As far as I'm concerned, the most important thing you need when inventing characters is empathy.
Elizabeth BergI believe that the souls of women flatten and anchor themselves in times of adversity, lay in for the stay. I've heard that when elephants are attacked they often run, not away, but toward each other. Perhaps it is because they are a matriarchal society.
Elizabeth BergI turn off the radio, listen to the quiet. Which has its own, rich sound. Which I knew, but had forgotten. And it is good to remember.
Elizabeth BergNo one wants to mother more vigilantly than a woman who is childless and wishes she wasn’t.
Elizabeth BergThere are people who have never studied writing who are capable of being writers. I know this because I am an example. I was a part-time registered nurse, a wife, and a mother when I began publishing. I'd taken no classes, had no experience, no knowledge of the publishing world, no agent, no contacts ... Take the risk to let all that is in you, out. Escape into the open.
Elizabeth Berg