Always thought character sheets were a waste of time, but my buddy's trick changed my mind

I was stuck on a detective story for months, couldn't figure out why my main guy felt flat. My friend Mike said, 'Just fill out a dating profile for him, but as his ex.' So I wrote a fake profile from his ex-wife's view, listing his annoying habits and secret fears. It took maybe 20 minutes, but suddenly I knew exactly how he'd react in a tense scene. That one weird trick gave me more depth than pages of backstory. Anyone else got a weird shortcut for fleshing out characters?

3 comments

3 Comments

leem343d ago

Ever notice how we explain people to others?

lee.casey3d ago

Heard a writer say they interview their characters like they're on a podcast.

samw793d ago

My old writing teacher made us do character interviews on cassette tape. It felt silly at first, but hearing their voice out loud fixed a plot hole for me. That audio trick still works better than any outline.