Episode #91: How do you decide characters with their personalities before you write the book? -with Sheela Chari
TRANSCRIPTS:
Grace: Hello. I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel, When The Sea Turned To Silver, and the picture book, A Big Mooncake For Little Star. Today, I'm here with Sheela Chari, the author of The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel and Finding Mighty. Hi, Sheila.
Sheela: Hi, Grace.
Grace: Thanks so much for joining me today.
Sheela: Oh, I'm so excited to be here.
Grace: Oh, I'm so glad you're here. Are you ready for today's question?
Sheela: I am.
Grace: Okay. Today's question is from a person named Kaia, and they ask-
Kaia: How do you decide the characters with their personalities before you write the book?
Grace: How do you decide characters with their personalities before you write the book?
Sheela: Oh, that's such a good question, Kaia, because, as you know, character is so important and it's definitely important to me. So one of the things that I like to do is I like to hear them talk. So I put my characters together in a scene. And it's funny actually, because when I put my main character in a scene with friends, it usually helps me figure out what they like, because they usually start off talking about things they like, or they're doing something together that they like. But weirdly, when I put my characters in a scene with their family, like a little brother or their mom or whatever, they have a disagreement, they start fighting or there's conflict. And I think that's really good because that helps me figure out what my character feels passionate about. So dialogue is a really great way to meet your characters and to hear what they sound like.
Sheela: The other thing I like to do is have them do an action. Their actions help me figure out what kind of person they are. And since I'm a mystery writer, a lot of times my stories will start off with someone missing or something missing. And what my character does, are they going to call the police or call their parent? Or are they going to try to find this missing person? That action that they take also helps me decide their personality.
Grace: Oh, that's very interesting. Which character in your books was the most challenging to write?
Sheela: Oh, well, my book that comes out in October, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, it has this character named Oliver Pruitt, and he's kind of a good guy and a bad guy. He's what you call an unreliable narrator. And I got this project because it was first a podcast. So you might even hear it online before you see the book. And he tells a story, but he's not always telling the whole story. So I had to figure out how I was going to take that and put it in my book. And so that was really challenging. And I ended up having him do more of the same kind of stuff, where he tells us things and we figure out really soon that they're not true. So we're not sure whether to trust him or not.
Grace: So you didn't decide that character, though? That was-
Sheela: I did not. Yeah. In fact, I've never done this before, but I was asked to novelize a project that was already written from beginning to end. It was a podcast, kind of like what we're doing right now, Grace. But it was all done. And I had to turn it into a novel. So I had my characters. I didn't have to decide who they were, but I did have to figure out what they were going to sound like and what they were thinking, because that's one thing you can't do in a podcast. Unless I tell you what I'm thinking, you can't see or read what I'm thinking.
Grace: Well, that's really interesting. So, in that case, you didn't have to decide. How about your other book? Was there a character in that where you had to decide their personality and you struggled?
Sheela: I did. In fact, my first book, Vanished, was written for my niece and her name is Neela and she's all grown up, but I wrote it for her. So I named my main character Neela. And at first it was just meant for her. And so I guess in my mind, I thought my main character was her, but at some point it became a real book and the character couldn't keep being Neela, my niece. I had to figure out who she was just on her own. So that was really hard. I had to figure out who she was, doing some of the things I said, like putting her in these scenes with her friends, with her enemies and trying to pull out this character that I didn't know already. And my niece also said, "You know that the character in the book isn't me." She was very insistent about that so I had to think about, "How is my character different from my niece?" So that was a little bit of a challenge.
Grace: Well, I think that's so interesting because that's actually how I approach character. I usually use people that I know or myself. And usually the characters always start out as some version of myself when I was younger or a relative or my daughter. And it always starts that way. And I just write it that way. But just like you said, as I get deeper and deeper into the book, it changes from that person that I thought they were or basing them on and becomes their own person. And that's what makes it so interesting. In some ways, I don't decide the character before I write. I have an idea, and I think I decide it, but then it always changes when I'm writing it.
Sheela: Well, it's kind of like meeting somebody for the first time. I feel like I meet my characters as I write them. And I do the same thing where I borrow from people I know, and from myself. But it's still this process where you discover who they are by writing the book. And I wonder if you feel the same way? But it's like going to a party and meeting somebody and then they get to be your friend as you get to know them.
Grace: It is. Actually, it is. What's a little different is because I feel like I already know them when I start, because I think that I'm basing them on myself or on, like I said, my daughter, but then they just surprise me and turn into somebody else. But actually, that's how people are in real life too. You think even my relatives and my sisters and even my own daughter, I think I know them so well. And then they always surprise me and I realize, "Oh, you aren't who I think you are. You've changed." People change. I think characters can change too.
Sheela: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you.
Grace: Well, thank you so much for answering this question. It was so interesting. And thank you, Kaia, for asking this question.
Sheela: Thank you so much, Grace. Thank you, Kaia. I love talking about books so this was just really special chatting with you on a podcast since I spend a lot of time thinking about podcasts these days.
Grace: Well, I can't wait to read your book, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars. But tell, especially now that we know it's based on a podcast, we're going to have to go look it up. Do you know what the podcast was called?
Sheela: The same name. It's the same-
Grace: Oh, that's the name.
Sheela: The same name.
Grace: Okay. I will have to look it up. And I'm sure all of my listeners will do the same. So thanks again, Sheela.
Sheela: Thank you, grace.
Grace: Bye.
Sheela: Bye.Today’s BOOK REVIEW comes from Milo! Milo is reviewing The Crossover (Graphic Novel Edition) by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.
My name is Milo. The book I would like to talk about is The Crossover (graphic novel edition) by Kwame Alexander. Josh and Jordan are twin brothers that play on their school’s basketball team. Their dad was a famous basketball player in Italy. During the season the brother’s find a note that says their dad might not be able to play basketball. Jordan starts becoming friends with a girl and the brothers start to lose their connection. Towards the end of the book things take a turn on the brothers’ lives as something goes wrong with the family. Read the book to find out if the brothers will stay connected or if they will keep ignoring each other. I would recommend this book because it’s about sports and has good illustrations.
Thank you so much Milo!
More about today’s authors:
Sheela Chari is the author of the THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL series, based on the Peabody Award-winning mystery podcast. Her other work include the forthcoming novel, KARTHIK DELIVERS (2022), FINDING MIGHTY, a Junior Library Guild Selection and Children's Choice Award Finalist; and VANISHED, an APALA Children’s Literature Honor Book, Edgar finalist for best juvenile mystery, and Al’s Book Club Pick on the Today Show. Sheela has degrees from Stanford University, Boston University, and New York University, where she received an MFA in Fiction. She is a faculty member at Vermont College of the Arts and teaches fiction at Mercy College. She lives with her family in New York.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
Special thanks to the High Five Books & Art Always Bookstore, Ms. Carleton’s 2nd grade class at Jackson Street School for their help with our kid questions and reviews.
