Round Robin, a monthly writing prompt, charactersThis month, our Round Robin is about how we create our characters. When I write my characters, how much of the character is me? How much is it influenced by people I know? And do I ever learn anything from my characters?

Honestly, there’s probably a little bit of me in every heroine. Not necessarily my personality, but I’ll pull from that personal experience of what fear/anger/happiness/hope/etc. is like and try to translate that into my character’s viewpoint.

There are times when the amount of me in the heroine is minimal. Those are the most challenging to write. For instance, the heroine in my current WIP is very timid. Some of this is a spillover from her animal, which is a snow leopard. Incorporating her background, her personality, her animal traits, her culture, and how she views the world into the story has been very challenging. A foreign country, a foreign mindset.

I have drawn on personality traits from people I’ve met, or know, and, at other times, the character appears—warts and all.

Often, though, I feel as if I am going on the journey with my characters. To write the story, I have to see through their eyes, be in their skin. Some days, it’s easier than others.

So, the short answer: yes, to all of it…sometimes. LOL

Please visit the other authors who are participating in this month’s Round Robin: