How did you get to know the characters in your novel?
December 16, 2009 9:40 PM Subscribe
How did you get to know the characters in your novel?
I tried writing a novel but crashed and burned around chapter three. I realize that is common to the point of being cliche. The main problem was that I have (what I think is) a great story, but I don't know my characters very well. In fact, at one point, I asked myself if I cared about these people, and the answer was "no." I didn't care about them because I didn't know them well enough to really care about them.
How did you get to know the characters in your novel? Do you care about them? How much did you know about your characters when you started plotting your novel? What tips and tricks for character development have you learned along the way?
I tried writing a novel but crashed and burned around chapter three. I realize that is common to the point of being cliche. The main problem was that I have (what I think is) a great story, but I don't know my characters very well. In fact, at one point, I asked myself if I cared about these people, and the answer was "no." I didn't care about them because I didn't know them well enough to really care about them.
How did you get to know the characters in your novel? Do you care about them? How much did you know about your characters when you started plotting your novel? What tips and tricks for character development have you learned along the way?
Best answer: disillusioned has the right idea. Great writing always has more beneath the surface than the reader will ever see. The "short story" idea works, you can also sometimes find forms that you can fill out for a character that force you to think about their lives outside/before the story. If you can't find one, just make your own- it's just a bunch of blanks for stuff like where they went to school, what their favorite "X" is, who's their best friend, what clothes do they like, etc.
It's important that the story come organically from the characters- ie, that the actions they take are things they would do, based on who they are. I myself have sometimes fallen into the trap of thinking about story or theme first- this results in bad writing because the characters end up doing things because "that's what happens in the story," not because they would actually do those things.
Finally, love you characters. Even if they are bad or downright evil, find something in them you love or identify with. I read somewhere that it's actually most important to love your villains. Good characters are easier because most of us basically consider ourselves good. If your bad guy is just bad "because he's the bad guy," you run the risk of descending into mustache-twirling territory. Remember that from the point of view of the person doing it, every action is justified, or they wouldn't do it. A good trick is to flip the story around and think how it would go from the villain's POV- figure out how he would tell the story, or how the story would go if he was the hero.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:27 PM on December 16, 2009
It's important that the story come organically from the characters- ie, that the actions they take are things they would do, based on who they are. I myself have sometimes fallen into the trap of thinking about story or theme first- this results in bad writing because the characters end up doing things because "that's what happens in the story," not because they would actually do those things.
Finally, love you characters. Even if they are bad or downright evil, find something in them you love or identify with. I read somewhere that it's actually most important to love your villains. Good characters are easier because most of us basically consider ourselves good. If your bad guy is just bad "because he's the bad guy," you run the risk of descending into mustache-twirling territory. Remember that from the point of view of the person doing it, every action is justified, or they wouldn't do it. A good trick is to flip the story around and think how it would go from the villain's POV- figure out how he would tell the story, or how the story would go if he was the hero.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:27 PM on December 16, 2009
Read Uta Hagen's "Respect for Acting"-- working through her six-step character analysis will definitely help!
posted by aquafortis at 10:28 PM on December 16, 2009
posted by aquafortis at 10:28 PM on December 16, 2009
Also, he's taken a lot of (undeserved imo) shit here, but Robert McKee's Story is a great great resource for this kind of stuff. No need for expensive seminars- just check it out from the library. It's mostly about screenwriting, but the theory he describes applies to any kind of story.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:29 PM on December 16, 2009
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:29 PM on December 16, 2009
I've used a couple different versions of RPG Character Worksheets that I found floating around the internet to develop characterization. Here's one that's pretty much what I've used.
posted by maniactown at 10:33 PM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by maniactown at 10:33 PM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Wrote rough drafts for a couple novels this past summer, (disclaimer: haven't done anything with them yet - they're sitting on a server for friends right now).
Anyway, I just wanted to emphasize how much drjimmy totally, totally correct.
It's nice to have a general idea of the shape of your story, but the things that happen in it should arise naturally from the biases, desires and general nature of the characters. At no point should anything 'just happen.' You should always understand why they're doing whatever they're doing.
I knew I was onto something when mine starting bucking the plot a little - when I'd want something to happen a certain way, and I knew they just wouldn't do it like that. It was neat to have to rethink things from a strange perspective.
I'd also like to emphasize how important it is to take good notes. I actually put together a fresh tiddlywiki for almost anything I'm fooling with, even if it's not all that serious.
