Character Love

In my work in progress #1 (shall be shortened to WIP1 from here on out) I am absolutely enthralled with my main character, Julia. She's dynamic, strong, and witty. The problem I am encountering is how to flesh her out to the reader so that all these qualities come shining through.

She's gone through struggles, had some obstacles to climb, and can be somewhat caustic about those things. I have had several re-writes of this WIP due to her qualities not being apparent enough. Dialogue,as I have found, is a great way to get more of her through.

Dialogue can be a tough road to write. Knowing when and how much to include versus letting the story unfold is a fine line. I will read the dialogue out loud to myself to hear how it sounds. Another option is to read it to my audience, also known as daughters, and get their take on it. One can always tell how good it is by quickly glancing at their faces. Squinted eyes and puckered mouths are a no-good indicator, and smiles and nods are a good job indicator.

So with Julia, while I want her to be tough, I need her to be soft at times as well without seeming weak. She's become an extension of myself at this point, with me often thinking, "Wonder how Julia would react to that situation," when I think of a new angle.

I have a main character (MC) in WIP#3 that I'm not in love with. In fact, I'd rather pull her hair at times she frustrates me so much. However, being the pacifist that I am I refrain from pulling hair or deleting her and continue to plug away. We just don't mesh. She's my antithesis in nearly every aspect and that makes her more fun to write. Cadence is making my hair go even more silver and she's not even real.

Her story is moving along more quickly at this point just because I can't anticipate how she will react to the situations I put forth, which makes it exciting and new to write.

Character love can be both good and bad. You can't be so involved in the character that you forget the story lines, and you can't be so against a character that you don't write appropriate situations that will challenge the reactions of your MC. As I said previously, what a fine line!

Now I'm off to write for WIP#4 where I have yet to decide what my character is truly like, her voice hasn't been defined yet. Oh, the fun stuff (rubbing hands eagerly here!).