I’ve been reading Brandilyn Collins’ Getting Into Character and find the comparison between actors developing their characters and writers building theirs completely fascinating. Brandilyn draws many parallels that show why her characters are always so very real.
I’m only on the second chapter (as finding time to just sit down and read is…well…hard), but already am full of ideas on how to improve my characters, as well as how to make future ones more developed before I even start.
One guideline sticks with me. “Characters are built from the inside out.”
At first, that statement is like a “well duh”. But when you really sit down and consider it, in the examples that Brandilyn gives, it takes on a deeper meaning.
As we develop our characters and get to know them, we’re creating actual personalities. Everything about those personalities has come about for a reason. In the real world, people don’t have traits, ticks, and mannerisms just because they were born that way. Their personalities evolve and develop as they learn, grow, evolve, and experience.
So, it seems natural that if your character bites her lip whenever she gets into an uncomfortable situation, there’s a reason why. It’s our job as writers to figure out why so that we are using that tick in a way that is true to our character. If our character walks around, head held high, staring the world down—something in his gave him that steely, me-against-the-world attitude. What was it?
Make sure as you develop your characters, that your characters walks, talks, thinks, acts, etc in a way that reflects who they are, and that you don’t give them any traits, mannerisms, or ticks just to make them stand out. There is a reason for everything, or it’s not true to the character.
Showing posts with label Character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Character. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Realism
“A writer begins by breathing life into his characters. But if you are very lucky, they breathe life into you.” Caryl Phillips
The most memorable characters in literature are those who are marked by one huge flaw. They are human. Or at least human-like. We all know that humans are influenced by life, by their environment, their experiences, etc. They have hopes, dreams, pain, and failures. They are shaped by their past and their perception of the future. Humans are a mystery to behold, and a writers greatest asset is to accurately portray that mystery.
Characters, therefore, must be more than a representation of the human form, they must display those human qualities realistically. A writer must build their characters from the inside out, show the world who they really are through the story they are telling. Right?
What makes a character realistic?
Think about some of your favorite characters. Why are they your favorites? What makes them stand out from the hundreds of stories you’ve read in your time? What makes them…realistic?
Characters should act, react, and think the way that we think. In the thousands of years since humans appeared on the earth, we have not changed all that much. Our situations have, but the essence of humanity has not. We still cry when we’re upset, we laugh when we think something is funny, we get angry when someone assaults our beliefs. So, our characters should reflect that as well.
But how do we do that in our writing?
Building character: Of course, we start at the beginning. Who is our character? We should know our characters almost, if not more, as well as we know ourselves. Everything from physical appearance to why he/she hates flying. If someone interviewed us about our character, we should be able to answer most questions. How old is your character? Where were they born? What kind of childhood did they have? What significant event helped to shape who they are today? We should know what makes them laugh, cry, angry.
Some writers keep a profile of their characters. Some write out the character’s back story (regardless of whether it goes into the novel or not). Some put their characters in certain situations, just for fun, and see how it plays out. All great ways to get to know your character.
Dialogue/Actions: The best way to introduce your character and their different quirks, personality layers, background, etc is the adage—show, don’t tell. Through dialogue and action, a reader gets to know your character. A subject for another post, another day, as my point is actually that the dialogue and actions need to be realistic. If you’re writing a story about a modern-day teen, you aren’t going to use the same tone/style you would for a medieval princess. Right? Even deeper, a male thinks/acts differently than a female. They have different outlooks, different cares, different ways of moving. If your female and male characters react the exact same way to an incident, something is wrong.
Creative storytelling: This was pointed out to me in one of my first novels. Towards the end of the book, my male protagonist and his friend, black belts in karate, take out about six men who attack them. One of my crit partners told me this was unrealistic to her because I had not given the reader any clues before that point in the story that these two men could hold their own. So, in my rewrites, I moved a couple of scenes to the karate dojo and added some dialogue to other scenes talking about teaching kids, winning tournaments, etc. So by the time the reader reached the point where these two men kick some major bad guy booty, it made sense—it wasn’t a surprise. So be sure to work in character personality traits, hobbies, etc throughout the story.
This goes for your characters that aren’t human as well. Some of us write supernatural, sci-fi, or fantasy and some of our characters come from our over-active imagination. This is great. But for the readers to relate to them, understand them, even sympathize for them, the creative characters still need to exhibit human-like qualities. We can go into that more later on.
For now, consider the characters in your WIP (or playing in your mind). Are they realistic? How can you make them more so? Are you doing a good job of showing them in your story?