The other thing I'd recommend is, simply, don't give up just because you're not where you want to be. Just keep going, but do not allow anything that a character does to contradict something they've already done, and learn about them as you go. Even if you scrap the story, you could keep that insight into them, and do something else with it.
(I just wrote about some of this on my blog, for what it's worth.)
posted by mordax at 10:58 PM on December 16, 2009
Anyway, I just wanted to emphasize how much drjimmy totally, totally correct.
It's nice to have a general idea of the shape of your story, but the things that happen in it should arise naturally from the biases, desires and general nature of the characters. At no point should anything 'just happen.' You should always understand why they're doing whatever they're doing.
I knew I was onto something when mine starting bucking the plot a little - when I'd want something to happen a certain way, and I knew they just wouldn't do it like that. It was neat to have to rethink things from a strange perspective.
I'd also like to emphasize how important it is to take good notes. I actually put together a fresh tiddlywiki for almost anything I'm fooling with, even if it's not all that serious.
The other thing I'd recommend is, simply, don't give up just because you're not where you want to be. Just keep going, but do not allow anything that a character does to contradict something they've already done, and learn about them as you go. Even if you scrap the story, you could keep that insight into them, and do something else with it.
(I just wrote about some of this on my blog, for what it's worth.)
posted by mordax at 10:58 PM on December 16, 2009
I always write to express a feeling, then think of people (particularly interactions between people) that exemplify that feeling, and then imagine what kind of interactions those people would have to come up with a plot. So in other words, the only characters that ever present themselves in my heads are ones that I care about from the beginning.
If you're writing by thinking up a plot and then trying to shoehorn characters into it, chances are you're not going to care about the people you come up with; they won't feel like real people because they'll be mindless slaves that do whatever the plot wrenches them to do, instead of having their own feelings about how things ought to go and how they would react.
posted by Nattie at 11:36 PM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
If you're writing by thinking up a plot and then trying to shoehorn characters into it, chances are you're not going to care about the people you come up with; they won't feel like real people because they'll be mindless slaves that do whatever the plot wrenches them to do, instead of having their own feelings about how things ought to go and how they would react.
posted by Nattie at 11:36 PM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
I second the worksheet that maniactown linked to. It's the same sort of thinking that I went through when developing my characters, and it worked, because I cared about them intensely.
When I was still working on one novel, I got hit by a truck. While I was still in mid-air I thought, "Poor Boyfriend will miss me, but he'll get over it. But what about my characters? Oh my god, they could die!!!"
My first novel was a mystery, so I outlined the plot pretty carefully first, but as the characters revealed themselves, the plot adjusted to fit them.
posted by PatoPata at 1:33 AM on December 17, 2009 [6 favorites]
When I was still working on one novel, I got hit by a truck. While I was still in mid-air I thought, "Poor Boyfriend will miss me, but he'll get over it. But what about my characters? Oh my god, they could die!!!"
My first novel was a mystery, so I outlined the plot pretty carefully first, but as the characters revealed themselves, the plot adjusted to fit them.
posted by PatoPata at 1:33 AM on December 17, 2009 [6 favorites]
Well, I haven't finished my novel yet, but it's been a work in progress for years. God knows if I ever will finish it but I'm enjoying the journey.
I know my characters really well: I know their friends (and their friends' stories), their families and family issues, what they like to eat and the layouts of their apartments, even though I know that very little of this will end up in the final draft. This is because I've been thinking about them for years. So I'm nthing the importance of a back-story. You need to know it, even if no one else does.
I don't think you can make a laundry-list of personality traits and say "This is my character X". Having said that, I have found a few character-writing exercises helpful and meaningful because they are more about getting into the writing zone and thinking about your character as a person. One is the "25 Random Things about me" meme that was popular on Facebook a while ago. Another is "Outrunning the Critic", which you can find on this page (it's #23). (The other exercises on this page are good too.)
Character interacts with plot... it's great that you have a strong story, but you also want to consider in what ways the important and salient personality traits of your main character affect the action in the story.
Good luck and enjoy!
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:23 AM on December 17, 2009
I know my characters really well: I know their friends (and their friends' stories), their families and family issues, what they like to eat and the layouts of their apartments, even though I know that very little of this will end up in the final draft. This is because I've been thinking about them for years. So I'm nthing the importance of a back-story. You need to know it, even if no one else does.
