Daydreaming about characters can be a very productive first step to bringing them to life. The added bonus is that this activity can be carried out in spare moments, no matter how busy a writer's day gets. "Daydreaming characters to life" can be done while a writer is:
- watching kids in a playground
- commuting to work
- sitting in a car (or on a bench) waiting for a family member to finish sports training
- lying in bed drifting off to sleep (or just waking up)
- sitting with a sick relative
How "Creative Daydreaming" Helps to Create Characters for a Book
Some writers might prefer to simply let their minds drift, letting a character come to them through the mist, as it were. Others find that the process works better if they have a process to follow. Try these steps:
1. Fill in the Physical Details of the Character
If it helps, base the character on a well-known actor or TV personality, or an acquaintance. The advantage of daydreaming is that you can zoom in on any particular feature and examine it in more detail. (What does the character's head look like viewed from behind, or from above? Do you envisage any bald spots, or do the ears protrude? Does the character have crooked teeth, or a perfect 'toothpaste ad' smile? Does the skin show a love of the sun, or signs of ill health? Are there any laughter lines or deep grooves caused by frowning? How does this person's face reflect his or her personality?)
2. Picture Your Characters in Action
Once the physical attributes of the character are vividly in mind, it's time to get this person moving! Zoom back and get a bird's eye view, and watch while he/she walks, runs, hobbles, limps, climbs stairs, leaps buildings at a single bound... whatever. Imagine your character browsing in a mall, mowing the lawn, doing housework. If a writer has a good sense of how characters usually move (fast, slow, painfully, gracefully, with a lumbering gait) then it's easy to transpose this to any given situation.
3. Describe the Character's Clothes
Clothes, haircuts and makeup are important to some people, but not to others. Does this person always look groomed, no matter what she wears, or does she always look untidy and 'thrown together'? Note that body size and shape will often dictate the type of clothes a person chooses. Thin people often feel the cold and wear lots of layers to compensate. Some overweight people are self-conscious and cover their bodies with tent-like clothes; others don't care how many rolls of fat are on display (Lulu, the character in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, is a good example of a very large person who loves dressing in tight spandex!) A character's clothes often telegraph her interests in life (sport, outdoor pursuits, eccentric garb).
4. The Character's Personality
Pretend that this character has just walked in to a room full of people who have never met her before. What kind of first impression would this character make? Would anyone notice her? Would she turn heads? As she starts circulating, would people tend to think that she is friendly? Educated? Snobbish? Reserved? Taciturn?
Take the time to think about the personality of all the characters created for a novel. How do they react in times of stress? Are they quick to anger, or do they have a slow fuse? How do they handle children or senior citizens? How do they react to people in authority? What is one word people might use to sum up each character (For example: "nice", "cranky", "idiot", "old-fashioned" and so on.)
It's possible to do a lot of work on characters without writers even having to open their eyes! Try 'daydreaming' a character into existence before opening a word processor: It's surprisingly effective.
Marg McAlister - Marg McAlister has tried on a good many writer's hats in her career, and has enjoyed wearing most of them. Her writing achievements ...
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