1. There are many ways to show your reader who your character is
A writer has a handful of tools at their disposal when they are creating a character: what they look like, what they say, their behaviour, their thoughts and how other characters react to them. If you want to write a well-defined, three-dimensional, believable character, you need to use all of them.
His Wife's First Secret
The biggest advantage that a book has over a film, is that the reader can see inside your character’s head. First-person narration isn’t the only way to do that. I write in the third person, but I often include use free indirect style and a stream of consciousness which puts the right there with the character. Jenny could feel John making a face behind her back. She hated it when he did that. Idiot.
(If you are interested in reading more about this, I would really recommend reading Emma Darwin’s Blog: The Itch of Writing where she talks about psychic distance.)
2. Physical description is something I find really difficult.
Some writers are really good at giving a detailed description of their characters but I am always worried that it sounds bolted on or cliched. My pet hate as a reader is the description of a woman’s hair being ‘flicked’ and – even worse – if it’s a ‘chestnut bob’. Instead, I find it easier to focus on what a character is wearing as an indication of what kind of person they are. Do they have a smart dress but scuffed shoes? Yesterday’s eye make-up under their lower lid? Costume jewellery as opposed to diamonds? (FYI These are all me.)
3. I love writing sections where my main character says one thing, but does another.
At one time or another, most of us have pretended that everything is okay when we actually want to scream, right? Or we try to like somebody or something for appearance’s sake when we would actually prefer that they disappear or leave and never come back. Having a character do the same thing can help the reader to immediately identify with them. Going to John’s ex-wife’s engagement party was right up there with checking herself in for root canal treatment, but Jenny pasted on a smile. ‘Sure. Sounds like fun.’
4. Giving a character the ‘right’ name can make all the difference
Naming characters is REALLY difficult. Many writers trawl baby name websites at the first draft stage. Even then, it can be difficult to find names which suit the character and are also believable for someone of their age and circumstance. There are other potholes. When I wrote My Silent Daughter, my editor asked me to change some of the character names as three of them started with the same letter!
Although it’s important to avoid stereotypes, names can be used effectively to shorthand a character or differentiate them from one another. My beta readers for The Undercover Mother sometimes got confused between the ‘posh’ character Alison and the more ‘businesslike’ Helen. I renamed them Antonia and Gail, and – just like that – they knew who was who.
Have I ever given a mean character the name of someone I dislike in real life? I couldn’t possibly comment…
5. Sometimes my characters write their own dialogue
Okay, this is going to sound weird, but stay with me. Sometimes, once I’ve put my characters into a certain situation, they ‘talk’ to one another without my interference. Often in my books there will be a section where my character is with her girlfriends and they are joking with each other, and it plays out in my head like a movie. My fingers have to fly over the keyboard to keep up with them.
Other times, in an emotional part of the story, my character opens up about how she is feeling and I am crying as I write down her words. Told you it was weird.
6. I hate listening to my character’s voices on the audio version
All of the actresses who narrate my audio books are magnificent and do a wonderful job. (Believe me, you wouldn’t want my Estuary English accent in your ear!) However, when I’ve lived with the characters in my head for sixth months, it is impossible to listen to them in someone else’s voice. I have never managed more than one chapter of my audio books because I just can’t bear it.
7. I miss my characters once the book is finished
Each book I write takes about six months from first draft to final proofs and I write almost every day. There are some points in the process (usually a couple of days before a deadline) when I spend more time with my characters than I do with my family. Because my novels deal with some really big emotional issues, I go through a lot of the same emotions when I write. For example, Caroline in my latest book The First Wife’s Secret is dealing with the loss of her son, but she also has two great friends who make her laugh. After hanging out with them for six months, it is difficult to close the book and say goodbye and it takes me a few chapters of a new story before I get to know my new ‘friends’.
Emma Robinson’s latest book The First Wife’s Secret is available from 15th April.
RELATED: 10 Things I'd like my readers to know about me by Emma Robinson
Reading is like breathing to me. Growing up, my favourite book was Little Women and I yearned to be Josephine March, sitting in the garret, reading books and eating apples. The one time I did not have a book in my hand was at the dinner table and, allegedly, I would read the labels on the condiments instead... to read more click HERE