I don't think you can make a laundry-list of personality traits and say "This is my character X". Having said that, I have found a few character-writing exercises helpful and meaningful because they are more about getting into the writing zone and thinking about your character as a person. One is the "25 Random Things about me" meme that was popular on Facebook a while ago. Another is "Outrunning the Critic", which you can find on this page (it's #23). (The other exercises on this page are good too.)
Character interacts with plot... it's great that you have a strong story, but you also want to consider in what ways the important and salient personality traits of your main character affect the action in the story.
Good luck and enjoy!
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:23 AM on December 17, 2009
Oh, I just wanted to add another exercise I made up to explore character. Take an important scene in your story, and write about it in the first person from the point of view of your main character - then of the other character(s) present - then from another character who heard about it from someone who was present. They can be really unimportant characters but it's a good way of looking at your plot and people from different perspectives and finding facets that you didn't think to explore before. And it's a good exercise in creating different voices. These snippets may or may not make it to your final draft (none of mine did) but they really added to my understanding of peripheral characters and their relationships with the main people.
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:28 AM on December 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:28 AM on December 17, 2009 [3 favorites]
You have to become each of your characters. They are aspects of you, or should be if you want them to feel alive. This means you may have to locate your inner serial killer, or inner astronaut, or inner space alien. He/she is in there somewhere. Nothing human (or even inhuman) is alien to you. If you can feel what it's like to be each of your characters, what they say or think or do will make some kind of sense.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:02 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:02 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I don't do writing exercises - I keep a little notebook and draw pictures of things. What my character has on their desk...what their house looks like....imaginary books they have on their shelves. All the paraphernalia of their lives :)
posted by cardamine at 4:41 AM on December 17, 2009
posted by cardamine at 4:41 AM on December 17, 2009
I've always spent a lot of time daydreaming and re-daydreaming scenes. In the process, I'll find out things about my characters, things that fit organically with who they are. I'll find my characters resisting the obvious thing and displaying their own unexpected sides.
posted by Jeanne at 4:47 AM on December 17, 2009
posted by Jeanne at 4:47 AM on December 17, 2009
I pretty much do what Jeanne does, as I'm not much of a prewriter--scene-based daydreaming. However, I say this with the caveat that I've been totally wrong about my characters halfway into a novel before and had to abruptly change their characterization. I knew this because, for the plot, they were supposed to be a romantic interest, but had no chemistry with my narrator. Reframing the character in pretty simple terms ("instead of submissive and scared, he's going to have a violent temper") made all of the pieces fall into place.
Also, I sometimes imagine my characters, at least very initially, as characters from TV shows that I like. You don't have to write fanfiction--and by changing details, circumstances, setting, and names, you won't be--but it makes it much, much easier. Eventually, if you're successful at breathing life into your characters, they'll grow away from this. Hell, they'll grow away from you. I often feel like there are a bunch of people in my head, going about their business.
Also also, try writing in first person instead of third. If you're speaking through the voice of someone who's there, it's much harder to be bored with what's going on.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:01 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also, I sometimes imagine my characters, at least very initially, as characters from TV shows that I like. You don't have to write fanfiction--and by changing details, circumstances, setting, and names, you won't be--but it makes it much, much easier. Eventually, if you're successful at breathing life into your characters, they'll grow away from this. Hell, they'll grow away from you. I often feel like there are a bunch of people in my head, going about their business.
Also also, try writing in first person instead of third. If you're speaking through the voice of someone who's there, it's much harder to be bored with what's going on.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:01 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I get to know my characters by writing the book. Usually, I throw away around 30k words with a new novel. Those are the words I spent figuring out the world and the characters- not interesting to anybody but me.
posted by headspace at 5:47 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by headspace at 5:47 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I want to offer a somewhat different point of view. Characters in novels aren't people; they're illusions generated in the reader's mind by a bunch of sentences. I think if you try to pretend they're actual people, they'll seem fake. Better: write the sentences you want to write. If a line of dialogue feels right, put it in. If a description or an action fits, write it. Write half your novel this way. Then read what you wrote and see what kind of character emerges from the sentences you've written. Then write the rest with these characters in mind. Then go back and rewrite the entire thing. That worked for me, anyway.
On preview, what headspace said.
posted by escabeche at 7:26 AM on December 17, 2009
On preview, what headspace said.
posted by escabeche at 7:26 AM on December 17, 2009
Um... the first (and best) piece of advice I can give on this subject is to buy Samuel Delaney's About Writing and read it cover to cover. Characterization, he aptly asserts, is neither an illusion nor trick of the writing – it is the net effect of the illusions and tricks employed by the writer over the course of a novel.
