In a new blog post, Mary Carroll Moore offers some suggestions for getting to know elusive characters. “I am in favor of books that draw me in without a lot of unnecessary history,” Moore says. “But some history is necessary–because it provides the motivations we readers need, to understand character decisions and beliefs (and misbeliefs).”
As Moore finished work on her latest novel, one of her edits focused solely on backstory. While she felt like she’d provided enough information about two of her three narrators, the third remained elusive. Here are a few steps she took to beef up her character.
- As noted, she went through her entire novel and highlighted sections of interiority. This showed her which character needed more backstory and where she might insert it.
- To get to know her third character, Moore asked herself is the character reminded her any other character in a book or short story she’d written, or someone she knew in real life.
- Moore also suggests the tried and true interview technique. Ask your character questions about their physical appearance, past hurts and regrets, and what they love.
