Nanowrimo Forum The Loop

It's good having a system for your character. A daily-plan.
I like to walk through the character's life at the moment and get into their head about what it is they are aiming for on a daily basis � what places they visit, if they have a job, where they go to eat � and then on a weekly basis � if they have bills to pay, where they go on the weekends, where they have been (favorite places to aspire for) � and then, if you can fast forward and plan ahead (who can really do this?), I try to imagine what it is they want to do in the upcoming year.

Once you decide your character's mode-of-thinking, you can kind of gear their behavior accordingly.

Some questions to ask:
- What do they avoid?
- What do they like? What sorts of crowds or people? Are they a loner?
- Where have they been? You need to know what they know from these places.
- Level of education? Can they spell? Read? Think?
- Do they drive? They need insurance then, don't they? (Job.)
- Are they allergic to anything? No, seriously, this isn't thought about enough.
- Relatives?
- What famous people do they know? People love making references to famous people (or quoting them for that matter).
- Short, small, tall, fat? Think of the complexes: small people are angry; fat people are jolly; tall people are lanky; petite people are quiet/shy.
- Do they look down as they walk? What do they see then? Take in what they take in. Think over their surroundings. If they see somebody drinking coffee, maybe they'll want some coffee later.
- Shoes? High heels? Why?
- Magazines? Newspapers?
- Do they smoke? How do they react to their mothers when they tell them they should quit?

Here's something useful I've discovered...

When you write and you come to a scene in which your character either changes position, goes somewhere else, or even goes to sleep - stop writing. This way, you'll be in a different mindset when you return, just as your character would be, let's say, upon wakening.

Like right now I have my characters in a room, right after the main character had woken up. They're about to go meet the cops at the front entrance of the hotel...I think I'm going to stop here and return with the thoughts of a police officer, that way I can give the writing a different feel from the different characters, just like you would get different vibes from different people you meet in real life.