Book Characters

I had an interesting experience the other day. I met with a group of writers that was going to form a critique group. They didn’t live in my city, and I didn’t know any of them so it was fun to see if I could figure out what their personalities were like.

One lady stood out to me. She bounced into the meeting late. “I just got new boots.” She pointed her toe and turned around. “Do you like them?” She giggled. “My scarf is new also.” This time she twirled around.

I think she was a little nervous because she talked very fast, running her words together so it was difficult to understand her. She went on to show us the purple sparkle on her nails. “I just had my hair trimmed also.” She pulled her hair over her left shoulder and combed it with her fingers. Then she flipped it to her back. It was long—down to her waist, and she spent the entire meeting running her fingers through it, fanning it out while she turned her head to study it’s beauty—as if she were preening.

I began to think that she would make a good character in a book. I could give her a nasal sound to go along with her fast-talking. She would be judgmental of others.

What characteristics would you give her? Would she have any compulsive behaviors? Anything she couldn’t stand?

It’s fun to take a little time and flesh out a character. Happy Writing! Christy