A COUPLE of weeks ago, I came across a link to a blog post by Lois Eighmy titled “Character Journaling for Fun and Profit.” Intrigued, I clicked.
The post isn’t about journaling in the traditional sense … it’s not even about nonfiction. A character journal, according to Ms. Eighmy, is journaling from the point of view of a fiction character. What a great technique for developing a fiction character!
But I think that character journaling could be done with wonderful results for journalers and nonfiction writers, as well.
Imagine — you want to write about an event that happened in your youth and it involves another person, but you feel that you’re not capturing that person very well on the page. Whether you’re writing a memoir vignette or you just want to record it for yourself, try writing the event from the other person’s perspective. Include emotions, perceptions, and actions. As you do so, the character will come alive on the page, because you will be writing in his or her voice as you remember it.
If you are working on a longer project such as a book-length memoir, character journaling on a regular basis as a pre-writing exercise could help you see that person more clearly in your mind and put flesh on the bones of a character skeleton.
If keeping a character journal doesn’t appeal to you, you might consider writing a letter to yourself (or someone else) from that character. I have written previously here about writing a letter to yourself from a younger you or an older, wiser you. Who’s to say you couldn’t write a letter to yourself from your mother, your sister, or your father, without equally great results?
What do you think about this idea?
__________________________________
Image Credit: Jeremy Brooks
–
What a great article, and one worth developing. I write both fiction and memoir and I can use this in either format.
Thank you!
Selena, thanks for the comment. I am currently working on a memoir about my life with my mother. There are several other characters who “make an appearance” and who I need to be able to write about effectively. Character journal, here I come!
What a great idea! I can use this to develop character in memoir/fiction or in freewriting to get different points of view as I try to understand events/episodes in my life. Thank you!
Glad you like it :-). As the idea of character journaling is also new to me, let me know how it works for you (after you try it, of course).