“My name is Indigo
Montoya you killed my father...” I bet you know what comes after. Maybe you
even said the ending to yourself just now. *
What about this: “What
is the use of a book without pictures or conversation?” Do you know who said
that, and what book it’s from? **
The above is to
prove the point that well established characters stick with us long after we leave
them. I don’t think anyone will disagree that characters are the most important part of any story. So the
question is: how do we create ones that are every bit as real and memorable?
Hi WWM readers,
I’m author Rebecca Sky and the above question is something I continually try to
achieve. I’ve spent an ungodly amount of time reading blogs and books on the
craft of characterization. For today’s post, I thought I’d share some of my top
findings with you.
1. Trigger
your readers Senses:
a)
What does your character LOOK like?
“Start with a specific physical
description of each character. It doesn't have to be long and it doesn't have
to occur when you introduce the character; however, we shouldn't get to the end
of the book and discover that your protagonist has a purple birthmark on his
face, or is six foot seven and came from the planet Krypton, unless you were
trying to surprise us.
Make sure that your description is not
generic. Don't describe a potential romantic interest as "tall, dark and
lanky." Pretend that you're reciting his attributes to a police officer
who's looking for a burglar. Every trait is important, particularly the ones
that will make him unique. Brown eyes or brown hair are mundane. A nose ring or
a skeletal tattoo is not. Give your characters a goatee, holes in their jeans,
stiletto high heels, platinum hair, a vaccination pockmark or a military crew
cut. Do anything to make them different.”- from the blog http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/characterization.shtml
b)
What does your character SMELL like?
Does your character work at a bakery
and smell like flour and chocolate? Or maybe the love interest is a carpenter
and smells of woodchips, or a landscaper that smells of fresh cut grass. Or
maybe they saved a child from a burning building and weeks later still can’t
get the smell of smoke out of their hair.
“Oh, I think the explanation might be
you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection, a little bit like
ventriloquism of the nose. It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the
galaxy.” – The Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who
c)
What does your character TASTE like?
It rubs the lotion on its skin…
Um, no one is going to eat
my character. I’m not writing a cannibalistic horror. Ok, I get it, this
may seem like a weird question, but taste is used quite a bit. Maybe your
character wears cherry lip gloss when she kisses her partner. Or maybe one
character busts another in a lie when they have smoky breath from the cigarette
they snuck behind the garage (this could be smell or taste). Here’s a line from
my WIP: “Without warning his soiled hand comes crashing across my face. The
blow reopens my old wound and the coppery taste of fresh blood fills my mouth.”
In this case, taste is used to characterize the person who hit her, to add to
the intensity of the action.
d)
What does your character FEEL like?
Perhaps they have calloused hands from
all that rough work as a carpenter. Or maybe one of them is mixed raced and has
long springy curls another character can’t help playing with. Or maybe when
your character’s kiss, the stubble jaw of a man, too busy building his new
business to shave, scratches against his partner’s cheek making them giggle.
e)
What does your character SOUND like?
Maybe your villain is in a wheelchair
and the familiar squeal of the wheels is what your hero hears when hiding in
the darkness, fearing for her life. Or maybe your character is happy-go-lucky
and whistles everywhere he goes. Like the other senses, sound helps deepen
characterization.
“Noise soup. I just made it. Taste it
with your ears.” -Jarod Kintz
2. Add Depth:
a)
Back
Story |
Where
did your character come from? What was his childhood like? Happy or sad? What
were his relations like with his parents? His brothers / sisters? If his
father was (say) extravagant, what impact did this have on your character? if
his mother was (say) easily tearful, how did this affect him then? And what
about now, in particular where his relations with women are concerned?
Were
there key incidents in childhood that shaped him in a way relevant to your
book's story? Think these through and note them down. It really helps if your
examples are concrete and show your character via their actions and choices
in specific situations.
|
|
Arc
|
All
your key characters MUST have a well-defined character arc through a novel.
