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Who are Your Characters?
Getting to know your character is really important because how can you write about someone you don’t know? Truly you can’t know everything about them, but you need to know the basics. Pixar created this series called Pixar in a Box that breaks down their writing process. That’s where they introduced me to the elevator test. (I included a link to the whole Pixar in a box series down below)
Pretend that you’re stuck in an elevator with your character. You get in, click the button and then click your floor, the elevator just stops. The lights dim. What does your character do in a crisis? That’s what you are trying to figure out. Ask yourself:
- What’s your character’s first reaction? And why do they react that way?
- How do they calm themselves down?
I love this exercise.
I think it opens up a myriad of exercises that you can put your characters through. Like one of my favorites: Truth or Dare. You will learn a lot about a person in a game of Truth or Dare. When I’m writing a large cast of characters, I like to write a fun little short where I ask questions that will reveal what your characters care most about, what they’re willing to do…
