Let's try a personality test

Following on from another great read (Crafting Unforgettable Characters by K.M. Weiland) and a day out of the office in project workshop my mind turned to personality. In the book, Weiland describes many of the facets that make great, unforgettable characters, and she ably describes the pains that many authors come to when crafting their own.

I've often wondered if there are ways to make my characters more interesting, less predictable, but most of all more lifelike. Writers often talk about one-dimensional characters. I've often found that description more abstract than useful. To me, one-dimension means that you have characters acting but you haven't given them reasons for doing so. So motives might give you something more, perhaps two dimensions. But even then, characters can still seem... off.

I think the issue with this is that we want our characters to be as real as actual people, and actual people don't simply have one motivation or one reaction to any of those motivations. Personality is a very complex thing, hence why some of the finest minds in history have dedicated themselves to the study of it. While we might not have direct access to those minds, and most writers don't even have access to a psychology undergrad, there are resources we can use.

The aforementioned project workshop was an opportunity to engage with co-workers, but also involved a personality test called working styles. I'll bet most of you are saying "my characters don't have office jobs", which is great, because the life behind a desk does not make for good reading. But in her book, Weiland does talk about character occupations - what is it that they do. It makes sense that if they have a job of some sort, then they will have a working style - that is a behaviour preference that can be used to describe how they work and interact with others.

I should say that I am definitely not counted as one of the people that believes in these tests as a useful business exercise, as I don't really agree with pigeon-holing people based on their preferences. I am, however, of the belief that they can help us get a better grasp of our characters. Over the next week or so I'm going to test that belief by using online personality tests, starting with www.16personalities.com, to see if they can help flesh out my characters. Check back here in a few days time for the first set of results.

If you've used personality tests in the past, either on your characters or on yourself (or someone else, if you're into unusual punishment), then please leave a link in the comments and I will add it to the list that I will be checking out.

Starting my journey...

...as always, from the middle. Truth be told I've been writing fiction for years, but only just started pursuing a publishing deal in earnest.

I've never been one for new year resolutions. The cynic in me - probably the loudest and most frequent voice in my head - rolls his eyes and shrugs at other people making their pledges once a year. Why should someone need that impetus to start eating right? Or to do more exercise? Or to learn a foreign language?

If there's one thing I've learned from writing fiction, it is the value of time. Underestimate it and it will swallow your ambitions with your youth and your pride. I write pretty much all my fiction in the month of November every year. If you're in fiction writing or publishing world you'll know all about Nanowrimo, and if you're not or you don't you should definitely check it out. The guys at The Office of Letters and Light bang the drum of the deadline's power but often overlook that of the kick-off, the starting pistol or project start date. No change can be meaningful without trying to accomplish it by a deadline, and what good is a deadline if you don't openly and actively commit to starting something.

That's the value of the new year resolution right there. The fact that you're committing to starting something.

My resolution wasn't made on January 1st. In fact, it didn't happen until I took the time to listen to a Nanowrimo webinar that featured Kami Garcia, James Scott Bell and K.M. Weiland. They spoke of structure and character, and something clicked. I always struggled with editing, but here were the experts passing on their knowledge and highlighting every one of my mistakes as they did.

(If you're in a similar position to me on the struggle against editing, I would strongly suggest checking out K.M. Weiland's Structuring Your Novel. I'll be reading one of James's in the near future too so I'll be sure to check in here afterwards.)

I found an energy for writing (and more importantly, editing) that I had not felt in years and it made me realise what I needed to do. I needed to edit one of my books to a quality good enough for publishing, but more than that -  I needed to make a resolution. So here it is: this is the year I will get published.

I set about looking through my back catalogue for my favourite story. Not my best work, or the one that would require the least polishing, just the story that held the most promise. The interesting characters and fully fledged plot ready to be nurtured into a publishable novel. I've settled on a book all about the redemption of a dark mage that I wrote a few years ago.

This blog is going to be where I keep track of the journey, the editing & the struggle to become a published author. I hope it makes good reading for you.