“For me the obligation is to present my characters realistically. They must be credible human beings even if the circumstances they are in are ‘incredible,’ as they are in The Collector. But even the story, no matter how bizarre, no matter what symbolisms are involved, has to be possible. . . . Believability must dominate even the most outlandish situation.” John Fowles
The most memorable characters in literature are those who are marked by one huge flaw. They are human. Or at least human-like. We all know that humans are influenced by life, by their environment, their experiences, etc. They have hopes, dreams, pain, and failures. They are shaped by their past and their perception of the future. Humans are a mystery to behold, and a writers greatest asset is to accurately portray that mystery.
Characters, therefore, must be more than a representation of the human form, they must display those human qualities realistically. A writer must build their characters from the inside out, show the world who they really are through the story they are telling. Right?
What makes a character realistic?
Think about some of your favorite characters. Why are they your favorites? What makes them stand out from the hundreds of stories you’ve read in your time? What makes them…realistic?
Characters should act, react, and think the way that we think. In the thousands of years since humans appeared on the earth, we have not changed all that much. Our situations have, but the essence of humanity has not. We still cry when we’re upset, we laugh when we think something is funny, we get angry when someone assaults our beliefs. So, our characters should reflect that as well.
But how do we do that in our writing?
Building character: Of course, we start at the beginning. Who is our character? We should know our characters almost, if not more, as well as we know ourselves. Everything from physical appearance to why he/she hates flying. If someone interviewed us about our character, we should be able to answer most questions. How old is your character? Where were they born? What kind of childhood did they have? What significant event helped to shape who they are today? We should know what makes them laugh, cry, angry.
Some writers keep a profile of their characters. Some write out the character’s back story (regardless of whether it goes into the novel or not). Some put their characters in certain situations, just for fun, and see how it plays out. All great ways to get to know your character.
Dialogue/Actions: The best way to introduce your character and their different quirks, personality layers, background, etc is the adage—show, don’t tell. Through dialogue and action, a reader gets to know your character. A subject for another post, another day, as my point is actually that the dialogue and actions need to be realistic. If you’re writing a story about a modern-day teen, you aren’t going to use the same tone/style you would for a medieval princess. Right? Even deeper, a male thinks/acts differently than a female. They have different outlooks, different cares, different ways of moving. If your female and male characters react the exact same way to an incident, something is wrong.
Creative storytelling: This was pointed out to me in one of my first novels. Towards the end of the book, my male protagonist and his friend, black belts in karate, take out about six men who attack them. One of my crit partners told me this was unrealistic to her because I had not given the reader any clues before that point in the story that these two men could hold their own. So, in my rewrites, I moved a couple of scenes to the karate dojo and added some dialogue to other scenes talking about teaching kids, winning tournaments, etc. So by the time the reader reached the point where these two men kick some major bad guy booty, it made sense—it wasn’t a surprise. So be sure to work in character personality traits, hobbies, etc throughout the story.
This goes for your characters that aren’t human as well. Some of us write supernatural, sci-fi, or fantasy and some of our characters come from our over-active imagination. This is great. But for the readers to relate to them, understand them, even sympathize for them, the creative characters still need to exhibit human-like qualities. We can go into that more later on.
For now, consider the characters in your WIP (or playing in your mind). Are they realistic? How can you make them more so? Are you doing a good job of showing them in your story?
“For me the obligation is to present my characters realistically. They must be credible human beings even if the circumstances they are in are ‘incredible,’ as they are in The Collector. But even the story, no matter how bizarre, no matter what symbolisms are involved, has to be possible. . . . Believability must dominate even the most outlandish situation.” John Fowles
Monday, October 5, 2009
Plot or Characters?
“One reason we read fiction is our hope that we will be moved by it, finding characters we can enjoy and sympathize with.” John Gardner
The formula for any great novel looks something like this:
Outstanding, Realistic Characters
+ Fantastic, Page-turning plot
Breakout Novel with Staying Value
The oldest debate among the fiction community is which is more important—characters or plot? Does the equation look more like 2+2 or 3+1 or 1+3? While characters and plot are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can’t have a novel without both, does one matter more than the other?
In my personal opinion, one does matter more than the other. Characters are the starting and jump off point for any novel. In the words of Flannery O’Connor, “In most good stories it is the character’s personality that creates the action of the story.” Plot is formed around the characters. Plot moves, changes, etc from the actions/reactions of said characters. Plot is important, but without the characters to bring it to life, it is nothing.
