Plot
development is important, but action and events, alone, cannot hold readers’
interest or keep them interested in a series that involves one or more
characters the books are based on. Readers want characters they can feel
something about, whether that’s kinship, admiration, empathy,
enjoyment—whatever causes them to relate to characters and care about what
happens to them or be curious about them. Even antagonists are attractive to readers because they want
to know what happens to them: Do they, in the end, get what they deserve, or
are they, perhaps, transformed. Characters influence events and events influence
characters. Events cause characters to grow and change as the plot develops;
sometimes events cause characters to falter or struggle. Either way, this
character dynamic is something readers expect to happen. This is how readers
learn more about characters they develop a relationship
with over time, and what makes characters real to readers.
Characters
need to have conflict—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or psychological.
They need to be confused at times and have not-nice stuff happen to them,
otherwise they are dull—they are cardboard characters—and you never want that
to happen. Interesting characters keep readers turning pages and looking
forward to the next book in the series, if a series is part of your plan.
Conflict that causes characters to experience a process and seek and or find a
resolution holds readers’ attention and builds their ability to become attached
to characters.
For
characters to be more “real,” they have to be flawed. They need to demonstrate
who they are through their distinctive words and actions. This means you have
to really know your characters so you stay true to who they are when they
speak, feel, react, and act—even through what they do when you let them have a
quiet or serene moment (but just a brief one, of course). What helps is to
create a character sketch for each character. The more significant the
character, the more detailed you want his or her sketch to be. You can either
create a list that you refer to or write the sketch in essay form to refer
to—whatever works best for you. This way, not only do you stay true to them,
you keep them true to themselves. Readers will expect this of you.
Here’s a guide you can use for
such sketches:
- Character’s name (make sure
it fits the personality):
- Occupation (including
unemployed) and/or sideline:
- Height:
- Weight:
- Gender (this could also
include sexual preference):
- Marital status:
- Children:
- Parents/Siblings:
- Age (be sure to note in your
sketch which year the character is that age so that the next story they
are included in has their age matching the time period that’s passed since
the last story they were included in):
- Birth date (lets you keep
track of their age, match their age to events in recent history, and even
know their astrological sign so you can pull characteristics from there,
as well, if you think that will assist you):
- Birthplace:
- Hair (color, length, cut or
style, balding, bald):
- Attire (casual, work, formal,
favorite garment—if any):
- Body (athletic, lean, heavy,
obese, flabby, corpulent, slender, hourglass, broad-shouldered, curves in
the right places, narrow-waisted, long-waisted, short-waisted,
pot-bellied, six-pack abs, slender neck, neck as wide as head, neck
proportional to head):
- Footwear (casual, work,
formal—favorite footwear, if any):
- Face (long, round, oval,
triangular, heart-shaped, square, rectangular, square-jawed, pointed jaw,
weak-chinned, high cheekbones, full lips (or thin or medium, bow-shaped,
straight line when angry, etc.):
- Nose (pointed, upturned, pug,
wide, bump on bridge, flat, etc.):
- Eyes (color—includes shades
of blue or green, brown, gray, hazel green, hazel brown (gold).
Shape—small, average, large, almond, slanted, squinty, close-set,
wide-set, etc.):
- Physical peculiarities, if
any:
- Body language and poses (how
they stand, sit, walk, run, hold their head when speaking or thinking or
angry, etc.):
- Arms (muscular, slim,
spindly, hairy, hairless, etc.):
- Legs (same as arms):
- Home (where it is; what it
looks like inside and out—what’s in each room—furniture, appliances
[fridge—and what’s in it or isn’t, stove, computer, laptop, phones,
Jacuzzi, etc.], furnishings, fireplace—maybe more than one. Possessions
are a clue to lifestyle and personality and even history, e.g., family
antiques):
- Favorite room (which it is,
where it is, what’s in it, what the character feels when in it):
- View out of the windows:
- Habits (what they do—good or
bad—which may include smoking, drinking, nail biting, etc.; what they
like—or shouldn’t; what they don’t do but should (exercise, sleep enough,
eat right, etc.):
- Vehicle/s (autos, boats,
motorcycles, bikes, etc.—make, model, year, color, horsepower, etc.—do
they drive a clunker, a classic, or base choices on utility or budget?):
- Motive/s: (What does the
character want most in life? What is the character’s core need? How does
the character want to feel about himself/herself? How does the character
actually feel about himself/herself? What drives the character?):
- Past (What’s in the
character’s past that may surface at an appropriate time, place, and
manner in one or more scenes (or in a later book)—and contribute to the
development of the character and the plot?):
- Significant event that molded
the character:
- Significant event that
illustrates the character’s personality:
- Educational background:
- Home environment they grew up
in:
- Best friend:
- Enemies:
- Ambition in life:
- Gestures s/he makes when
talking:
- Gait (short steps, long
steps, limps, walks fast, ambles, slinks, hunched shoulders, straight
posture?):
- Strongest character trait:
- Weakest character trait:
- Laughs or jeers at:
- Philosophy for life:
- Political leaning (if any):
- Hobbies (if any):
- Meticulous about appearance
or sloppy:
- What others notice first
about him/her:
- What the character does when
alone:
- Are readers supposed to
like/dislike this character:
- Does s/he change in the
story? How?
Like us,
characters are what they read, eat, drink, wear, think, and do. When you know
your characters intimately, you’re better able to show, not tell readers about characters. Like us, characters have
specific behaviors for their internal and external selves and lives. Their
behaviors contribute to and drive plot. Readers won’t mind if a character
occasionally surprises them—in fact, they’ll enjoy it, if it’s appropriate to
the plot development, but they’ll want even such surprises to be in character.
Have fun
developing your characters. Doing this ahead of writing the first draft will
assist you with plot development as well, though that is a different topic I’ll
cover in the near future, because you don’t have to figure out what your
characters will do or how they’ll behave as you write—you know this ahead of
time—even if your characters surprise you, which can happen, especially if
they’re real to you too.
I wish
you the best with your writing, process, and progress.
Joyce
Shafer
“Editor, Joyce Shafer.
What can I say? Simply put, no Joyce, no book. Part editor, part coach, part
teacher, Joyce was absolutely phenomenal throughout the entire
editing process. Working with Joyce was like taking a graduate course in
writing with your all-time favorite teacher and you were the only student. I
just can't say enough good things. Allow me a shameless plug for her services
at http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/
~ Eric Berbig, Author of The People’s
Will
