One of the many lessons I learned while writing my first novel, HOST, is put the effort up front into your characters motivations and goals. If you can distill them down to a single sentence, hell a single word, it’ll pay dividends as these characters move through the plot and world you’ve created for them.
I had one character pretty well mapped out and it showed. I had a solid backstory for her, motivations, and goals that made the writing process so much easier when it came time to write her scenes. The words poured out because I knew, more like she knew, how she would react in each situation and with other characters. My other characters didn’t have that and it was a slog to move them through a scene, and more rewriting during revisions.
Having those wants/needs/goals/motivations up front plays a part in how a character will see the world you’ve placed them in, which adds that depth that pulls a reader further into your story. I chatted with my writing pal, Tim, about all of this on our Building Characters episode, where we focus on the mistakes we both made, and how a little pre-planning goes a long way.
