The Art of the Character Conference

One of my favorite parts of writing is the characters. They can be witty, daring, evil, calm, crazy...the list goes on and on. Really, the possibilities are endless. Characters are one of the main things that will make someone want to read your story, so it's important to have good, relatable ones.
An important part of the writing process is character development. It's also, in my opinion, one of the most fun. Getting to know your characters makes the whole story easier to write, and more enjoyable.
One way I like to use to get to know my characters is the character conference. I first heard about them on NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program site, but I can't remember who told me about them. Whoever it was, thanks a bunch. It's basically when you get all (or only some of) your characters together in your head and have a nice long talk with them. It sounds crazy, but it actually works.

I'm going to get my characters (Mira, Will, Theo, Lia, and Sid) from my novel Ingran's Assassin together to have a conference right now. We'll see how it goes:

ME: Okay, guys, conference time.
THEO: *groans* Again?
WILL: Is someone going to die?
ME: What? No! Well, not yet, anyway.
MIRA: Great. That's real reassuring.
ME: Oh, come on, guys. It's for my blog.
LIA: What's a blog?
ME: Never mind. Just listen. There are some big plot twists coming.
THEO: I hate plot twists.
LIA: Come on, Theo. Plot twists aren't necessarily bad.
WILL: Actually, they usually are.
MIRA: I guess you're going to tell us what these plot twists are, then?
ME: Well, no. You're going to have to figure it out for yourself.
MIRA: I had a feeling you might say that.
ME: Hey, Sid, why so quiet?
SID: Well, you guys are kind of all arguing, so...I thought I'd just wait until you were done.
THEO: Since when have you ever had qualms about interrupting an argument, Sid?
LIA: Since he met you, Theo.
ME: Guys, guys. I know you're kind of stressed out--
MIRA: That's an understatement. Theo and I just walked into Dr. Rashall's lair, and Lia and Sid are being held in who knows where--
WILL: And I'm not doing anything, apparently. Why haven't you written anything about me?
ME: I'll get to you, Will. Be patient.
THEO: Easy for you to say.
ME: Honestly, Theo. When did you become such a pessimist?
THEO: Since you put in all these plot twists. I'm not built for this.
MIRA: None of us are, actually. Why do you do this to us?
ME: I understand, guys, and I'm sorry. It's only the first draft.
THEO: You mean we have to go through more of this?
ME: You know what? I think this conference is officially over.


So. From reading that, you might think my characters are whiny and pessimistic, but trust me, they're not like this all the time. It's just a particularly stressful part of the novel. Normally, our conferences are far more lighthearted.