3 Tools Used to Create My Characters

This is week 18 of the MFRW Blog Hop. Please check out the rest of the authors participating in this challenge. Today’s topic is How I work up character/setting profiles.

avatarmaker.com

I’m a pantser, sometimes a plantser. Most times my characters just show up fully formed. There’s nothing else I need to do other than write their stories. At other times it’s just a name. When all I have is a name, I’ll write up a lite sketch that includes where they’re from, what they want, birthday and archetype, a hobby which I think is important to the kind of person they are and how they handle themselves through life. If I haven’t found a celebrity inspiration to represent a character, I’ll create one with http://www.avatarmaker.com. Sometimes I give them a catchphrase or an emotional tick that they say/do at stressful times. I use the following books/tools to help me create my characters:

• The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays
• The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heros and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes

Don’t forget to check the other blogs in the hop to find out how their characters or settings are created.