Finding A Character

Picture by Linnzan on deviantart

There are many different ways to begin a story.

If you, like me, are someone who likes to begin a story with a strong character, you might find this technique useful, taught to us Chronicles writers by one of our tutors, the excellent Julia Green*. Make sure you take your time, letting the answers come to you naturally.

It goes like this:

Close your eyes.

You are in a thick fog or a mist, and everything is swirling and impenetrable.

Imagine a light. It curves the shape of the mist, making silhouettes of nothing.

And then, suddenly – one silhouette takes a real shape.

As they come towards you, they become more defined.

As the person comes towards you, let your mind do the defining by asking these questions. You’re going to notice physicality first: who is this person? What do they look like? Are they male or female or something else? What kind of skin tone do they have? Are they tall, or short? Where are they carrying their weight? How are they walking?

Where are their eyes looking?

And clothes: are they wearing clothes? Are they western clothes? Tribal clothes? Mediaeval clothes? What?

Are they wearing shoes?

How old are they?

Can you guess their name?

They’re holding something: what is it? Is it important?

Is there something coming up behind them? What is it? Who is it? A friend? An enemy? A pet?

Out of the mist, you can smell the place they’ve come from. What smells are they? Where do you think that is?

The mist is beginning to clear. You can see the landscape from which this person came. What does it look like? Is it a plain? A mountainous range? A city? A beach? The ocean?

Now you can see them, they will move past you. Are they running or walking? Where are they going? What are they doing? Are they fighting? Kissing? Writing? Playing? Climbing? Crying? Find out.

This person has a life. Feel for it.

Find these things:

-          A fear

-          A memory

-          A loss

-          A secret

-          Also: are they hiding something?

-          What do they really want?

See how far you can take a story from here. It’s amazing how your mind, forced to answer these questions in a controlled environment, will rise to the challenge of creation.

Good luck!

*In all essential ways, this is what Julia taught us, though I have taken liberties J