How Do I Develop My Characters....

So I asked what people wanted to know about me, my writing, or my characters in an effort to get closer to my readers and friends.  My wonderful brother came up with the best idea.  “You should write about your characters.  Where do they come from, who are they based on, how do you develop the personalities of individuals that exist only in your noggin?  That would be neat.”  He’s pretty smart.  He can also write but that’s a topic for another day.

My characters are usually a handful.  As for where they come from.  Well, they come from everything around me.  The people I meet, my clients, my friends and family, and myself.  I am a people watcher.  I could do it for hours.  My boyfriend and I were recently in Chicago and we found a little corner coffee shop and sat at the window seats and just watched the people rushing by.  It was great!  Sometimes I see people on the street or the store and I can just get a sense of their personality and the next thing you know I’ve got a character.

I’ve never directly based a character on any one person.  I’m sure it will happen eventually.  Some characters are a compilation of people I love.  Other of people I hate.  I pull habits, mannerisms, and tones from everyone around me.

Developing a character’s personality is interesting.  Sometimes they develop themselves and sometimes they need my help.  The most difficult thing for me is keeping the voices in my head straight.  Making sure that everyone is an individual on paper as well as in my imagination.  I’m a list person.  So I have a list for everything.  Some author’s have to have names and character profiles before they can start writing.  Not me.  I start writing and then make my lists.  What my character looks like, name, personality quirks.  My characters have favorite songs, book, and movies.  They end up being real people to me.  My only hope is to translate that onto page.