As a recreational novelist, frequent writing instructor, and experienced editor, I have found the following advice the most helpful in creating (and sustaining) characterization. Four pieces, only.
1) The experience of the narrative - the perceptions, descriptions, asides, waxings poetical and mundane - are best served by hewing close to the experience of the protagonist. A poor man walking through a lavishly described sultan's palace -- suffused with a haze of ambergris and myrrh -- is acceptable writing, but a sultan's palace described /by/ the poor man as he passes, limited to the possibility of his perceptions (who would not know the composition of the smoke but would notice and be intrigued by its sweet thick intricacy) will help to suture us to the character. Make us live as the character lives, give us his/her expertise and limitations. If you are writing about a gold dealer, then have them assess gold at a glance and do not belabor the experience with the facts and figures an average person (or reader) would need to assess the quality of the metal.
2) Tell the story in its god-given order. Digressions, flashbacks, intercut scenes, etc., are better tools of cinema than prose storytelling. Think of each forward-moving paragraph as a deposit into the Bank of Character, and each digression/flashback/intercut/device as a non-repayable withdrawal. A one sentence reminiscence in a section of three paragraph is not bad; but a one paragraph reminiscence in a three paragraph section will seriously cripple the credibility of the present-tense of your story. We (the reader) are invested in the story as you introduce it to us, not the what-happened-twenty-years-ago-to-motivate-the-story that you have imagined. It is fine and necessary to create that backstory in your prewriting, and reference it with great restraint. But it is not okay to make your story live in the backstory at the expense of the story in the present. Show us the effects of the backstory on those involved, not the narrative truth of what happened.
2A) Do not let your characters reveal surprises at convenient intervals. Do not conveniently trot out the fact that X was Y's father all along, and that they both knew it. Or that Z was A's former lover. Or that... whatever. It will kill any faith we have banked in the characters to be forthcoming. Reliable narrator or not, a casual revelation of a crucial (and story-changing) fact late in the narrative will make us resent the character/characters involved.
3) Do character research to enable points 1 and 2. While you should know, with certainty, the age, weight, clothing choices, RBI stats, whatever about your characters, you should also know that these does not constitute research or 'knowing' or character. They are stats, not character. You are not creating a Dungeons and Dragons avatar, you are not drawing a picture. You must research the INNER life of the character. Start with their parents, maybe, imagine their childhood. Imagine what makes them fearful in a deep way (e.g. not 'snakes' but 'crippling fear of failure prevents them from trying new things') and imagine their relationship with the other character OUTSIDE of the novel you are writing. If you are writing about the poor man visiting the Sultan, ask yourself how he feels about authority? Does he resent the rich? Admire the rich? Is he honest? How will he react to an insult by the Vizier? Is he obsequious? Disrespectful? Dismissive? What knowledge will he have of his trade? Say that he is the gold dealer mentioned above, generous to the point of his own ruin, clad in rags but bringing a recovered necklace to the Sultan: learn about the piece of property. It is not just A Necklace: to the poor gold dealer it represents a chance at ruin or success, it has seventeen links of white gold, forged in the style of X, .... you MUST know what he knows. It may be the finest piece of gold he has ever seen. Why? How does /he/ know? Or perhaps he knows it is ersatz. How? And would he be brave enough to tell the king? You must know all the facts.
4) Most important. The choices of the character drive the narrative, and not other way around. When our poor gold dealer decides, trembling, (against his wife's advice) to bring a necklace to the sultan, even though it will likely cost his life, we are witness to a great character moment. He has made a choice, and the story will succeed or fail based on his decision. But if the poor gold dealer is - say - captured by the Vizier's men and dragged to the palace where the Sultan awaits, we witness no choice at all. Character IS story. Moby Dick is not compelling because a whale terrorizes the innocent Pequod, it is compelling because Ahab hunts for the beast, even though he knows it may mean his ruin. Give the characters stakes and choices, and let every single scene in your novel be the result of choices, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Let the choices flow – and for godssakes let the characters get the choices wrong sometimes. There is more to be learned in a story with occasional failures than a story in which success follows success. A good character is a screwup as often as not, and the way they react to setbacks tells us much, much, more than the way that they react to successes.
