Sometimes writers are lucky enough to have a character (or three) arrive fully formed in our heads. We know their wants and desires, their weaknesses and faults. We know how they talk and how they’ll react in most situations. But sometimes, we understand our story more than our characters and their POV is harder to crack.
In a post on The Script Lab, David Young offers advice for getting inside your characters’ heads, so that you can get a better grasp on their behavior, reactions, and ways of speaking.
First, he suggests writing from your character’s POV, or even writing as though you were recreating diary entries. “A diary is what someone confesses to themselves, and by paying attention to that, rather than what a character would say to you over a cup of coffee, you’ll find some truly revealing stuff,” Young says.
As writing exercises, he also suggests writing a scene in which someone is trying to sell your character something outlandish, such as a flying carpet. What would make your character consider such a purchase? What need would it fulfill? How would it make them feel? Use this exercise to examine your characters’ desires and internal needs.
Follow the link for a few more suggestions.
