How to make your characters come alive using online personality tests

Last year I took a bit of a break from blogging but with the new year I’m determined to make this, and my writing, more of a priority. I am now 22 scenes, and just over 40,000 words, into my work in progress. That’s just over half way for me. Yay!

Recently i’ve hit a bit of a snag in my characterisation. When I get a new idea for a novel it is almost always in the form of an interesting character that I can’t wait to learn more about and so I go from there. This project was no different, 14 year old Leo Silver appeared one day with his scrawny arms, knobbly knees and an occupation that I couldn’t wait to explore. He was the first thing I knew about my story and I feel like I’ve grown with him since that day (almost three years ago!). As such, I know what he looks like, how he speaks and what he thinks and so writing him has always been relatively easy. My problem, however, is with some of the supporting characters. While some of them come easily, others can often feel flat since I don’t spend as much time in their head.

So I started thinking about ways to help me develop my characters beyond the usual ‘keep a diary for them’ and ‘interview them as if you’re a journalist’ that writers are often told but can be hard to materialise. A few days ago a friend took a personality test and was telling me how scarily accurate it was, so I decided to try it for myself and then, out of curiosity, for some of the characters in my work in progress.

Banks of questions to use when interviewing your character are incredibly popular and there are some great ones out there, but these are often deliberately written with characters in mind, rather than real people. Personality tests are the opposite and as such some of the questions are often not relevant, but even these were incredibly useful as it forced me to place my characters in unfamiliar settings and think about how they would act outside of my plot.

Personally, I discovered that my protagonist’s personality loosely fits into the category of INTJ which incidentally is often the personality of popular villains. This is interesting but it also warns me that I’ll need to make sure that I’m making this character likeable as well as unique.

What do you think? do you use personality tests to help you develop your characterisation? what have they taught you? let me know in the comments!

My personal planning method

Firstly, sorry it’s been so long since I last posted anything! Things have been far crazier than intended recently, but hopefully I’ll be able to get back into a more regular pattern now that things have settled down a bit.

For the last post in my planning series I’m going to share my own method. There is a lot of information on the internet about different planning techniques to use depending on whether you are a planner or a panster, but what if you’re somewhere imbetween? I definitely fit into the latter category: if I try to plan too much then I get so bogged down with research and tiny details that I become blocked, but if I don’t plan at all then I end up with a meandering, fregmented story line that often gets abandoned half way through. I’ve looked at a lot of different planning methods over the last few years but haven’t been able to find one that really works for me, so to try and find a middle ground I combined the parts that I had found helpful from a number of different techniques into one handy method.

When I have an idea for a story it is almost always in the form of a character (for my latest work in progress see the “about my novel” tab above). Sometimes this is simply a mental image of someone that I can’t wait to put into a story, while other times they come with their own story line. Regardless of the form however, my first step is always the same. I write down the idea, and then mull it over for a while. Often at this point I am juggling a number of ideas, some better than others, so this is a good way of finding out which one I want to run with. I don’t actively plan anything, I just keep the idea at the back of my mind and explore the character, plot and story world during my free time. Normally at some point one idea will come to the forefront and start begging to be written, when this happens I finally start to write down the details. By this point I’ve lived in the world for at least a couple of weeks so the ideas flow relatively easily and I can combine them into a vague plot line.

Next I look at the plot that I have and condense it into one sentence, filling in any plot holes as I go along. This isn’t meant to be a hook, it’s just a basic description of how the story starts, continues and ends so that I keep on track while I’m writing my first draft. I normally stick this somewhere visible when I’m writing, either on the wall by my desk or on my computer. I then use this sentence to create a longer summary of my story. I don’t really have any fixed rules for this, I just expand the document as the ideas come to me until I have a general summary of the story line which is normally a couple of pages long. I don’t try and decide any details at this point, although I write them down if they come to me, I mainly focus on major events. When I’ve finished this I have a fairly detailed plan of what is going to happen in the beginning, middle and end of the story. However, this is always subject to change as the characters grow and develop (I prefer to write character led fiction) so although I have a plan on my computer, I don’t actually look at it at all during the writing of the first draft unless absolutely necessary. This means that although I have something to prompt me if I get stuck, I am not tied to any particular plot so I am able to change it as little or as much as I want during the writing of the first draft. As a result, the plan I write at the beginning is often hugely different to the one I am left with at the end, but it’s always a better story for it.