In summary: let the character move the story, not visa versa, limit it largely to their perception, keep it in their present as much as possible, and know always exactly what your characters know (and don't), and you should have no problem writing believable and compelling personalities.
posted by mr. remy at 7:29 AM on December 17, 2009 [10 favorites]
As a recreational novelist, frequent writing instructor, and experienced editor, I have found the following advice the most helpful in creating (and sustaining) characterization. Four pieces, only.
1) The experience of the narrative - the perceptions, descriptions, asides, waxings poetical and mundane - are best served by hewing close to the experience of the protagonist. A poor man walking through a lavishly described sultan's palace -- suffused with a haze of ambergris and myrrh -- is acceptable writing, but a sultan's palace described /by/ the poor man as he passes, limited to the possibility of his perceptions (who would not know the composition of the smoke but would notice and be intrigued by its sweet thick intricacy) will help to suture us to the character. Make us live as the character lives, give us his/her expertise and limitations. If you are writing about a gold dealer, then have them assess gold at a glance and do not belabor the experience with the facts and figures an average person (or reader) would need to assess the quality of the metal.
2) Tell the story in its god-given order. Digressions, flashbacks, intercut scenes, etc., are better tools of cinema than prose storytelling. Think of each forward-moving paragraph as a deposit into the Bank of Character, and each digression/flashback/intercut/device as a non-repayable withdrawal. A one sentence reminiscence in a section of three paragraph is not bad; but a one paragraph reminiscence in a three paragraph section will seriously cripple the credibility of the present-tense of your story. We (the reader) are invested in the story as you introduce it to us, not the what-happened-twenty-years-ago-to-motivate-the-story that you have imagined. It is fine and necessary to create that backstory in your prewriting, and reference it with great restraint. But it is not okay to make your story live in the backstory at the expense of the story in the present. Show us the effects of the backstory on those involved, not the narrative truth of what happened.
2A) Do not let your characters reveal surprises at convenient intervals. Do not conveniently trot out the fact that X was Y's father all along, and that they both knew it. Or that Z was A's former lover. Or that... whatever. It will kill any faith we have banked in the characters to be forthcoming. Reliable narrator or not, a casual revelation of a crucial (and story-changing) fact late in the narrative will make us resent the character/characters involved.
3) Do character research to enable points 1 and 2. While you should know, with certainty, the age, weight, clothing choices, RBI stats, whatever about your characters, you should also know that these does not constitute research or 'knowing' or character. They are stats, not character. You are not creating a Dungeons and Dragons avatar, you are not drawing a picture. You must research the INNER life of the character. Start with their parents, maybe, imagine their childhood. Imagine what makes them fearful in a deep way (e.g. not 'snakes' but 'crippling fear of failure prevents them from trying new things') and imagine their relationship with the other character OUTSIDE of the novel you are writing. If you are writing about the poor man visiting the Sultan, ask yourself how he feels about authority? Does he resent the rich? Admire the rich? Is he honest? How will he react to an insult by the Vizier? Is he obsequious? Disrespectful? Dismissive? What knowledge will he have of his trade? Say that he is the gold dealer mentioned above, generous to the point of his own ruin, clad in rags but bringing a recovered necklace to the Sultan: learn about the piece of property. It is not just A Necklace: to the poor gold dealer it represents a chance at ruin or success, it has seventeen links of white gold, forged in the style of X, .... you MUST know what he knows. It may be the finest piece of gold he has ever seen. Why? How does /he/ know? Or perhaps he knows it is ersatz. How? And would he be brave enough to tell the king? You must know all the facts.
4) Most important. The choices of the character drive the narrative, and not other way around. When our poor gold dealer decides, trembling, (against his wife's advice) to bring a necklace to the sultan, even though it will likely cost his life, we are witness to a great character moment. He has made a choice, and the story will succeed or fail based on his decision. But if the poor gold dealer is - say - captured by the Vizier's men and dragged to the palace where the Sultan awaits, we witness no choice at all. Character IS story. Moby Dick is not compelling because a whale terrorizes the innocent Pequod, it is compelling because Ahab hunts for the beast, even though he knows it may mean his ruin. Give the characters stakes and choices, and let every single scene in your novel be the result of choices, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Let the choices flow – and for godssakes let the characters get the choices wrong sometimes. There is more to be learned in a story with occasional failures than a story in which success follows success. A good character is a screwup as often as not, and the way they react to setbacks tells us much, much, more than the way that they react to successes.
