Interview Characters to Discover Their Motives
An Innovative Technique for Fiction Writers to Develop Characters
May 26, 2009
Fiction writers have heard this caveat ad nauseam: start a novel in the middle of the action. And it’s good advice. Jump into the story, set scenes, and plunk the hero smack dab into the eye of the storm. But most writers pause at this point, their fingers poised above the keyboard. Just who is this person they're writing about? Who is the story's hero? How did he get in this predicament? In other words, what’s his back story?
Importance of the Character Profile
Writers can dissect their characters in a cold, clinical way, by making a fill-in-the-blank list and assigning attributes like gender, hair color, height, weight, and race. But they'll want to delve deeper. Who are the character's parents? Where was she born? What is her lineage? Does she have any quirks, prejudices, allergies, fears, hopes? A fiction writer can go on forever and still not develop a real sense of who this person really is.
What fiction writers really want to know is character motive. One way to uncover a character’s motivation and develop his back story is to interview him. It’s a perfect way for writers to get to know their heroes (or other characters), and write a character profile. And it’s great fun, too, because, basically, writers get to create another story.
How to Develop the Character Profile
First, writers must set the stage. Who’s the interviewer? Writers can conduct the interview in their own persona, or can invent an interviewer on the spot. Say, Mark Twain. Or Shania Twain. Or whoever. It doesn’t matter – writers just need a warm body to ask questions. If the novel includes a narrator, then she can do the interview.
The interview process works best if writers have a synopsis or an outline of the novel, or some idea of where it’s going. They don’t have to be locked into the story line. In fact, the looser the story line, the better. Fiction writers may find their novel's characters providing insights during the interview that will take their book in an entirely new direction.
Conducting the Character Interview
Writers should start by welcoming the hero (or villain, or sidekick) to their interview. Joke around a bit. Get a feel for the character’s personality – it will start to emerge as writers take their character deeper into the interview. Ask about his background, where he grew up, his friends and family. By digging deeply into their characters' pasts, writers will see them flesh out before their eyes.
Ask her leading questions. Avoid questions with yes or no answers. The fiction writer's goal is to get her to open up .
Dig up some dirt. Don’t hesitate or worry about hurting her feelings. She wants to tell all. So be brutal, and ask the tough questions. When did she realize she was a lesbian? And that her lover was really a zombie from the planet Zorg? Just what does she have against the antagonist, anyway? And what does she think is going to happen next?
By the end of the interview writers should have pages of information – back story – about their character, and a better understanding of their book. They can go back to their opening scenes with confidence. They know this person now, and are ready to put him through the paces.
The character interview is a lot of fun, and will help writers figure out their character’s strengths, weaknesses, history and motivation. Knowing this in-depth back story will help authors write their books. They'll understand what character traits and history to use to flesh out their character within the context of the story, and what they can leave out. And if they should happen to get stuck later, they can just schedule another interview – and get the answers straight from their character’s mouth.
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