Chracters: Fun Ways to Create Them Part I

One of my favorite aspects of writing is character creation. There's nothing like breathing life into your fiction by pouring your thoughts and feelings into a character so that they might touch your readers and tell them a story.

For those who have hit some snags in creating their characters, there's still hope. Not everyone creates characters in the same way. One of the great things about character creation is that you can come at it from any angle you like. Do what works best for you, add to the method, and perfect it from there.

Anyone like playing The Sims series? Me too! Bet you never thought you could use the Sims as a character creation tool, did you?

It's quite easy. It's recommended that you use either Sims 2 or Sims 3, because of the fact that they are more versatile, and have better customization, as well as better (more realistic) Sim-building.

When using the Sim Method (I've named it), it's very important you don't use some downloaded Sim somebody else already made. Instead, use the base Sims in Create-a-Sim (or bodyshope, if you're using TS2). Shape and mold their faces until they are your character's face. I recommend using custom content for your Sim's skin, hair, makeup, clothes, accessories, etc, because they are more realistic, there's more variety, and they're just all around better. (Need custom content for TS2 or TS3? Check out Mod the Sims. They've got literally tens of thousands of safe, FREE content ready to be downloaded.)

Turn the Sim into your character. Give them the eye color, the hair color, etc. Make the Sim wear clothes your character would wear. Give them the family your character has. If you're using TS3, give your character-Sim the favorites and personality traits your character has.

Now we get to play!

Move your character-Sim into a home and have fun. Create other characters from your novel and plop them into the neighborhood. Let your hero/heroine interact with the other characters ONLY the way they would in the novel. Create situations you can use for your novel. Just have fun -- the key is to ONLY let your character-Sims interact the way they would in the novel.

The reason this method is so effective is because it puts your character in front of you visually. It allows you to to see them, so that you can visually see the descriptions you need (like the exact color of their eyes, the shape of their nose, etc). Also, it allows you to test out certain scenarios without writing them down.

But there is writing involved. The next step is to write down what you've learned from your character-Sims. Use it. More importantly, have fun with it -- it'll really show through on your finished novel product.

Let me know if you try this method. I would love to hear your thoughts! I know I have fun with it.