PRIEST: Novelist | Compelling Characters

"You're so-o ambitious, aren't you? You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube, with a little taste. Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia. What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? You know how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere, getting all the way to the F...B...I."

--Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs

Many novelists insist that Characters and characterization are the most important aspects of storytelling. True or false, it is a simple exercise of logic that dictates the following: If your readers don't care about your Characters, they won't want to read about them. The more you know about your Character, the better you will write about it. The Character Dossier exists to introduce you to your Characters. It asks questions you should consider answering -- not only for your readers, but for yourself.

Think of it as conducting an interview with the Character. You'll want to know the basics, of course -- name, place of birth, et cetera. Then you'll want to ask about the Character's personal and professional life, their likes and dislikes, and so on. Believe it or not, you don't know your Character as well as you think you do. In time, your Character's voice will whisper softly in your ear as you write. "You know I wouldn't do that," it will say. You will know when you're writing out of Character because you'll know your Character.

Characters are special entities, really. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attempted to kill off Sherlock Holmes; the result was an angry mob of fans that insisted he resurrect his famous sleuth. When readers can care about your Characters that much, you owe it to yourself to make them as memorable as possible.

You fill out the form, answering the questions as you see fit. You don't have to answer them all; there are no required fields. You will see everything start to take shape as you answer them. I suggest making a "before" and "after" version of your main Character, one before the introduction of the main conflict and one after the resolution of that conflict. This way, you can plot out the transformation and development of the Character. Keep in mind the Main Question: WHY? If you keep asking yourself why this Character is the "way it is", why you're creating the Character this way, you'll keep the theme and tone of the novel in mind. Now, without further ado, there's someone I'd like you to meet...your Character!