A room of one's own
One of the exercises I do with my creative writing students is to get them to imagine what their main character's room looks like.
Our personal spaces tell the world a lot about us, and it's the same with characters. A teenager might boast a big poster of the latest girl or boy band. Older characters might have photographs of the important people in their lives on show - or some might be conspicuous by their absence.
To get to know your character better, go on a forensic examination of their room. If you've uncovered their greatest secret, or their biggest fear, are there clues to these in their room?
In Panthera : Death Spiral Nic has been estranged from his sister Ren for years. When they meet at Ren's villa Nic notices the spare room is unused, and there's no evidence Ren has a partner. He thinks that Ren's heart has always been animal, wild animal. That allows me to give a picture of a woman who has dedicated her life to a conservation career. Nic' s apartment is crammed with state of the art surveillance gear, while Bryn's has little in the way of personal clutter.
You may not use many of these details in your story, but knowing your characters in this depth helps you to know what they would do in any situation and helps to keep them true to their character
Our personal spaces tell the world a lot about us, and it's the same with characters. A teenager might boast a big poster of the latest girl or boy band. Older characters might have photographs of the important people in their lives on show - or some might be conspicuous by their absence.
To get to know your character better, go on a forensic examination of their room. If you've uncovered their greatest secret, or their biggest fear, are there clues to these in their room?
In Panthera : Death Spiral Nic has been estranged from his sister Ren for years. When they meet at Ren's villa Nic notices the spare room is unused, and there's no evidence Ren has a partner. He thinks that Ren's heart has always been animal, wild animal. That allows me to give a picture of a woman who has dedicated her life to a conservation career. Nic' s apartment is crammed with state of the art surveillance gear, while Bryn's has little in the way of personal clutter.
You may not use many of these details in your story, but knowing your characters in this depth helps you to know what they would do in any situation and helps to keep them true to their character
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