I have multiple documents to save interesting story, scene, and character ideas. To save a character, I write a character sketch and backstory. The character sketch describes the character's appearance, personality, and sometimes motivations and skills. The backstory explains how he or she became that way.
Often, however, a character is born out of an imagined scene. I’ll write that scene to save the idea, injecting hints at the character’s aesthetic, personality, backstory, and aspirations. At a friend’s graduation, for example, I imagined tragic but brilliant villain also receiving his diploma. The scene below, along with a paragraph of backstory, preservers the character in one of my idea documents.
The Graduation of John Romel
“Andrew Robbins,” the officiator calls. The crowd claps, loudest yet. An air horn blares, and someone at the back of the auditorium screams, “Yeah, Andrew!”
The student pumps his fists in response, walking proudly across the stage to receive his diploma. Mrs. Holiday, the dean, shakes his hand robotically and presents the worthless piece of paper.
I’m up next. Finally.
“John Romel.”
Silence. I can hear the stage boards creak beneath my unlaced Vans. No more than a handful of people in attendance know who I am, and the ones who do have reasons to hate me. I don’t mind. I stopped minding two years ago. Eventually, a few claps sound out of sympathy.
I walk painstakingly slowly so that everyone notices. Instead of the stiff, plastic smile that Mrs. Holiday wore for the previous two hundred students, her face now bears a scowl. I have to yank my diploma out of her hands. She knows how I got here: I cheated. It doesn’t bother me anymore.
Humanity rejected me; I’m going to make them wish they hadn’t.
Check out the next idea in this series: "Saving character ideas: Antihero."
