Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Hey, Wrimos!

Today is the last Wednesday of this 2010 competition!  The days have flown by and now we're down to six!  Yikes!  How's your word count?  I'm at 35,000 so I've got to crank out at least 2,000 tonight to keep current with my goal of 50,000 and at least another 1,000 to get slightly ahead. 

Do you like spreadsheets?  They are an author's best friend.  Tonight I created a list of all of my characters in order of appearance.  I created the following headings at the top of the columns:  Character Type, First Name, Last Name, Role, Purpose.  Under character type, I entered one of the following descriptors:  Protagonist (main character), Supporting Character (major player but not the main character), Protagonist (adversary and also could be supporting character), Secondary Character (important person, has dialog that moves the story forward, but not major role), Tertiary Character (a character that says a few lines, like "Would you like lemon with your tea?"), and Filler (people in a crowd who say things to move the story along but don't talk to the protagonist, like "Hey, Buddy - move it!").  Under First and Last name, I entered this information for each character, unless they didn't need a name.  Role means what role they play, i.e. love interest, best friend, doorman, passenger on airplane, ice cream vendor, etc.  Purpose explains why I need this character in my book.  How does this person help to further the plot?

So, here's an example:

Character Type:  Supporting/antagonist
First Name:  Caroline
Last Name:  MacDermond
Role:  Protagonist's mother
Purpose:  This character made decisions years ago that are now creating conflicts for the protagonist.  (I won't give you more information because it will SPOIL my story, and you wouldn't want that on your conscience, now would you?!)

I created this description for each character I've mentioned in the book.  I now have a much clearer picture of the story and the relationship that exists between each of them, even if the relationship is simply that they ride the same train and never speak to each other.

This exercise helps to make your world more believable.  It also forces you to check your facts to make sure they jive.  Do all parts of the story take place at the correct location, time zone and weather zone?  It forces you to ask yourself why you included these people/characters. 

If they help to flesh out your story and illuminate the motives of your protagonist, keep 'em. 

If they don't move the storyline forward, delete em'.

Mrs. P.