I came across this post from “Mysterious People“, a blog hosted by Jean Henry Mead, that suggests interviewing characters to get to know them, conveniently entitled “Interviewing Characters to Get to Know Them“, written by Beth Groundwater.
I immediately took this idea an interviewed my main character, who I feel needs much more fleshing out. I’ve had him in my head for a while, but the details that make him interesting and unique are long in the coming.
The fascinating thing about this technique is that it worked a little like free-writing. Each question led from one to the other, and whilst this interview is far from concluded, I have already discovered things about my character I never knew existed. From just seven questions I have workable ideas for motivation, family background, and personality traits.
The interview also enabled me to give my character a voice, something that is extremely important in writing. I took the guise of an old, trusted friend just asking my character about himself a little. He answered, in the first person, in a voice that is quite different to my usual writing voice. Essentially, through questioning, he took on his own persona that I can develop and use in my novel when I come to write it.
I can highly recommend this technique in character development in order to discover more about these people, to make them personal, realistic, and three-dimensional. Not only did I come up with ideas about character, but parts of the plot and the driving motivations behind it have slotted into place as well.
So, take out your notepad and pen, take on your journalistic guise (but make sure your character can trust you enough for them to tell all), and get interviewing!
