There are many things that interest me, but one interest of mine that is my most cherished, and the most daunting, is writing stories. I love to write, both short stories, and long, more epic stories. Think Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, J.R.R. Tolkien, Catharine Asaro, etc. kind of epic. I find it interesting that I can create my own world, and my own characters. A world that I, and others, can get lost in. There is nothing more satisfying to me.
Developing these things take time and patience. If you are like me, the world you create often ends up with a personality of its own and will try to take over your writing, insisting you are doing something contrary to the rules you have not even completed yet. I know I am not alone in this, which makes me feel a hell of a lot better about, since it reaffirms I have my sanity still firmly in my grasp (or at least as sane as fantasy/sci-fi writer can be).
I have been writing ever since I read my first Wheel of Time book (a series by Robert Jordan).
However, there is one thing I always struggle with, and that is character development. My characters can sometimes be a little flat. I mean flat like flat soda. When you drink it, you know it is not supposed to be flat, you know it is supposed to be fizzy, and dynamic! So my question is this: How do you develop a character?
The how of this question originates from reviewers of my longer stories? My short stories have not had this problem because characters do not need major development. Now, I am sure some answers (because there are multiple ways to go about this, however all are similar to an extant) can be scientifically testable using surveys and numbers of books sold based on the method an author used, but beyond that is where science would stop. After all, how do scientifically analyze people’s opinions?
There are several ways to research this topic, but being a college student does offer some advantages. You could take a class on writing. You can visit a teacher on campus who teaches in this subject and pepper them with questions and ask for their opinions. You can even bury yourself in books at the campus libraries. You can also use the school’s online database in addition to hard copy books.
You can also find a ton of resources on the internet as well now days. Deviant Art has a few authors who offer tips and ideas. There is also Writers Café, which has tips, posting ability, and offers a huge author community. Another and slightly more unlikely place Good Reads. More famous, and well published, authors hang out here and post musings, updates, and even reviews of other author’s work. There is also The Writing Café on Tumblr. More of an inspiration resource than anything, but works great sometimes (or, like not at all, depending on the type of day you have had) for breaking through a block. Also if you go to Amazon there are a large number of books on this particular subject that you can buy and read.
All in all, being a student and having to do research on nearly any subject is very nice because your resources are nearly exhaustible. With several people who have spent their academic careers working on the very subject you are looking into. If you narrow down specifically what your question is, you can usually get a nearly perfect answer. I say nearly because if you are looking at the hows and whys of black hole formation, you may get a relatively (or not at all) close answer, but only because these type of subjects are still very heavily dependent on theories (tested or otherwise) and not proven fact.
However, I think the most ideal way to get the answer I am looking for would be to interview and author(s) of the style of writing I enjoy most and would like to emulate. Too bad for me, I guess I will just have to use all the other resources out there for me and develop my own method,