Take the book, Little Women, for example. Yes, I know it is not suspense, but a suspense novel would not illustrate my point as well. In the novel, we follow the story of four sisters. Throughout the novel, not much happens, and yet so much does. It spans the course of years, in fact. Although not much out of the ordinary happens to this family, we are pulled in by the characters and their strong personalities. The quiet strength of Marmie and Meg. The stubbornness and impulsiveness of Jo. The middle-child—laid back Beth. And of course the frivolous, yet kind-hearted Amy. These characters stand out to us because they are so different from each other, yet because of their connection, the plot comes about naturally. It keeps us turning the pages.
I remember being forced to read Little Women by my mom several years ago. I didn’t want to read it. Classics, by definition, usually bored me to sleep. I was not, still am not largely, fond of the classic style of writing. I am one of those people who can’t stand pages of description, exposition, etc. But, I sat down on my daybed and started reading. If I remember right, I finished the novel in three days. I was enthralled by the intricacies of each character and how they grew and changed over the course of the book.
In the same context, look at Lord of the Rings, a faster paced, more action-oriented novel series. This is a wonderful story with a rather complicated plot that covers the pages of several books. I have never read the series, being as I can’t stand Tolkien’s writing style. However, even from the movies, I can tell that it is the characters that make this story. The individuals who aren’t afraid to stand up for their own beliefs. The ones who exhibit courage beyond what we ourselves may be capable of. The ones who take on the responsibility of leadership, even if they would like to remain in the background. Those who cared. Those who stood out among their race for whatever extraordinary personality trait they possessed. Sometimes I wish I could stand Tolkien’s writing style.
So over the next several posts, I plan to explore what makes characters come alive, how to make them stand out, and most importantly, how to make them memorable. I’ll leave you with the following quote:
“The reader reads fiction more for its people than for any other element, whether plot, setting, or shock value. Readers associate characters in fiction with their own lives and with their own experience. They will even name their children after fictional characters. . . . The novel is the people that are in it.” William Sloane
Who are some of your favorite characters and why?
The formula for any great novel looks something like this:
Outstanding, Realistic Characters
+ Fantastic, Page-turning plot
Breakout Novel with Staying Value
The oldest debate among the fiction community is which is more important—characters or plot? Does the equation look more like 2+2 or 3+1 or 1+3? While characters and plot are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can’t have a novel without both, does one matter more than the other?
In my personal opinion, one does matter more than the other. Characters are the starting and jump off point for any novel. In the words of Flannery O’Connor, “In most good stories it is the character’s personality that creates the action of the story.” Plot is formed around the characters. Plot moves, changes, etc from the actions/reactions of said characters. Plot is important, but without the characters to bring it to life, it is nothing.
Take the book, Little Women, for example. Yes, I know it is not suspense, but a suspense novel would not illustrate my point as well. In the novel, we follow the story of four sisters. Throughout the novel, not much happens, and yet so much does. It spans the course of years, in fact. Although not much out of the ordinary happens to this family, we are pulled in by the characters and their strong personalities. The quiet strength of Marmie and Meg. The stubbornness and impulsiveness of Jo. The middle-child—laid back Beth. And of course the frivolous, yet kind-hearted Amy. These characters stand out to us because they are so different from each other, yet because of their connection, the plot comes about naturally. It keeps us turning the pages.
I remember being forced to read Little Women by my mom several years ago. I didn’t want to read it. Classics, by definition, usually bored me to sleep. I was not, still am not largely, fond of the classic style of writing. I am one of those people who can’t stand pages of description, exposition, etc. But, I sat down on my daybed and started reading. If I remember right, I finished the novel in three days. I was enthralled by the intricacies of each character and how they grew and changed over the course of the book.
In the same context, look at Lord of the Rings, a faster paced, more action-oriented novel series. This is a wonderful story with a rather complicated plot that covers the pages of several books. I have never read the series, being as I can’t stand Tolkien’s writing style. However, even from the movies, I can tell that it is the characters that make this story. The individuals who aren’t afraid to stand up for their own beliefs. The ones who exhibit courage beyond what we ourselves may be capable of. The ones who take on the responsibility of leadership, even if they would like to remain in the background. Those who cared. Those who stood out among their race for whatever extraordinary personality trait they possessed. Sometimes I wish I could stand Tolkien’s writing style.
So over the next several posts, I plan to explore what makes characters come alive, how to make them stand out, and most importantly, how to make them memorable. I’ll leave you with the following quote:
“The reader reads fiction more for its people than for any other element, whether plot, setting, or shock value. Readers associate characters in fiction with their own lives and with their own experience. They will even name their children after fictional characters. . . . The novel is the people that are in it.” William Sloane
Who are some of your favorite characters and why?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Beginning that Wows!
