Eavesdropping on characters

 

It’s a busy time. My fantasy novel, Dragonborn, was released on Oct. 4, so I’m in the throes of promoting, sending out signed copies, and that sort of thing, while I’m working on book 2 in the series. On top of that, I’m in week five of a creative writing class I'm mentoring  over at Writer’s Village University. With all that going on on top of every day life, one thing that helps me stay energized is the writing.

This week as I read through the draft of book 2 of the Dragonborn series, I found a jump form one chapter to the next that left a hole. Too much time had past. Seven years to be exact, and while that kind of time isn’t always a problem, in this fantasy setting, it left too many questions. A transition chapter was definitely needed.

What did I do? Of course, I was tempted to procrastinate, but that is never the answer. Instead, I tackled it head on. 

• First, I wrote down the three things I needed to know. 
• Second, I placed two of the less developed characters in a scene
• Third, I threw a problem that needed to be worked out into the mix
• Fourth, I let them talk.  

The chapter not only came together, but I learned some very interesting new things from them that I wasn't even looking for! Things to use in the plot, personal things that brought depth to the characters, and even how some magic worked. I even met a dragon with a sense of humor.

Pumping Your Muse Prompt - Eavesdropping on characters

For today, choose two of your underdeveloped characters and place them in a scene. Indoors, outdoors, stuck someplace…it doesn’t matter. Just put them into a situation where they need to talk. To keep it simple, just stick with dialog. No speech tags, no setting of the scene. We don’t even need to know what they look like. Think of it like eavesdropping. Just listen in. Keep it between 400-500 words.

If you don’t know where to start, try one of the following:

• What are you doing here?
• Are you ready for this?
• I thought you knew where you were going.
• Are you mad?
• Do you know what you are doing?

You don't have to use all that you learn from this exercise in your story or book, but the backstory and history you do learn will enrich the story because you'll know the characters more intimately.  

Image credits: Personal image, pxfuel