Good questions you pose, not just about writing characters but about life and the individual.
I tend to think we are capable of knowing ourselves through experience, real life things from the mundane to the foundational--like how we deal with desires, wants, needs and most importantly conflicts. In going through those experiences we find ourselves, which to me means we come to know a little more about ourselves in the process. A death of a loved one or an enemy. A huge economic or personal loss like a job or romantic relationship. Having a kid. Watching them grow up. Etc. So, then, through a lifetime of experience the more we experience the more we can understand ourselves.
I sometimes write characters without knowing exactly where it’s going or what they want or need or any of that. I just have this idea and through the writing I get somewhere that makes sense. I find a lesson or some sort of truth that I didn’t even think I was looking for. That’s mainly for poetry but my fiction has that too.
But then there are times I plan it out and go through the traditional character arc. The premeditation helps, for me anyway, when I understand what I want out of the characters. Which are always aspects of me as an individual. I’m sure the same is true universally for all writers.
Good questions you pose, not just about writing characters but about life and the individual.
I tend to think we are capable of knowing ourselves through experience, real life things from the mundane to the foundational--like how we deal with desires, wants, needs and most importantly conflicts. In going through those experiences we find ourselves, which to me means we come to know a little more about ourselves in the process. A death of a loved one or an enemy. A huge economic or personal loss like a job or romantic relationship. Having a kid. Watching them grow up. Etc. So, then, through a lifetime of experience the more we experience the more we can understand ourselves.
I sometimes write characters without knowing exactly where it’s going or what they want or need or any of that. I just have this idea and through the writing I get somewhere that makes sense. I find a lesson or some sort of truth that I didn’t even think I was looking for. That’s mainly for poetry but my fiction has that too.
But then there are times I plan it out and go through the traditional character arc. The premeditation helps, for me anyway, when I understand what I want out of the characters. Which are always aspects of me as an individual. I’m sure the same is true universally for all writers.