A School Visit Filled with Characters

Today I was lucky enough to spend some time with Mrs. Poulton's fabulous Language Arts class at Harrington Middle School in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. I love school visits. I love spending time with students. I love chatting about writing. I love hearing what students think about YA novels. And I love teaching a middle school writing lesson again. 

This morning we chatted about characters. Characters are my absolute favorite part of the novel process and all my stories begin with a single character idea. I adore character creation, from the first tiny seek of an idea to the traits to the name to the actual person. And yes, they are real to me. Seriously. :) 

We spent a ton of time talking about how to create memorable characters. Then, I shared one of my character secrets - magazines. When I first begin brainstorming my next novel and thinking about characters, I grab a ton of magazines and start flipping until I find a model, celebrity, or photo that embodies the mental picture I developed. Then, I cut out the pic and glue it into my novel notebook, so I can better visualize my character. From there, I begin writing out character interviews, a trait list, and name him or her. 

After my chat, the students began cutting out pics and jotting down some traits. It was amazing how finding a photo sparked entire stories. I was so impressed with their ideas and imagination. In fact, I can't wait to read their finished stories. 

How do you create memorable characters? And if you're not an author or writer, who is your fave character of all time - television, movie, or book? 

Thanks, Mrs. Poulton's class! I had a blast. 

Have a fabulous week and weekend, everyone! ;) 

Characters Come Alive

I've been reading bunches of stuff about characters lately...

1. Melissa Walker blogged about a song that reminds her of Violet. 

2. Word for Teens is hosting a character contest. To enter, you have to name a character from a book that you would like to be. I'm still brainstorming because I seriously can't decide on one character. 

3. Stephanie Kuehnert blogged for Young Adult Enchanting Reviews about her character's birthdays, astrological signs, and how she uses note cards to keep her characters straight - brilliant idea. Happy Release Day, Stephanie! 

After reading these fantastic posts and continuing to bang out SCREWBALL 2 (untitled), I began obsessing about characters and character development. How do you create memorable characters? Do you research? Do you use real people as models? And what do you think makes a character memorable? 

  

I have to admit, when I'm in the midst of writing, my characters are real. Like walking around real. Like in my head all the time, real. Hence, the conversation I just had with my sister in law on the boardwalk. 

"Hey, that guy looks like Andrew," I say and nod towards a cute guy walking with his girlfriend. 

"Andrew who?" 

"Andrew Sinclair."

"Who's that?" 

"Ashley's first boyfriend. You know, from my book." I roll my eyes.  

Sister in law pauses, looks at me, then changes the subject. 

Does anyone else do this? Or do you read a book and then spot someone that looks like the character from the book? 

Happy News - The 2008 Summer Olympics begin one month from today - 8/8/08. I can't wait! 

I'm also over at Pretty Tough today blogging about Team USA's Pink Out auction. Did you know that one out of eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime? Yikes. Cancer sucks. :(

Have a great day everyone!