The reason my plot changes so much is because it is led by the characters. For me, they are the most important part of my story. Because of this, I used to spend quite a while before starting my first draft planning my characters – writing character charts, snippets of dialogue and histories. However, this never really worked for me as doing this (at least in the first draft) often created flat, one dimensional characters. As a result I now prefer to let my characters develop naturally. Whenever I am stuck as to where to take the plot next I think about what my character would do in this situation. This is even more important in my current work in progress because one of my main character’s key traits is his ability to problem solve and think on his feet, sometimes coming up with incredibly creative solutions to the problems he gets himself into. This means that I often have to spend some time thinking about the solution from his point of view because my first idea is often too obvious or not possible under the circumstances/with the tools that the character has availiable (often minimal). This often means that as I get to know the character better I come up with much more interesting directions in which to take the plot, and some of the ideas I had at the beginning just wouldn’t seem realistic with the way that the character has now developed. This often means that the first few chapters are the hardest, and lots of details need to be changed in the second draft to make the characters more coherent but I love the sense of discovery I get as I watch the characters develop with each chapter.

With this summary hidden away and armed with my short plot sentence, I begin to write the first draft. This is often quite a painful process because I still haven’t quite got used to allowing my writing to be bad (hopefully only temprarily) so it is a constant fight againt my perfectionist self to continue and not to obsessively edit along the way. However, slowly but surely my world and my characters begin to come together. This is the stage that I am currently at with my latest work in progress. Once I have finished this first draft I will create a much more detailed plan to help with the editing process. This is normally something much closer to the Grid Method I wrote about in my last post, and helps me keep on track of how my plot and sub plots are developing throughout my story. I normally focus a bit more on character here as well, writing down the details of the characters that have developed through the first draft, and filling in any holes.

That’s what works for me anyway, and hopefully it will be beneficial for some of you. Feel free to use the bits that you find useful and ignore the rest. In my next post I’ll start to talk more about the actual writing of my first draft and give a quite update on my progress, but I think this post is long enough already! I’m sure my method wont work for everyone, so if you have your own planning technique I’d love to hear it! How do you begin? Do you let your characters or your plot lead the way? are you a planner or a panster?

Planning: The Grid Method AKA JK Rowling Style (A review) + Tips for blasting writer’s block.

[Photo Credit to: http://unclutterer.com/2010/10/12/organize-your-writing-j-k-rowling-style/]

Last year, after finally having an idea that I thought could be ‘the one’, I began experimenting with different planning techniques to help with my first draft (the reason for this can be found here: https://inspiredbyimagination.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/to-plan-or-not-to-plan/.) This was when I first discovered the photo above, which was released to give writers a peek into JK Rowling’s writing method. Since I loved reading the Harry Potter books while growing up, I was really excited to give this method a try. I’m not sure how clear the photo above will be, so I’ll give a quick overview of the method here:

• Each of the columns is dedicated to a different factor Rowling wanted to keep track of. The first is for the chapter number.
• the second is for the timescale of the novel e.g. when the chapter occurs.
• In the third column she writes the working title for each chapter.
• She then summarizes the plot of each chapter in the fourth column.
• After that, there is a column dedicated to the main plot of the novel and then one for each of the subplots.
• There is one row for each chapter, enabling Rowling to track how each chapter furthers the plot. Every chapter should, in some way, move the main plot forwards and then each of the subplots can weave into this.

I think that this is a brilliant way of keeping track of what happens at every stage of your novel, and was probably a key factor in enabling JK Rowling to keep track of her extensive plot and numerous subplots. If you’re the sort of person that can’t begin the first draft until you know the names of each character’s great grandparents and exactly what happens half way through chapter 16, then I think this method would work excellently.

However, lthough it is a very useful exercise to know exactly what happens in both the plot and subplots of each chapter, I found this method incredibly restrictive. If you used a computer that would probably increase its flexibility, but even then it would be an inconvenience to have to move everything around and change the chapter numbers every time you wanted to insert or take away a chapter. For those people who don’t change their plot at all while writing, this method would work very well. However, although I plan my plot loosely before I begin, I need to leave room to let my characters take the plot in different directions as they develop. This means that I often end up writing chapters that didn’t exist during the planning process, or getting rid of plot points that just don’t seem like something my characters would do as I get to know them better.

The verdict: In my opinion, this is an incredibly useful method to use at some point during the novel writing process. However, unless you are a very detailed planner I would recommend waiting until you are rewriting before you try out this method. I think it could be an excellent way of keeping track of your plot and sub plots while editing, and to help you identify any chapters that aren’t pulling their weight or subplots that are only half complete.

