The next chapter in the Gotham Writers' Workshop is about the above title - creating a character so real that he or she casts a shadow.
I tend to be good at character development. It's the moving along of the plot that tends to give me the trouble. But according to this book - and others I have read - desire has a lot to do with it. You must ask yourself, "What does he/she want?" In other words, what is the character's motivation?
A few things I marked in the book in reference to character -
"Good writers create a sense that their characters are people ... letting the real world recede and be replaced by the fictional world you have created."
And in regards to desire, "A character should want something. Desire is a driving force of human nature and, applied to characters, it creates a steam of momentum to drive a story forward."
And that is what I have done with my final project - the plot treatment for Ain't Life Grand?
Oftentimes I find myself sad at the end of a novel because this is where my relationship with the characters and author ends. This is why I went to the library this afternoon to check out Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - to continue on. Unfortunately it was checked out and I had to order it, so for tonight, I am Potterless. Boo.
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