The Interview

No not that one (I might talk about that later) I’m talking about with characters.

I like to do this whenever I feel like I need to be closer with a certain character, maybe one I don’t really like or one that I’m not sure exactly how to write.

Regardless of the reason this is the character that’s causing you trouble, their dialogue sounds off, you can’t quite grasp their personality, or they just feel flat to write. You keep trying and trying but no matter what it just feels like they’re a fussing little brat who doesn’t want to share their toys with the other kids and they keep pulling your hair and screaming to be written the right way but you can’t think straight because they’re so distracting and- NO DON’T SHOVE THAT IN YOUR MOUTH!

MUST! WRITE! WORDS!

No worries, it happens.

Some characters are harder to write than others simply because we don’t have a lot in common with them. You know that saying “write what you know” well here’s the thing if we only wrote about what we knew all of our characters would act and behave exactly the same which is a guaranteed ticket to snoozeville (trust me you don’t wanna go there, traffic’s terrible).

So how do we solve this problem? Do you get rid of the character completely? Perhaps, but before you throw them into the endless void of time and space (delete them) maybe you should have a talk with them. Sometimes you’ve just gotta dig deeper to understand a person, see things from their perspective, or just figure out who they really are. We all put up façades in our day to day life, so there are those who never show their true colours unless you’re willing to stick around and listen.

That’s what I challenge you to do today. Interview your character. Any character, I don’t care. Your heroic protagonist, dastardly villain, plucky sidekick, that janitor in the corner with the weird moustache, just pick one.

Move along now, ain’t nothing to see here. I’m just the janitor.

Now here are the rules to the interview.

Number One: You have to record everything your character says. DO NOT DELETE A SINGLE WORD. Even if they respond in a series of fart noises, write it all down (you can translate later).

Number Two: You are sitting in a chair, your character is sitting opposite to you, and there is a table in between. That’s it. Just you two and a table. Nobody is allowed to interrupt the interview (not even yourself).

Number Three: When you have finished asking all your questions, thank your character for joining you and tell them they are free to leave. Imagine them walking out the room and describe how they left.

Those are the rules. Record everything, no interruptions, and politely thank them at the end. Other than that, they are free to say and do whatever they please during the interview.

To get you started I have a few sample questions you could ask your character, but feel free to add more questions and maybe even share your interview experience in the comments below.

(First to start simple) How are you today?

Why did you agree to do this interview?

How would you describe yourself?

How would others describe you?

What do you wish to accomplish in life? Why?

If there was something you could change about yourself what would it be?

Is there anyone you deeply care about in your life?

Is there anyone you despise in your life?

How would you describe your parents?

If everyone you knew was trapped in a burning building, who would you save? (you can only save one person)

Try to sum up your life in three words

Here’s a piece of paper, draw whatever you like…

So those are some sample questions for you to ask, now all you have to do is ask away and remember to always dig deeper for answers. You made this character, and only you can figure them out. Good luck, and Godspeed.

~ Zambonnie ~