality traits of two different people to create one character. I did this with my character Maggie in all three of my novels. When creating her character, two female friends I knew years ago with different yet strong personalities came to mind. These two ladies I always admired because of their strong will and positive attitude. In my mind their different traits came together to form Maggie.

Creating characters doesn’t have to be a mind blowing chore. Relax and take notes. What you come up with will be great.