The call of the character

The other day, while preparing a creative writing class, I came across this quote from author Alex Jenson: “If you are thinking about writing a book or a story or have started one already, one of the major issues that you will confront is how to create great characters that come across as fully three-dimensional and credible to your potential readership. And for me, that means that the person must be real. The more you believe that you are writing about a 'real' person, while at the same time maintaining control of your new fictional world, the better for you. In effect you are creating a place that is neither fully in the real world nor fully in your own head - I call this the writing dimension - it is a world separate from reality whilst also being partly separate from your own imagination. Once you tap into this space, your characters will be fully three-dimensional and not 100% in your control. Although you have created them and know them up to a point, they will still be in a position to surprise you. And is that not what storytelling and real life is about? Surprise. Once your characters start surprising you, doing things that even you did not imagine, then you are experiencing the true magic of writing.”
I asked my class to write a piece of homework only if their character called them to do so. Expecting most would not have written anything, so off-beat was the homework, I planned a full session for the next week. Didn’t need it! The way the characters started talking to the writers in the class was remarkable. Worth trying yourself if you at a loose end.
John Dean