Off the Cuff Characterization

From the comments section of the last post:

Have any of you come up with traits for your character that changed when you sat down to write? Do you get to know your character before starting, or is it a process as you’re writing?

Oh, definitely! Though I am a big plotter, and always try to write my synopsis first, and have a general idea of who I’m writing about and what their major characteristics will be, I always find I don’t really know my characters until I spend a little while in their heads. So I usually write my synopsis, then write a few chapters to get that character firmly fixed in my mind. The usual in-advance character worksheets and stuff don’t work for me, since I often don’t know what a character’s favorite ice cream flavor is until I need to use it (as the poster said). But, while I’m writing, and sort of “living” in their head, there are certain things that will strike me as being very them, as I spoke about yesterday. And if I run into a problem where they aren’t “coming to life” for me, sometimes shopping or listening to music or trying some other means to get inside them helps a lot.

But, one of the reasons I don’t feel as if plotting means I’ve “already written the story” as some anti-plotters argue, is that I never stop being surprised. Sometimes, characters will completely throw me for a loop. I’m always open to changing stuff if that happens. Two vivid instances of this come to mind:

1) I wrote a book several years ago. Great book, I love it, my CPs love it, certain contest judges adored it and recommended it to their editors… but it was a romance set in the world of kidnapped and exploited children… so, um, a bit of a tough sell. Anyway, when I plotted it out, the hero’s name was going to be Victor. He was Russian, and rugged, and sexy, and a little bit of a thug. So I was writing along, la la la, and the hero appears in his first scene and sparks are firing between him and the heroine. Oh, what a scene. It’s tense and sexy and angry and fabulous… my fingers are flying. Ten pages later, I look up and realize that Victor disappeared about a page and half in and instead, Vincent appeared. It was Vincent that had been pacing circles around my heroine for the last half a chapter. And my goodness, I loved him! I loved him so much more than Victor. As Vincent, he had a little panache to his personality. He was smoother, quieter, more walk-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick (think Sean Bean), which was perfect for my heroine, because she was a bit on the dramatic side. I got rid of Victor. Mmmm, Vincent. I really loved him.

2) When I was first writing the proposal for Secret Society Girl, I was feeling pretty good about Amy from the start. She had her good points and her bad points, her desires and her concerns, her friends and her history… but I didn’t know her, we hadn’t gone from “acquaintances” to “friends” until (white text for spoilers for those of you — for shame! — who haven’t read SSG yet) she was locked into that coffin in chapter four. I remember writing that scene. The second that water starting coming into the sides of the coffin and she freaked out and told me about her water phobia… whoa, man. Eureka. I remember running into the bedroom and waking Sailor Boy up and telling him all about it. I remember also him telling me I was crazy. But whatever, he didn’t understand the connection I’d just made. After that, Amy and I were friends for life. She’d tell me anything. I went back and rewrote the first few chapters with all of this new information in mind.

It’s fascinating how much one little piece of the puzzle made her character crystallize so completely for me. Even more so because this information really isn’t important to the plot. It doesn’t explain her commitment phobic tendencies, or why she’s such a loudmouth, or what she wants from her life (aside from living inland). But it was a crack I could use to get into her head, and it’s extremely important to her. You’ll see in Under the Rose that this is not an event she’s forgotten (or that she’s ready to forgive).

Have any of the writers who read this blog had similar experiences?