 When I tried to use this method to plan my novel it not only didn’t improve my ability to finish a first draft, it gave me complete writers block. When I talk about writers block I don’t mean going through a period when you have fewer or no flashes of inspiration because there are many methods to help you come up with ideas from brainstorming to talking it through with fellow writers. I mean the sort of writers block where you’ve become so overwhelmed with the tiny details of your plot that you can no longer see the big picture, and although you’re writing every day it feels flat and soulless. It took me about a month to get through this, and during the process I learnt a few tips that I found incredibly helpful:

• Have you become blocked as a result of too much planning and now find yourself writing to get to the next plot point rather than to record the decisions your characters make? One way to stop this is to take a break from your plot completely and begin to reconnect with your characters. Whether you write plot or character driven fiction, the characters are still an essential part of your novel and learning about them could help bring the feeling back to your story.
• I’m someone who prefers to develop my characters while writing rather than brainstorming their features and personality and so I started giving myself exercises that related to my characters e.g. write a letter from one character to another, describe one character’s daily routine, record what your character would see when he/she looks in the mirror. Not only did these exercises help blast my writers block, I found that as I wrote my characters became clearer and clearer in my mind. I till prefer to let them develop themselves during the first draft, but if I get stuck I go back to these exercises and I always learn something new.
• You could also describe the settings you use throughout your novel. I found writing about something that is directly related to the story, but not the plot,. really helpful. If one of these settings is a character’s house or something with a strong emotional connection then it can also help you to develop character. I find these short writing exercises really helpful to do just before I start working on my first draft in the morning as well, even if I’m not feeling blocked it gives me a way into my story.
• Once I felt like I was beginning to come out of the other end of my writers block I started writing from a different point of the story, focussing completely on what the characters would do in this situation. Then, when I read back the pages I had written before I could see clearly how they could be rewritten to sound less flat and lifeless. In the end I scrapped the plot sheet I had used and rewrote my plot focussing only on the major milestones rather than the tiny details along the way.

These methods might not work for everyone, so if anyone else has any advice on how to blast writer’s block out of the water I’d love to hear it! Have you ever tried The Grid Method of planning? How did you find it? Did you use it to plan or help with rewrites? How do you beat writer’s block?

The Snowflake Method of planning (a review)

In the search to change my panster writing ways I began with The Snowflake Method, a term coined by author Randy Ingermanson. The principal behind The Snowflake Method is to build your story like a snowflake; you start small and then build on that until you have a novel. The method is not designed to be used in the very early stages of planning because it relies on you having already gathered most of your ideas, instead it is aimed at those who are just about to start writing their first draft and are looking for a structure to keep track of their plot. You can see the full article on his website at http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/ but I’ve summarized the steps below:

1. Create a one sentence summary of your plot.
2. Expand this into a full paragraph.
3. Do the same for each of your main characters, creating character summaries which should tell the story from the point of view of each character.
4. Expand each sentence of your plot summary (stage 2) into its own paragraph, creating a one page skeleton of your story.
5. Expand your character summaries into a one page description of each major character.
6. Expand your one page plot synopsis into a four page summary.
7. Expand your character descriptions into full character charts detailing everything there is to know about each character.
8. Take your four page synopsis and make a list of all the scenes. Input these into the first column of a spreadsheet. In the next few columns make a note of each scene’s POV character, plot summary and anything else you want to keep track of.
9. (Optional) expand this spreadsheet into a narrative description of the story with roughly a page or two per chapter.
10. Write your first draft!

The Snowflake Method works brilliantly for some writers, namely those who like to create an intensive plan or who are on their second+ book and as such are selling it on the basis of a detailed synopsis rather than the completed novel. As for me, an unpublished writer just starting out on my first draft, I’ve found that some parts worked brilliantly, while others were too detailed and time consuming.

The first step, creating a one sentence summary of your novel, is an incredibly useful way of identifying your main plot and making sure that you remain focussed on this when writing your first draft. One of my problems has always been going off on tangents and losing track of the original plot, which has lead to the novel remaining unfinished, so this step was great for me!

However, since Randy himself states that the method is primarily designed for those writers who already know roughly what is going to happen in their plot, I found splitting up step two, four and six a bit of a waste of time. When I’m planning I like to focus on one aspect at a time, whether that’s plot, character or something else, and so alternating between working on plot and character and expanding in steps often caused me to lose focus. I did find having an extended plot summary incredibly useful however, and so although I skipped the expansion steps, I have made sure to include this in my own planning method.

Although being a seat-of-the-pants writer when it comes to plot just doesn’t work for me, I think character development is an area where I will forever be a panster. I do think about my characters before I begin to write, but I find that the best way to get to know them is to live in their world and to see where they take the plot. Otherwise I find it all to easy to try and control my characters and make them stick to the original characteristics I gave them rather than letting them develop of their own accord. As a result, I thought that step three was great as it helped me think about the story from the POV of each of my main characters, but after that the steps became too restrictive.

When using The Snowflake Method I actually skipped straight to writing my first draft after step six. This was because, although it’s important for me to have a rough outline of the plot before I begin writing, if I allow this to become too detailed then (as I mentioned in yesterday’s post) my writing becomes flat and I find that I am writing to create a link between each plot point rather than chronicling the actions of my characters. However, what I love about The Snowflake Method is that I was able to do this. The method itself is so flexible that you can pick and choose which steps work for you and skip the others.

