In this week’s guest post (we’re still operating in the Read Play Edit Blog Recovery Plan), author Norma Horton discusses character creation.

The Voices in My Head

Authors use a variety of tools to develop characters. My mentor, a Christy-Award-winning author, uses a complex questionnaire. Another author friend creates characters from a pastiche of people she knows. I combine both approaches, although my characters evolve with my manuscripts, and their final incarnations sometimes surprise me when the files head to the publisher.

The element that really sets apart each character isn’t his or her physical description. (I prefer to let readers sketch their own likenesses of my protagonist, antagonist, and supporting cast.) Or even the way my characters interact. The voice of each character defines the individual, and I’ll admit right now that I hear their voices in my head.

My protagonist is a very well-educated, half-crazy, middle-aged woman with a wicked sense of humor. She’s working to save her thirty-year marriage to a man she’s recently discovered worked for the CIA. A dash of espionage, a tablespoon of danger, several cups of international suspense, one son and daughter, and a liberal handful of ancient theologians comprise my recipe for these characters.

Dialogue binds these ingredients. It creates cohesive relationships. It propels the story. It conveys tension and reveals insecurities. It allows the characters to speak for themselves in a way narrative never could.

I work to make dialogue believable, and do silly things, such as sit in our small valley coffee shop to eavesdrop on twenty-something duuuuudes and snow bunnies so I’ll know how they talk. I review podcasts from the seminary from which I took a graduate degree, noting speech patterns of vibrant, joyful octogenarian professors.

I am mindful not only of the vocabulary differences in demographics, but also of tempo shifts. Tempo is critical! Our speech patterns aren’t just words, but each individual’s tempo is as different as the beats of a spicy tarantella and a Bach fugue.

While I’m drafting a manuscript, my characters’ voices keep me awake. They argue. Cajole. Banter. Freak out. Love or hate or are indifferent. But they convey emotions in unique, characteristic ways that are true to themselves.

I challenge you to listen. To learn the uniqueness-of-voice each character uses to express thoughts, feelings, or actions. Then I challenge you to read your entire manuscript before you send it to an agent, editor, or publisher. If you get the voices right, your story will be vivid and true, and readers will engage with your characters, caring about them and wanting more.

NLB Horton returned to writing fiction after an award-winning career in journalism and marketing as well as earning her Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. From her home in the Rocky Mountains, she writes, cross-country skis, gardens, and researches ideas for her novels, including When Camels Fly and The Brothers’ Keepers; her third is due fall 2015.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”