I’ve seen a lot of advice that says to come up with your characters first and then the story.
I practice the opposite.
I tend to come up with a concept or even just a scene to incite the adventure. But whatever that initial concept is, that’s what I develop first. there’s usually a clear path to any concept.
Thieves Plan Heist–>Heist Goes Wrong–>Thieves turn against each other
Once I know what I plan to write about, I invent the characters. Starting with the types I’d need. Then I go back through my plot and envision how these characters will react. This changes the story, but not the idea behind it.
Now that I know some of the scenarios, like what they might be stealing, and who from. I’ll think what would make this plot more interesting, and it’s always the characters.
So what if it’s a mother and daughter team and the daughter has always thought her mother was so cool because they live the wildlife without rules. And the mother is someone filled with great rules and quotes about life, who wouldn’t believe she has it all figured out?
A mother and daughter team of thieves planned a heist–>it goes wrong because the daughter hates her potential stepfather–>The daughter turns against them because they cross a line, killing a guard.
Pretty soon, the characters have taken over the story, and that’s when I have the most fun writing.
Maybe it doesn’t even get to the killing of the guard. Once I know the characters and drop them into a situation, once I know those characters, they’ll veer left or right. They’ll demand I change my carefully plotted outline.
And that’s where I have a lot of fun, when the characters come to life.
I actually find it incredibly hard to start with the characters first, because then I’m trying to come up with things to throw at them to keep them interested and interesting.
It’s probably why I have such a hard time writing sequels. The characters are already there . . .
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