NaNo Prep: How the Ancient Art of People-Watching Will Make You a Character Pro!

We’ve officially entered NaNo Prep season, and this week we’ve asked some participants for their thoughts about building strong characters. Today, participant Tessa Fang shares some tips on how to use real-life people as inspiration for realistic characters:

In these crucial months leading up to NaNoWriMo, I have found that it is extremely helpful to prepare your novel. That way, during the 30-day sprint to the finish there aren’t as many hurdles to jump over.

So what is my favorite way to prepare for NaNo? I would say through character creation. Believable and likable characters are one of the most important aspects of any story. I have found that a solid understanding of different characters can fuel a story on its own.

Failing to prepare your characters well could ultimately lead to complicated plot problems and a lot of extra writing. During the revision process leading up to publication, I often found myself re-writing scenes because of unnatural character behavior.