This is true even of all-action adventure stories, if you want them to be any
good. The standard arc might be something like (1) Susan has a fear of
commitment, (2) she encounters a situation in which that fear is put to the
test in the most (for her) dramatic and challenging way, (3) she either
passes or fails the challenge. Either way, she's different at the end of the
book than she was at the start. So put this arc into writing. Link it to the
challenges of your story; to their back story; and to their personality. In
relation to this central issue, you should aim to understand your character
as well as a therapist might. It's critical you get this part right!
|
|
Person-
ality
|
It's
usually a good idea to come to this issue a bit later than other things, as
your ideas will have more depth and subtlety when some of the structure is
already in place. But start to answer as many questions as you can think of.
For instance: Does your character laugh easily? Are they sociable? What
impression would they make on a casual observer? What about if they spent an
hour talking to someone in a bar? Do they get angry easily? Cry easily? Are
they self-conscious? What political party would they vote for and why? Are
they conflict avoiders or conflict seekers? Do they drink, smoke, take drugs,
drink too much coffee, eat junk food? If so why? What is it about them that
takes them to these places? What are their feelings about sex? Are they
screwed up in any way? Are they sensitive or selfish lovers? How involved do
they get emotionally?
|
|
Relation-
ships
|
Your
central character will almost certainly have a key romantic / sexual
relationship in your book. Good. But make sure this relationship is deeply
sewn into your study of character arc and action. For example, perhaps your
central character seeks to avoid a certain painful truth, and this is the
challenge around which your story revolves. In that case, that character's
key relationship should perhaps be with a person who challenges him to face
up to that truth - or perhaps colludes with him to avoid it. If you handle it
like that, then the romantic element in your novel will be as core as
everything else. It won't just be thrown in for the sake of it.
But
don't stop there. Elaborate. Why has your character chosen this particular
partner? Is he / she like the partners your character normally goes for? Try
and explore their intimate dialogue? Do they go in for cutsie baby-talk? Or
hard-edged flippancy? Or reflectiveness? What are their pet names for each
other? Do they encourage maturity in the other or bring out the less mature
side? What are their disagreements about? Do they row, and if so how? How do
they mend rows? What does one love most about the other? What do they most
dislike? What is your predicted future for the relationship beyond the end of
the novel? Do spend real time and thought on this exercise/technique,
especially if your novel revolves around romance or relationship. If your
answers feel good and true, you WILL start to develop real chemistry between
your lovers. (Tip: read your favourite authors and see how they handle these
things. You can read Harry Bingham's analysis of a number of well known
novels in his How To Write.)
|
|
Other
Stuff
|
And
don't just write about all the important things. Write about the unimportant
things too. What food does your character like? What clothes do they choose?
How do they wear them (ie: sloppily, stylishly, fussily, self-consciously,
etc)? What makes them laugh? What does their laugh sound like? If your
character were an animal, what sort of animal would they be? What films do
they like? What books? Are they creative? Do they fart? Can they speak
French? Are they good with money? Are they absent-minded? Do they like
oranges? Have they ever used a gun? What is their favourite pub game? How do
they fidget? Describe their hands.
And
so on and so on. Many of these questions will have no direct relevance to
your book. But the more questions you ask and answer, the better you will
know your character.
|
***this chart is
from http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/character.html
b) A little more on personality:
There
are two main personality classification systems, the Meyer’s Briggs and Carl
Jung’s personality theory.
Here's a link to a Meyer’s Briggs chart that shows where
popular fictional characters fit in this clarification: http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/fictional-characters/
Here is a link to Carl Jung’s common archetypes: http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html
c)
personality tip #3: A Great resource for understanding your character’s
personality traits is the: Positive and Negative Trait thesauruses by Angela
Ackerman! I have them next to my desk when I’m writing and I use them like a
bible when I’m first putting my character profiles together!
3.
“Action is character.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great, but what does that mean? Have you
ever heard the saying, Love is a verb? What it means is that it’s not what your
character says that reveals who they are, (though dialogue is very important
and we will get to that in a moment), but it’s what they do that shows who they
truly are. Actions show the person’s true nature, whereas dialogue shows the
person’s intended self.
Example:
If I tell you I’m environmentally conscious, but use throwaway Styrofoam
containers for lunch and drive a Hummer, you’ll probably think I’m a liar or
doubt my understanding of being environmentally conscious.
