Someone asked me for advice about character development. The thing is, there’s no easy answer to that question. Every writer has his/her own way of developing characters.

For me, it takes a while for the characters to set up housekeeping in my mind. Then, once they get comfortable, they become very noisy and intrusive, constantly nagging me to get their story down on paper.

For example, while working on The Choice, I remember the characters’ voices experimenting with descriptions in my head as I played tennis.

“How about this?!” one shouts. “Carrie’s eyes filled up with tears.”

“No, no, no,” corrects another. “Carrie isn’t the type to cry. Maybe say . . . ‘her eyes glistened’. Yeah, that’s the ticket! Go with that.”

Besides being loud, these mental houseguests can get demanding, too.

“What are you thinking? Having me eat banana pancakes for breakfast?” complains one character to me. “You know I’m allergic to gluten!”

Well, I didn’t know. But now I do.

P.S. The Choice ebook is FREE until November 30th! Pick up a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Christian Book Distributors!

Thanks for sharing what stuck out to you on last week’s Amish Wisdom lineup! Congratulations to the winner of a copy of Amish Values for Your Family, Jan VanDeWalle! Please email info {at} suzannewoodsfisher {dot} com to claim your prize.

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