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)
While this may not be the most stirring of beginnings, this one sentence is a great example of what the first few pages of any novel should include. Let’s break it down:
“In the beginning…”
Okay, so the beginning should set the time period. We should be able to tell the basics of the era, what time in the MC’s life we’re starting, and depending on the importance—time of year, time of day. Now, obviously you don’t want to come out and TELL US, like this line does, but you want to intersperse clues throughout the first few pages.
“God…”
Introduce the main character. The Bible is all about God. From the beginning through Revelations…it’s all about God. So it is suitable that the first chapter we learn who this character is. Same goes for our stories. Now, as with all guidelines, there are exceptions. Some stories start with the villain. Some stories start with prologues that have characters we may never see again in the story. For the most part, though, your first chapter should introduce your main character in a way that will make us care about them. Readers won’t be persuaded to keep reading if they don’t care what happens to the main character.
“…created the heavens and the earth.”
Here’s a way to start a story with a bang. Our goal in the first few pages, paragraphs even, is to hook the reader. We have to introduce some action or conflict, a peek at the plot.
“Created” is a unique verb, one of my favorites. Created, by definition, means to make something from your own mind/vision. God saw the heavens and earth and spoke them into being. He saw all of this, and made it happen. And it was no small feat…He didn’t paint a masterpiece, record a #1 hit, write a novel…no, God created the HEAVENS AND THE EARTH (said in a deep, rumbling voice that echoes off the walls).
These words also tell us about the main character. God is ambitious, He can see the big picture, He is creative, He can make something out of nothing, He is bigger than a mere human, and much more.
So, God created the heavens and the earth…now what?
That’s the question that keeps the reader interested. We have a strong character, bigger than life (in this case), who has done something that is beyond possibility for us, what’s He going to do from here?
In Dividing Spirits, my main character Ninevah is a loan officer at a bank in Kansas City, MO. In the first chapter, the bank is robbed, her friend is murdered, and Ninevah is knocked unconscious—and that chapter is only about three thousand words. Through all of this, the reader learns a little (very, very little) about Ninevah’s background through dialogue, and they get a good glimpse into her personality. She’s a strong Christian woman who keeps her cool in tough situations, but wears her emotions on her sleeves when it comes to those she loves.
What about you? What important elements make your first chapter pop?
While this may not be the most stirring of beginnings, this one sentence is a great example of what the first few pages of any novel should include. Let’s break it down:
“In the beginning…”
Okay, so the beginning should set the time period. We should be able to tell the basics of the era, what time in the MC’s life we’re starting, and depending on the importance—time of year, time of day. Now, obviously you don’t want to come out and TELL US, like this line does, but you want to intersperse clues throughout the first few pages.
“God…”
Introduce the main character. The Bible is all about God. From the beginning through Revelations…it’s all about God. So it is suitable that the first chapter we learn who this character is. Same goes for our stories. Now, as with all guidelines, there are exceptions. Some stories start with the villain. Some stories start with prologues that have characters we may never see again in the story. For the most part, though, your first chapter should introduce your main character in a way that will make us care about them. Readers won’t be persuaded to keep reading if they don’t care what happens to the main character.
“…created the heavens and the earth.”
Here’s a way to start a story with a bang. Our goal in the first few pages, paragraphs even, is to hook the reader. We have to introduce some action or conflict, a peek at the plot.
“Created” is a unique verb, one of my favorites. Created, by definition, means to make something from your own mind/vision. God saw the heavens and earth and spoke them into being. He saw all of this, and made it happen. And it was no small feat…He didn’t paint a masterpiece, record a #1 hit, write a novel…no, God created the HEAVENS AND THE EARTH (said in a deep, rumbling voice that echoes off the walls).
These words also tell us about the main character. God is ambitious, He can see the big picture, He is creative, He can make something out of nothing, He is bigger than a mere human, and much more.
So, God created the heavens and the earth…now what?
That’s the question that keeps the reader interested. We have a strong character, bigger than life (in this case), who has done something that is beyond possibility for us, what’s He going to do from here?
In Dividing Spirits, my main character Ninevah is a loan officer at a bank in Kansas City, MO. In the first chapter, the bank is robbed, her friend is murdered, and Ninevah is knocked unconscious—and that chapter is only about three thousand words. Through all of this, the reader learns a little (very, very little) about Ninevah’s background through dialogue, and they get a good glimpse into her personality. She’s a strong Christian woman who keeps her cool in tough situations, but wears her emotions on her sleeves when it comes to those she loves.
What about you? What important elements make your first chapter pop?
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