Writing characters that feel real.
Daily Themes 8: it starts with observation and ends with desire.
Yesterday, I woke up to 10,000 of you. When I first started on Substack, this arbitrary, far-away number hovered around my brain as a marker of legitimacy and success (whatever that means). But a little over a year later, I am just overwhelmed with gratitude that ten thousand people have resonated with my writing. I’ve said it before, but this newsletter is my dream come true, and I feel very lucky for the community I’ve met because of it.
To celebrate, I picked up an earl grey vanilla mini cake at From Lucie and shared it with my family. I’ve also made paid subscriptions to Ad Hoc 30% off, which you can redeem using this link. It expires in exactly one week. I LOVE YOU ALL.
Ok, back to business! This letter is a Daily Themes writing workshop on how to write captivating, real characters. Previous lessons have been on metaphor, syntax, sound, beginnings, description, register, and schemes. Paid subscribers to Ad Hoc get access to all 5 writing prompts, as well as my responses to each of them.
Before we begin, a few notes:
Writing good characters starts with the act of noticing. Go out into the world and observe things about other people, and how those objects, qualities, and abilities make them who they are.
The girl on the subway wears two different colors of eyeshadow on her lids. What inspired her to do that?
The old man walks two paces slower than his wife and his daughter on the sidewalk. Does he want to catch up and talk to them?
A character with a desire makes a story. Desire holds hands with plot. Three questions help us (the writers) figure out how those desires impact a character’s beliefs, decisions, and actions.
What do I want?
What do I think I want?
What is in my way?
In fiction, we need an anomaly, an inciting incident. Otherwise, we have a character sketch or a beautiful description. Characters need obstacles. They ignite conflict by meeting other characters with their own desires.
An ending should be a profound reimagining of the beginning.
Each theme should be between 250-300 words. If the prompt has two parts, split the word count accordingly.
Prompts:
A Portrait in Objects. Write a theme that incorporates the following details/tasks:
a. Three physical details about the place you live.
b. List two objects you can see from where you are.
c. Three objects you treasure.
d. Three objects you wish for or lack.
e. Two things you should get rid of but can’t.
f. One thing you have managed to shed.
g. Something you lost.
h. Two details of a place you no longer go.
i. A physical place you imagine in your future.
j. Two things you will take with you to that place.