As a writer, how do you get to know your characters? I’ve found that interviewing mine is a great way to get to the bottom of their personalities, but sometimes it takes some digging. If you haven’t ever tried writing interviews with your characters, here are ten questions or directions to try steering the conversation.
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[…] the pleasure of “interviewing” my characters for a host of other blogs. I recently read Valerie Comer’s 10 Questions for Authors to Ask Their Characters and I was reminded of the interviews I had conducted with my own characters. Valerie has a host […]
Terrific post, Valerie! I’ve never done this with my characters, but I’ll try it next time. Looks fun and informative. It will definitely help round out my characters. Thanks!
Yay! I know I thought it was weird before I tried it, but it really helps, especially with characters that are reluctant to spill what makes them tick.
I’ve written stream-of-consciousness stuff from my characters’ POV to “get in their heads” but never thought to interview them like this. What a great idea! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Katy, I use that method sometimes, too, but find the interview questions keep it a two-way street, and I can channel the discussion better than if I let them wander off on their own. As though it wasn’t all in my head anyway…
Great idea, Valerie. I interview everyone I meet (inadvertently) why not interview my own characters? Thanks for the post.
Thanks for the list. Might be fun to find out what others might add. I write in dialogue so i talk to my characters all the time by asking for advice, asking them what part they want in the next sequence. Sometimes they surprise me with answers that put a new and welcome spin to the content. Wouldn’t want it any other way. Thanks again, from all of us at this address.
Thank you, Terry! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
I loved this article, Valerie! Character interviews are so much fun and really do show us the true “character” of the characters we create. (Wow, what a mouthful!)
All right, off to bookmark this page and use it for future reference!
Yay! Thanks for the bookmark 😀