“A Deep Dive into Summer Love: Bringing Characters to Life”
As an author, one of the most common questions I get is: “How did you get the idea for your book?” I think this is a pretty common question for most authors, really, and I love hearing each answer and understanding the way creative minds work. For me, it always starts with a character.
Characters come to me like friends waving from across a bridge, asking me to cross and embark on a new journey with them. It might take a few drafts to fully learn everything about them, but the basics are there from the beginning and they inform the story.
In my first book, If You Change Your Mind, I knew Harry had experienced heartbreak and found himself struggling to believe love even truly existed. Naturally, his story became all about romantic comedies. For my sophomore novel, I Like Me Better, I knew Zack was the popular soccer star with more insecurities and depth beneath the surface. Naturally, his story became about authenticity and self-worth.
My newest novel is called What Is This Feeling? and from the beginning I knew Teddy McGuire was a dramatic theater star who believed in luck and destiny and miracles. His story then became about believing in himself.
Crafting characters is the most fun part of a story for me. I love immersing myself in setting nearly as much, but character work takes the cake. It’s not always easy, and in some projects it takes a lot more time and effort than others, but it’s so enjoyable and rewarding.
It’s widely accepted that characters should have a lie and a want, which should likely be challenged and (in most cases) should change by the end of the book.
When bringing characters to life, it’s important to think about them as a fully rounded person.
That woman in line at the coffee shop has had an entire morning before she opened the door and ordered a matcha latte, and she will have an entire day after. She has motivations and preferences—she stopped at this downtown coffee shop because she is going to a job interview nearby and she’s wearing her sister’s heels even though she can’t walk in them. There’s an undercurrent of cause and effect from every choice: the heels are too big, so she trips and spills her drink all over a handsome stranger…who happens to be the manager interviewing her in half an hour.
For me, that’s how a story is born. There are so many ways this can go now, but which one is most compelling and which one is right for our heroine? Is the manager her new love interest? Her new nemesis? Both?
Especially when writing romance, the love interest(s) will in many ways act as something of a mirror for both the good and bad qualities of the protagonist. So, while Teddy loves fictional pop star Benji Keaton, Sebastian finds him too over-hyped and cringe. While Teddy believes in magic and fate, Sebastian is much more grounded and logical. While Teddy loves to be on stage and perform, Sebastian prefers to stay behind the scenes. In the genre this is known as the ‘grumpy/sunshine’ trope, but that actually formed as a result of Teddy and realizing his arc.
Without getting into spoilers, Teddy’s misbelief is that he’s not truly in control of his own destiny. He is a go-getter, but he accredits his wins and talents to a lucky friendship bracelet. He believes the universe will have the final say, not him. So, throughout the book, we see his misbelief challenged.
In If You Change Your Mind, Harry must learn to trust love and himself. In I Like Me Better, Zack must learn to like and believe in himself first and foremost.
Writing young adult books—especially for queer teens—I tend to focus a lot on self-worth and confidence. It wasn’t a very conscious choice when determining the path of my career as an author, but it happens naturally every time I write. My fourth book is a rom-com set in Paris and features some similar topics. I think expressing themes and lessons through characters is both exciting and gratifying.
And themes can (and really should) be explored outside of the main protagonist’s storyline. Sometimes I know readers resonate more with the love interest or side characters and find their arcs to be more engaging for that reason, so they shouldn’t be neglected, and should be living and breathing with lives off the page.
Connecting to characters is my favorite part of any story in any medium, and I find the human experience to be an endless well of fascinating topics. The way we relate to one another is so compelling to me as a writer and reader, and I think that’s such a key ingredient in any good story.
So, when crafting characters, I’d recommend really diving deep. Who are they? What do they believe? Why do they believe that? How does it inform how they interact with the world and people around them? And what should they learn or experience?
My favorite exercise for this is journaling. I’ll write entire journal entries as my main character. Maybe it’s about a fear or a hope or even just their day. Getting in their head (especially if you don’t write in first person normally) will be a game changer as you see the world through their eyes.
Similarly, spending some time writing random scenes is also a great way to hone in on craft and develop characters at the same time. These aren’t scenes you’ll include in your manuscript, but slice of life moments to see how your character thinks and reacts to things. Maybe they’re stuck in traffic or rushing around the grocery store before Thanksgiving or nervous for their first day of school. It could be anything, but just placing them in situations and seeing what feels natural for them can be a fun and revealing exercise.
You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your characters. There is a good chance one of their voices will wake you up in the middle of the night or pop into the back of your mind when you’re doing the dishes. I’m lucky enough to feel like my characters are my friends and I’d say if you feel that way too, it’s a positive sign. After all, if you enjoy your characters’ company and find them to be interesting, dynamic, believable people, there’s a good chance readers will too!
Published September 17th, 2024 by HarperCollins
About the Book: Theater star Teddy McGuire is ready for all his dreams to come true. He and his best friend, Annie, have been counting down the days to the end-of-the-year drama club trip to New York City. To make it even more magical, if they can win the annual scavenger hunt, they’ll get a chance to meet their popstar idol, Benji Keaton.
But the universe has other plans: when Annie can’t go on the trip, Teddy is forced to room with tech crew loner Sebastian, who has no interest in the scavenger hunt—or Teddy—and seems to have a secret agenda of his own.
On a larger-than-life adventure across the city, the boys will discover a lot more than what’s on their checklist, including masquerade mishaps, obstacles of Jurassic proportions, Hollywood starlets, and, most surprisingly of all, sparks beginning to fly between them.
In a joyful romp from author Robby Weber about chasing your destiny, Teddy and Sebastian are about to learn the secret to making their own luck.
About the Author: Robby Weber is a Florida-based writer who loves sunshine, summer and strong-willed characters. He can normally be found as close to the ocean as possible with his dog, Arthur, and a novel from Reese’s Book Club. He is the author of If You Change Your Mind, I Like Me Better, and What Is This Feeling?
Thank you, Robby, for this deep dive into making romance writing come to life!
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