I want to use this blog more next year to talk about writing. The theme for this blog in 2023 will be In the Spirit of Creativity.
Character development is an interesting task when working on a story. I’m not sure about other writers, but I focus a lot on character development WAY before I write my stories. The most fun for me is creating my characters’ backstories. I had a short story I worked on a few years ago called Varying Progress. This short story was never intended to be read by the public. It was a fun writing project to get my feet wet again. I had six main characters with all very different personalities: Javonne, Gray, Derrick, Ari, Nia, and Maquelle. (Please see below).
I had an idea in my head of how I pictured my characters to look and found great representations through Pinterest photos and other media. I do this with all my stories. I get an idea in my head of what their physical appearance is going to be along with their personalities and frame my characters from there. The fun is seeing a physical representation of what you see in your head. I’m sure that is a great experience for writers who have books that become movies.
The story was about the six characters who either went to college together or started working together after college. The story begins a few years after college and they are navigating their careers and personal relationships. Javonne and Derrick were the only main characters that dated each other. They were together for three years.
What do you all think of their physical representations? If you just saw their name and age would you immediately have a specific idea in your head? For example, if you were told of a character named Ari, what do you think he would look like? Would your “Ari” look like the one below? How about “Nia”?
I also created backstories for the main characters of my current book out called Descent. Yes, I will keep promoting my latest book!! Haha. Most of the characters in this book are related so I still wanted them to look like they had distinct personalities even though they are family. What do you think of the main character Marcella?
I want to use this blog more next year to talk about writing. The theme for this blog in 2023 will be In the Spirit of Creativity.
Mindful Impressions 