Stuck on a character for weeks until I tried a weird interview trick

I was trying to write a detective for a short story set in my hometown, but he just felt flat, like a cardboard cutout with a badge. For three weeks, I couldn't get past his first scene. On a whim, I grabbed my voice recorder and pretended to interview him, asking stuff like 'What's in your fridge right now?' and 'What's the most boring part of your job?' (his answer was 'paperwork after a donut, the powdered sugar gets everywhere'). Giving him a voice and those dumb, specific details suddenly made him feel real. Has anyone else used a method like this to jumpstart a stalled character?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_ramirez9d ago

Totally get that, I mean sometimes you gotta trick your brain into seeing them as a person instead of a writing project. I actually do something similar but with music, like I'll make a playlist of what my character would listen to in their car on a bad day, and the vibe from a few songs can unlock their whole mood for me. It's weird how the small stuff, like hating powdered sugar on reports, builds the big picture way better than just listing their job and hair color. That interview trick sounds perfect for catching those off guard, real person answers.

mia_fox989d ago

Yeah, the playlist idea is solid. It's those tiny habits that make a character stop feeling like a list of facts. Music gets right to the mood without overthinking it.