Tried writing a detailed character bio first and it killed my story, now I just start with a single scene instead

After spending 3 hours outlining a 12 page character sheet for a protagonist who never felt real, I scrapped it all and wrote one scene of them ordering coffee and suddenly I knew everything about them, has anyone else found that less planning actually gives you better characters?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy9751d ago

That coffee scene trick is gold, right? I did something similar with a character who was supposed to be this tough detective. Had pages of notes about his backstory and trauma. Nothing clicked until I wrote him losing his keys and cursing at his car. Then I knew he was actually just a stressed out guy pretending to be hard. So what happened in your coffee scene that cracked things open for you? Was it a tiny detail like how they held the cup or what they ordered? Or was it more about their interaction with the barista? I always worry that if I don't plan enough, I'll write myself into a corner with no way out. But then again, the unplanned stuff always feels more alive. How do you balance that fear of getting stuck against the payoff of discovering a character in the moment?

amyh2117h ago

The coffee scene with my character was less about the coffee and more about what she did with the straw... I wrote her chewing on it while she stared at nothing, and then I realized she wasn't deep in thought like I planned. She was just bored. That shifted everything because I had her pegged as this brooding artist type but no, she was actually just a restless person who needed to move around constantly. Funny how the little physical tics give them away before your big notes ever do... I've stopped planning so much now because finding out my character is actually a messy, bored person instead of a tragic figure feels way more fun than any corner I've written myself into.

theawest1d ago

Wrote her tapping her nails on the counter, realized she was impatient not angry.