Character Interviews – How to make the people in your children’s stories come alive!
Website design By BotEap.comDo you have trouble creating well-rounded characters in your children’s stories? Then try this tip from writer Lisa Harkrader, who learned it a few years ago in a workshop she took from writer Sandy Asher (thank God writers love to share). Lisa says that if she had to pick one thing that has improved her writing the most, it would be this: the character interview.
Website design By BotEap.comThere is nothing mysterious about the character interview. It’s simply a list of questions to ask your main character before you start writing. You ask a question, then your main character answers (Yes, you should start hearing voices when you do this, but if you’re a writer you probably already hear them anyway, so relax).
Website design By BotEap.comSays Lisa, “My characters tend to be long and usually tell me a lot of things I never dreamed of before I started interviewing them. I don’t use all of that information in the story, but it gives me a really good understanding. of the character and the character’s voice, so I know what that character sounds like when they speak. It almost always gives me a better understanding of the plot, and sometimes leads to better endings or a different nuance to certain events. Occasionally, especially when writing in the first person, I pull up sentences or paragraphs directly from the interview Another thing interviews help me with is deciding when to use first or third person Whether a character’s voice is strong and fresh enough to convey It’s quite a story, I’m comfortable using first person. If a character is more active than talkative, third person works better.”
Website design By BotEap.comLisa conducted character interviews when she was working on her latest middle grade novel, AIRBALL: MY LIFE IN BRIEFS, which was recently published (Sept 2005) from Roaring Brook Press. The interview questions that Lisa uses have evolved over the years. This is the list that she now asks for her characters:
Website design By BotEap.comCHARACTER INTERVIEW
Website design By BotEap.com1. Describe yourself: what is your best quality? What is your worst?
Website design By BotEap.com2. Describe your family.
Website design By BotEap.com3. Who is your best friend? Because?
Website design By BotEap.com4. What did you order on your last birthday? What did you get?
Website design By BotEap.com5. What is the one thing you wish other people knew about you?
Website design By BotEap.com6. What is your biggest secret, the one thing you don’t want ANYONE to know?
Website design By BotEap.com7. What are you most afraid of?
Website design By BotEap.com8. What do you want more than anything?
Website design By BotEap.comRemember, you do not have to stick to these particular questions or use ONLY these questions. As you get used to conducting character interviews, you’ll probably develop your own questions that will allow you to get to know and understand your characters, so they really come to life in your children’s stories.