The Result: Although the latter stages of The Snowflake Method are far too detailed for my writing style, I would recommend that everybody try it out at least once whether you are a heavy planner or a panster through and through. One of the benefits of having so many stages that all slowly build on each other is that it is easy to tell which ones work for you and which ones you should avoid. You can then use this information to create your own customized version. Trying out the method taught me a lot about my natural writing style, which and has been incredibly useful when designing my own planning method.

Have you tried The Snowflake Method? What did you think? Did you love it? Hate it?

Tomorrow I’ll be doing a review of The Grid Method AKA the method that JK Rowling used to plan the Harry Potter series.

To plan or not to plan..?

[Photo credit to: http://weheartit.com/entry/47260962/search?query=pink+doc+martins]

Whether you waited for that brilliant flash of inspiration or spent hours brainstorming the perfect plot line, every first draft starts with a tiny acorn of an idea. Just as this seed needs water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to nurture it in to an Oak, a novel, in incredibly basic terms, needs a plot, characters and a setting. However, when you consider how many ways there are to create and develop each part of this formula, it suddenly doesn’t look nearly as manageable.

The catalyst that started this process for me was the image of a character. I knew what he looked like, what his name was, and what he did to survive, but that was it. I didn’t know his story, why he had to go to such lengths to support himself at the tender age of 14, or anything else about him. So I decided to start at the beginning of the formula and work on developing the series of events that I was going to put my character through to turn my idea from a character study into a novel.

Excited to begin, I started the way i’ve approached every story idea i’ve had since the age of four when I wrote my first short story about a monkey called Bingo who wore bright pink doc martin boots, proudly modeled after my very own pair. I sat down and started writing seat-of-the-pants style. Somehow it took me this long to realize that there is probably a correlation between my lack of planning and the fact that in the 15 years since I started writing I have yet to complete an entire novel, let alone publish one. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a seat-of-the-pants writer, I admire those who are able to do it, but for me it’s painful. It feels like trying to drive down a country lane at night without my headlights on.

I realized that in order for me to have any hope of bringing life to my character, I had to develop some sort of planning process. Having never attempted this before, in fact most of my school years were spent thinking of ways to escape the dreaded planning section of essay writing, I decided to do some research and try out a couple of methods.

The planning experience for me was both incredibly beneficial, and incredibly harmful. In the end I knew roughly what was going to happen in the beginning, middle and end of my novel, which has proved invaluable in giving me the push I need to keep writing. However, half way through I found myself so overloaded with planning each individual step of each chapter that my writing became flat and boring and in the end I became completely blocked (more on this in a future post).

The only solution for me was to strike a balance. After experimenting with two planning techniques (The Snowflake Method and The Grid Method), I finally developed my own. Over the next couple of days I’ll be giving a brief overview of both methods, what worked for me and what didn’t, as well as the one I created for myself. If you’re a seat-of-the-pants style writer feel free to ignore any posts that don’t apply to you and tune back in to talk about character and getting down to the actual writing in a couple of days.

As for the age old question ‘to plan or not to plan?’ I think the only real answer is whatever feels right to you. How do you begin a novel? Do you just pick up a pen and write? Spend months creating a detailed chapter by chapter plot? or do a combination of the two?

Where it all began

[Credit to: http://weheartit.com/entry/53993994/search?query=find+your+inspiration]

So you’ve finally experienced that fantastic spark of inspiration, found an idea that you care enough about to spend months, maybe years, of your life developing. What now?

Well, if you’re anything like me, you start to plot, brainstorm and research far more than is probably healthy until it becomes a form of procrastination in its own right. You search for advice on how to begin, continue and end, terrified that you’re missing something vital, the magic ingredient, that will stop this novel ending up at the bottom of a draw or a dark corner of your computer like so many others.

There are a multitude of useful articles, blogs and websites out there written by already published authors who provide invaluable advice on the writing process to those just starting out, but they seem so far away from the brilliant, confusing and sometimes painful process of the first draft. It’s like being told not to stress about exams by your teacher.

Despite their tireless help, the first draft still feels like trying to climb a mountain alone without experience or instructions. You can see the flags of those who’ve succeeded in reaching the top, but how they managed it is as mysterious as the cloud covered peak. It is rare that we are given any insight into the process of writing a first draft as it is happening in real time. So that is what I am attempting to do with this blog in the hope that by sharing the giddy highs and I-want-to-give-up-now lows with a community of writers we can take some of the fear and mystery away from taking that first leap into the shark infested waters of writing a novel.

Good luck.