Note:
If your character is a liar, this is a good technique to use!
“Be
a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful
things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”-
Kurt Vonnegut
4. Flaws: Not too
hot, not too cold…just right.
“No one wants to watch a movie
about a character who has his or her awesomely perfect life all figured out;
talk about a snoozefest. But the other extreme is just as unwatchable. It’s
nearly impossible to root for a character who is so tragically flawed that
they’re a total a**hole. Yet I have read many a script where the protagonist
immediately alienates by being rude, narcissistic, immature, intolerant, and
intolerable.
Although making a character
flawed gives him or her ample room to grow and arc, characters that are too
unlikable and unredeemable make it impossible for the audience to develop any
emotional connection to them from the start. Find a healthy middle ground in
which your character is somewhat flawed but still sympathetic and relatable so
that you’re not trying to get your audience to root for a giant jerk.” -
Caitlin Durante
5. Dialogue
a) Keep language timeline
appropriate: If you’re writing a historical fiction and your character says, “Hey
dude, what’s up?” or “That dress is so fleek.” your readers will picture the
character in a modern setting.
b) Keep the phrasing consistent: How old do you
think these speakers are?
“I hate when you boss me around!” (I think of a
teenage girl).
“It frustrates me when you tell me what to do.” (I
think of an older person).
It’s the same message, but the phrasing gives an
impression of their personality. Are they mature, patient, funny, annoying etc,
try to find dialogue that supports those traits.
c) Avoid obvious exaggerations: Things like,
“I read this book a thousand times,” or “you always forget me.” These type of
comments give your character personality traits you didn’t intend for them to
have, such as exaggerators, which could make your readers not trust them or
think of your characters as annoying. Because let's face it, when
someone exaggerates to us it can be annoying. Note: If you’re trying to make
your character annoying, it is a good tool to use.
d) Here’s a great article that goes into more depth
on dialogue: http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-dialogue.html
I hope all my coffee-coma-internet-scouring-hours brought you some insight on characterization! I’d love for you to share with me, in the comments below, some of your all-time favorite characters. Mine are: Anne (Anne of Green Gables), Fennel (The Scourge), Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games), Sherlock (Sherlock Holmes), Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter).
Thanks for reading and hanging out on WWM! If you have
any questions for me, please feel free to drop me a line on Twitter
(@RebeccaSky).
Xo Rebecca
*“…prepare to die.” (If you didn’t know,
you probably haven’t seen the movie Princess Bride— It’s one of my favorites!
Not to mention a cult classic. You should probably go watch it now…I’ll wait).
**Alice, from her self-titled memoir Alice
in Wonderland, (not really, Lewis Carroll wrote it, but you knew that).
The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favourite films ever!!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. I always put together character studies before I start writing anything. I learn as much as I can about my characters, not just the obvious stuff like what they look like, but the important things - what sort of person are they? What events in their life shaped them into this person? What are their dreams and aspirations, and how are they planning to achieve them?
I've heard a lot of people say character studies are a waste of time, but they really work for me. I never write a character into a corner or feel like I don't know what they would do next/how they'd react in a certain situation, because I already know them so well :)
Some of my favourite characters:
Anita Blake (but only for the first 6-8 books. Everything got very weird and lazy after that.)
Riley Jenson (The Guardian series by Keri Arthur)
Hawk and Fisher (The Hawk and Fisher series by Simon R Green)
Peter Pan
Raistlin Majere (The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman)
Storm (X-Men, but not the films!)
Cat Crawfield (Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost)
L (Death Note)
Skulduggery Pleasant (The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy)
Gin Blanco (Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep)
I totally agree. You can't know your characters enough. And great choices on favorite characters. Your list makes me want to read Death Note again!
ReplyDeleteHey @rebeccasky you continue to mentor even off my favorite site!!! This is a fabulous resource and I'm so thankful for it! And your references make it come to life as you dotted it with only the most awesome examples ever!! Characters are why I love reading so much and I'm contunually learning - thanks for this amazing read!
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you! ❤
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