Comments on: Character Background http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/06/24/character-background/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=character-background I'd Rather Be at a Book Signing Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:36:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Catherine Schaff-Stump http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/06/24/character-background/comment-page-1/#comment-1571 Catherine Schaff-Stump Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:52:41 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2836#comment-1571 Sean, my characters exist outside of me. I'm sure of it. Catherine Sean, my characters exist outside of me. I'm sure of it.

Catherine

]]> By: Shannon Ryan http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/06/24/character-background/comment-page-1/#comment-1570 Shannon Ryan Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:03:18 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2836#comment-1570 One of my favorite books is Douglas Coupland's jPod, not a book loved by his bigger fans. The characters all had interesting quirks, and they would give each other little challenges like "Write a love letter to Ronald McDonald," and try to one-up each other for weirdness. To do this, Coupland really had to have a read on the characters. One of my favorite books is Douglas Coupland's jPod, not a book loved by his bigger fans. The characters all had interesting quirks, and they would give each other little challenges like "Write a love letter to Ronald McDonald," and try to one-up each other for weirdness.

To do this, Coupland really had to have a read on the characters.

]]> By: Sean Craven http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/06/24/character-background/comment-page-1/#comment-1569 Sean Craven Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:12:17 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2836#comment-1569 My approach to characterization is very different from the way I handle most things in fiction. It's completely intuitive. I either know the characters -- in which case I can visualize them, hear their voices, and can say exactly how they would respond to a particular situation -- or I don't. There is no preparation, no logic involved unless the characters are directly based on people I know. One of the interesting things about this approach is that the characters have had full lives I do not know about, and from time to time things pop up relating to their backgrounds that take me by surprise. My approach to characterization is very different from the way I handle most things in fiction. It's completely intuitive. I either know the characters -- in which case I can visualize them, hear their voices, and can say exactly how they would respond to a particular situation -- or I don't. There is no preparation, no logic involved unless the characters are directly based on people I know.

One of the interesting things about this approach is that the characters have had full lives I do not know about, and from time to time things pop up relating to their backgrounds that take me by surprise.

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