Yes, I think dialogue is a great way to start because you get so much from that. For me, because I don't really do any pre-work on character or story, other than having a basic idea of how it starts and how it ends, I usually don't really know my characters at all. I have no concrete details -- mousy, smart, overly enthusiastic about everything, stoic, salacious. I learn those as I go, but starting with dialogue is a great way to let your character breathe out loud for the first time so you can get a sense of who they are very quickly. Voice is so critical.
More than dialogue, for me, is that I approach it a bit differently. I write a ton of 1st person perspective, and so the inner monologue, which fills my stories, is how I arrive at voice the most, and how I arrive at how this character is this way or that way.
Figuring out who the characters are is so much fun, and sometimes I don't know until I'm a few thousand words in, and then it clicks.
'I write a ton of 1st person perspective, and the inner monologue.' I find it really interesting to hear about different writers' approaches. It proves that there is no 'right' way to create characters, plots or any other elements of a story and makes a mockery of the 'you must do it this way' articles. I agree it's fun figuring them out, especially when they finally click - just the same as getting to know a real person.
Yes, I think dialogue is a great way to start because you get so much from that. For me, because I don't really do any pre-work on character or story, other than having a basic idea of how it starts and how it ends, I usually don't really know my characters at all. I have no concrete details -- mousy, smart, overly enthusiastic about everything, stoic, salacious. I learn those as I go, but starting with dialogue is a great way to let your character breathe out loud for the first time so you can get a sense of who they are very quickly. Voice is so critical.
More than dialogue, for me, is that I approach it a bit differently. I write a ton of 1st person perspective, and so the inner monologue, which fills my stories, is how I arrive at voice the most, and how I arrive at how this character is this way or that way.
Figuring out who the characters are is so much fun, and sometimes I don't know until I'm a few thousand words in, and then it clicks.
'I write a ton of 1st person perspective, and the inner monologue.' I find it really interesting to hear about different writers' approaches. It proves that there is no 'right' way to create characters, plots or any other elements of a story and makes a mockery of the 'you must do it this way' articles. I agree it's fun figuring them out, especially when they finally click - just the same as getting to know a real person.