My Characters, My Friends
Writer: Leslie Hooton
Asking writers to give advice on writing is like going to a cafeteria. There are many selections to choose among. You can get the advice you want, and the advice is probably what you were hungry for that day. My advice is not sexy like the prime rib under the heat lamp, but it works for me. I like to know my characters before I sit down at the computer. Creating characters is the fun part of my job.
I have heard writers say write five thousand words a day; write twenty-five hundred words a day; I have even heard writers say write ten thousand words a day! I keep my mouth shut. To me, a story is always about the people. The characters. The characters are king. I want someone to root for. I want someone to hate. I want someone, who when they appear on the page, I laugh out loud.
Creating characters is serious business. For me, I have to know the characters so well that I know the funny things they might say. Or for a character, like Henry, my famous chef in two of my books, I need to know some delicious dish he might be concocting to put on the menu.
That doesn’t always mean spending time in front of my computer. It means, spending time in my head and spending time in the world observing. I see a vintage dress, and I think would Bailey wear that? Or a yummy cocktail, “Is that something Griffin might mix up as his bespoke cocktail?”
I walk around with these people in my head all day long. I may only dictate a few words on the computer, but I write lots in my notebook that may or may not make it on the published page. I need to know my characters.
When reviewers describe my characters as “old friends that they enjoy spending time with,” I know I have created a good character. They know that person so well that they have adopted them into their fictional friend group. Characters should inhabit the page fully formed.
I have preconceived notions about the characters I create when I sit down at the computer. Sometimes as I write they do things that surprise even me. I figure if they can shock me, they can shock the reader. That’s a good day at the office.
I read a great essay by Ann Patchett. She carries her characters around in her head. Ms. Patchett doesn’t worry about her own death, but she worries that her characters may die in the process. In other words, if she dies, her characters die too. Her viewpoint feels right to me.
That brings me to my second piece of advice. Reading in my estimation is key to being a good writer. I love the way some authors lay down sentences. There is magic in how certain words fit together like pieces of a puzzle waiting to be placed together. Reading makes me see what’s possible. Reading pushes and guides me to be a better writer. Sometimes reading is just the right inspiration to guide you to give your characters the right push. I read at night, and I love to be able to say “I am dying to know what so and so is up to.” I just can’t wait to know what will happen next to the characters because they have already become my friends.
Many people, including my mother who was a voracious reader and a librarian, conclude that it was Shakespeare that wrote all the stories. What came after is merely recreating his original ideas. I’d like to think that Romeo and Juliet was the basis for every love story that came after. Although, Shakespeare might object to the category “romantic comedy”. I love taking parts of Jane Austen’s England and reimagining them in a southern town like Erob, Alabama.
Maybe you do need to write five thousand words a day. Maybe that gives you the two or three sentences of character development to jumpstart your novel. I don’t necessarily care where the novel is going, but I want to know who I am traveling with. There’s no better journey than a journey taken with good, well-developed and interesting characters.
About the Writer
Leslie Hooton is many things: a fabulous friend, a powerful speaker, a flower enthusiast, and a lover of language. Her debut novel, Before Anyone Else, garnered a Zibby nomination. Leslie’s second novel, The Secret of Rainy Days was a book club favorite, and her third novel, After Everyone Else, the sequel to Before Everyone Else, was published on June 28, 2022.
Website: lesliehooton.com
Listen to writer’s podcast episode here.