The greatest of stories on the fiction shelf, whichever book
that may be to you, is great for multiple reasons: a well-developed plot, an impactful theme,
realistic descriptions of setting, etc.
However all of it means nothing if there is no one in the story to move
the plot forward, realize the lesson of the story, or describe the idyllic
scene . A character drives the plot and
makes the book what it is. A character
is what helps the reader connect to the story and implant the experience of
reading the book in their minds as if what they just read actually happened to
them. So how does an author develop
such great characters? With imagination,
experience, and a few tricks of the trade.
Begin at the
beginning, and when you reach the end—Stop!
Most
characters are born out a single thought.
This thought can be founded on a certain article of clothing, a
personality trait, an experience, or simply from physical trait that stands out
in your mind. Often times, whatever the
original inspiration was, a character will pop into your mind. You see this person standing before, perhaps
even in a specific location. You must
ask yourself the first crucial question:
Why is this person there?
I was
tempted to write ‘who is this person, and why are they there’, but thought
better of it. You see, why they are
there is more important than who they are.
Who is important, and comes soon after, but understanding why that
character is in that location is what drives the plot forward. Are they there to rob a bank or stop a
robbery? Are they meeting someone? Did that person show up, or stand them
up? After ‘why’ comes the reaction: how
are they feeling about that? It’s
possible to ponder these questions too much, of course, which is why we need to
eventually stop designing our character at some point and begin to write the story. In the development of the character, however,
you need to have your bases covered.
Building Blocks
Conflict
builds character. It’s true in real life
and in your story. The plot, as you
write out the details of the book, will produce a need for your character to
have a certain skill set, personality trait, fear, weakness, strength, physical
characteristic, or hobby. Whatever need
arises, the more you have planned out before you start to write the better.
Some
authors will have a very short description of their character. It may consist of a paragraph or two and
cover the basics. Some might even keep
it as short as a Tweet; reducing your character description to 140 characters
or less does force you to focus on the most important elements of your
characters dossier. It’s the little
things, I think you’ll find, whether in your story or another, that make the
character seem realistic. The more you
have on them, the better you know them, the better you can write their life.
Building
a character can be tricky, which is why there are certain helps out there to
jumpstart creativity such as the character generator websites that are listed
below. Using something like this is a
good foundation for a character if you need a visual to help you shape that character. I want to tell you, though, don’t rely on
these. It’s just a beginning to a
character profile that you need to build on.
The more complex your character the better; just don’t spend so much
time on character development that you forget about the book!
Don’t I know you from
somewhere?
If
character generators aren’t for you, here’s an alternate suggestion—one that
comes with a warning: be careful when using this technique! Too little development will cause you some
trouble, and probably some broken relationships.
I’m a
naturally curious person, one who is not shy in asking questions to understand
another person. I think we sometimes
forget that the people who pop in and out of our lives (grocery store clerk
while on vacation, person waiting at the doctor’s office the same time as us)
are just as complex as we are ourselves.
Learning about people through communicating and connecting with them can
build relationships, but also reveal good character spots for stories.
Once my
wife and I went to a restaurant up state; the waitress there had her arm in a
temporary cast. Being the curious (and
potentially rude person I am) I asked her about it. To some people “she must have broken her arm
is enough. Not for me, though. I’m weird like that. Turns out this particular waitress was
working through medical school, but on the side she participates in roller
derby and was knocked down by an opposing teammate; she sprained her arm when
she fell. Now roller-derby playing
medical school students who waitress at restaurants don’t come along every day,
and I may never use this person in a story.
However, having that type of real world example might make one of my
characters seem more realistic. We just
have to be careful not to go too over the top or the character will seem too
unrealistic and you will lose your reader’s interest.
These
days most of us are into our techno-gadgets.
Everywhere you go you see people either immersed in them, carrying them,
using them for a quick “emergency”; some people even get so engrossed in using
them they are not aware of what’s going on around them. Still, moments in real life can capture your
attention and give you a jumpstart on your character. In other words, one of the best ways to make
your character seem realistic is to start with a real person. You can use relatives, acquaintances,
friends, whomever! The only proviso I
have for this: when you place them into your
novel keep the character traits that you fell will move your plot forward, but
don’t make an exact copy of them. Some
people will get offended by your “interpretation” of them, even if you captured
their real essence.
Some of
you may be thinking: isn’t that a bit on the creepy side? Yes, if you stalk them, dig through their
trash, try to hack into their email to see what they discuss with family and
friends—that’s creepy. Someone who
catches your eye because of their physical characteristics, someone who has an
interesting speech pattern you want to duplicate; these are things that you can
jot down in a notebook or on scrap paper and flush out the idea later when you
are ready to write.
Back to
the techno-gadgets for a moment: cell phones are everywhere. People have gotten so used to using them
anywhere they go that most people don’t think about the others around them and
just start talking. These can be great
moments for character research. The
other day, for example, I was sitting in my local library when a young man came
in and proceeded to talk on the phone to a friend about his life, his job, what
it was like to work there, how the routine of the job went, how the manager
kept everyone focused using a gift card reward system, etc. Now I didn’t ask this guy any questions about
his job he just sat down and began speaking loud enough for everyone to hear
his business. What he talked about in
reference to his job was intriguing to me.
I could’ve read a book on his particular line of work, but here was a
real life example of insider information—something I may not be able to have
captured from a book.
Characterization
is the back bone of your story. Without
it, all other parts of the book are static.
There is nothing to support the story, nothing to drive it forward. Don’t skimp on this because you have a great
plot or theme. All great things in life
are best enjoyed when you they are happening to someone.
Character Generators:
Note: A good resource
on further character development is Dynamic
Characters by Nancy Kress. It’s one
of my steady standby reads on all things writing.
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