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Update: I quit writing super detailed character sheets after a buddy said mine read like tax forms
I used to fill out these giant character sheets with 60 plus lines about eye color, childhood pets, and favorite foods before I wrote a single scene. Then at a write-in at the library in Boise back in March, my friend Dana read one and told me "this tells me nothing about how she acts when she's scared." So now I start every character with just one scene of them under pressure and build the rest from there. Honestly it's cut my prep time in half and the prompts I generate from it feel way more alive. Has anyone else flipped their process like this, and did the old habit sneak back in?
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jake_hall8815d ago
That's a smart flip. I'm curious about the pressure scene you build first: do you write it as a full scene with other characters and dialogue, or just a quick 200-word sketch of her reacting? I ask because I tried something like this after a workshop in Portland and mine kept turning into full chapters, which sort of missed the point. Also, does the old habit creep back in when you get stuck, like suddenly you're three pages deep on her favorite breakfast?
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