Characters
Part I: Where to Start
In The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of
Myth (St. Martin's Press, 2000), author James Frey writes:
"A story emerges as a result of the dynamic forces created
by well-motivated, driven, well-rounded, dramatic
characters." When you consider the stories you've read and
loved, don't you usually come away remembering a character?
Scarlet O'Hara comes to mind. She fits the mold perfectly:
motivated, driven, well rounded and quite dramatic. While we
sometimes cringe at her choices and values, we understand her and
admire her tenacity and resourcefulness. Imagine Gone With the
Wind without Scarlet O'Hara. Where would the story be?
It seems natural then to build characters with a view to turning
out that novel draft in November. Why not start with generating
story ideas? Because so many authors have novel ideas that won't
give them any peace anyway, and secondly if you don't have that
idea bugging you to be written, playing with characters can be a
good way to catch story sparks that you can fan to full flame.
Isn't it a little early to be thinking about characters if we're
not even going to start a draft before November? Definitely not.
"It...helps fiction writers if they understand their
characters well," says Garry Disher (Writing Fiction: An
Introduction to the Craft, Allen & Unwin, 2001).
"The result is easier plotting, characters who are
believable on the page, and actions that are explicable to the
reader (even if not immediately so)." Because a story
advances as characters decide, act, reflect and interact, story
people who are vague or static lead to plot difficulties. Plot
builds around a cause and effect pattern. That cause and effect
pattern can rise easily out of a character who sets out on a
quest, meets an obstacle and overcomes it only to have another
pop up. Action and reaction of the protagonist thereby moves the
plot.
Understanding a character well takes time. Likely you will have
at least two characters you need to know equally well
(protagonist and antagonist) and some people cast in supporting
roles as well. Take advantage of the next several months to dig
deeply into the people who are going to make your story live.
Where Do Characters Come From?
Jack Bickham (The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes and
How to Avoid Them, Writers Digest Books, 1992) lists using
real people in fiction stories as one of the top mistakes that
writers make. "For one reason, real people might sue you.
But far more to the point in fiction copy, real people--taken
straight over and put on the page of a story--are dull," he
says. "Good characters have to be constructed, not copied
from actuality."
This doesn't mean that real people can't be a good place to start
creating a fictional person.
In Writing Fiction (6th Edition, Pearson Education,
2002), Jane Burroway says, "Whoever catches your attention
may be the beginning of a character.... Start with what you
observe, obvious traits.... Invent a past." Josip Novanovich
(Writing Fiction Step by Step, Story Press, 1998) agrees
that fascination with a person can provide the energy a writer
needs to create a character. You can synthesize elements from two
or three different people. Conversely, you can start from within
yourself. Focus on a passion of your own to form the core of your
fictional person and build external features around that central
motivating force. You can discover characters working from pieces
of overheard conversation, or you can elect to create a character
who simply fits the story idea you've generated.
Developing the Fictional Person
No matter how you bring a character to birth, keep in mind that
it takes time to "rear" this person into a
well-rounded, believable individual who captures and holds reader
interest. There is no such thing as spending too much time
getting to know your characters (unless of course it means you
never begin drafting the story). The more you know, the easier it
will be to put this person in motion. Details that may never
appear per se in your story will still motivate the way the
person thinks, acts, talks, and decides. It will ultimately
influence the way the person reacts to the things that happen to
them in the course of the novel.
All of this is done in preparation for writing, so you can have
fun with it! There are no worries about grammar, punctuation or
spelling. You can fully enjoy the process. Don't feel you have to
stick with linear writing like lists and biographical sketches.
You can use mind maps, pictures from magazines, sketches that you
draw. You can even stick the character in situation that will
never occur in the book, just to see how s/he reacts.
Many authors do use extensive biographical sketches in addition
to other forms of character discovery. (See the Links section on my website if you need
one.) Some writers suggest finding the character's voice by
interviewing the person, or by writing a journal as the
character. Robert J. Ray (The Weekend Novelist, Dell
Publishing, 1986) uses four different steps to
"discover" his characters. He starts with physical
appearance, invents childhood trauma that has a strong influence,
allows the character to dream releasing unscripted thoughts and
potential story symbols, and lastly creates a wardrobe, writing
detailed descriptions of what the character has in his or her
closest and dresser drawers.
Experiment to find methods of character discovery that work for
you. Always be open to such experimentation, because different
characters-- sometimes in the same story--will evolve in
different ways.
Motivation and Conflict
Josip Novanovich writes, "A character without a motive is
not a character, properly speaking, in a dramatic sense, but is
an element of the setting, static like a piece of
furniture." No one wants to read about a person who does
nothing.
So how do you keep your characters from being static?
The number one key is to give them motive. Motive is a desire,
need or emotion that incites action. It encompasses the
character's wants, needs, fears and the risks involved in
attempting to reach the goals. Fictional people who are motivated
to act will bring about changes--expected or unexpected--and then
will have to cope with the consequences. This is what moves the
story forward.
Motivation can come from outside the character, from within the
character, or from both areas. This is why it is important to
know what drives your character. Certain passions, preferences,
fears and beliefs will guide the choices and responses of the
individual you are creating.
As you move the character through changes and consequences you
will also be creating conflict. Jack Bickham reminds writers,
"A good story is the record of movement. A good story is
movement. Someone pushes; someone else pushes back. At some
level, therefore, a story is the record of a fight."
You character may not be fighting against another person.
Conflict can also arise from within, between an individual and
nature, or between a person and societal values. Regardless, your
character will struggle, and in order to create believable
struggles you have to know what your character will stand and
fight for, what will make him or her refuse to give up or stop
trying even if s/he is scared.
So begin now to think about the characters who will populate your
book and how you might best discover exactly what makes them
tick. Have fun and enjoy the process, and this will go a long way
toward helping you breeze through a draft when it's time to do
so.
Next week we're going to take a closer look at different types of
characters that are generally found in a novel and some hints on
how to create characters for these pre-determined roles who are
still unique and dynamic.
©2004Dekat