In summary: let the character move the story, not visa versa, limit it largely to their perception, keep it in their present as much as possible, and know always exactly what your characters know (and don't), and you should have no problem writing believable and compelling personalities.
posted by mr. remy at 7:29 AM on December 17, 2009 [10 favorites]
I don't agree with the "know your characters' backstory" posted above.
We as readers care about the story, not the backstory. If "what happened in the past" is crucial to the direction the novel takes, then it's part of the story, not the backstory. If it's truly backstory, then spare us, please.
I think what you need to know as a writer is "what does this person want, and how are they trying to get it." What's "interesting" about a person is what he does, not what he "is" or what happened to him in the past.
As for the texture of a character, the way she talks and the little tics that make her seem "real", I find you have to base that on your own observations about people from reality. Listen to real-life dialogue, observe how people act and behave and how they make decisions when put in certain situations. Mix these traits liberally to create characters that suit your purposes.
The snag: few people are truly good at observing these things. Few people are good writers.
posted by meadowlark lime at 8:28 AM on December 17, 2009
We as readers care about the story, not the backstory. If "what happened in the past" is crucial to the direction the novel takes, then it's part of the story, not the backstory. If it's truly backstory, then spare us, please.
I think what you need to know as a writer is "what does this person want, and how are they trying to get it." What's "interesting" about a person is what he does, not what he "is" or what happened to him in the past.
As for the texture of a character, the way she talks and the little tics that make her seem "real", I find you have to base that on your own observations about people from reality. Listen to real-life dialogue, observe how people act and behave and how they make decisions when put in certain situations. Mix these traits liberally to create characters that suit your purposes.
The snag: few people are truly good at observing these things. Few people are good writers.
posted by meadowlark lime at 8:28 AM on December 17, 2009
I'm writing short stories, not a novel (linked in MF Projects). But I'm with much of what's been said about about character driven stories.
My characters have been evolving, and a major one just came through a major personality revelation to me. But to care about your characters, understand their motivations.
What makes them tick, what scarred them as kids, what do they love. How do they approach problems, what can't they admit in public and have to work around when it comes up. What don't they understand about themselves? What are their prejudices? What personality trait, no matter how much hassle and problem it causes them, can they not change whatsoever? All the things that makes them "persons".
While I set up goals and important plot "waypoints" in the distance when I write, I tend to wind up my characters "motivation mainsprings", point them towards it, then follow along furiously after them taking notes on what they do and how they get to the waypoint. What does the path look like, how do they get there, what problems pop up. If something HAS to happen in the story, how does each character feel about it? How are they going to react?
The degree to which I can be following behind my characters and discovering the path to the important plot point is the degree to which I find myself caring about them.
The "spring-wound metaphor" for my characters works better for me than the "puppet on strings" metaphor. Because in the latter, I'm standing above them going "Now say this, now go here, now do this. And be interesting". Doesn't work as well.
Stop worrying about the story. Spend time getting to understand what makes your characters tick. Understanding them as persons (rather than as enablers of a sequence of cool story moments) will lead to caring about what happens to them and why. They will lead you to a better story.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:58 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
My characters have been evolving, and a major one just came through a major personality revelation to me. But to care about your characters, understand their motivations.
What makes them tick, what scarred them as kids, what do they love. How do they approach problems, what can't they admit in public and have to work around when it comes up. What don't they understand about themselves? What are their prejudices? What personality trait, no matter how much hassle and problem it causes them, can they not change whatsoever? All the things that makes them "persons".
While I set up goals and important plot "waypoints" in the distance when I write, I tend to wind up my characters "motivation mainsprings", point them towards it, then follow along furiously after them taking notes on what they do and how they get to the waypoint. What does the path look like, how do they get there, what problems pop up. If something HAS to happen in the story, how does each character feel about it? How are they going to react?
The degree to which I can be following behind my characters and discovering the path to the important plot point is the degree to which I find myself caring about them.
The "spring-wound metaphor" for my characters works better for me than the "puppet on strings" metaphor. Because in the latter, I'm standing above them going "Now say this, now go here, now do this. And be interesting". Doesn't work as well.
Stop worrying about the story. Spend time getting to understand what makes your characters tick. Understanding them as persons (rather than as enablers of a sequence of cool story moments) will lead to caring about what happens to them and why. They will lead you to a better story.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:58 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
My therapist, who has been working with me in part on my creative issues, suggested I give each of my characters an imaginary session in therapy. Why are they there? Do they need to be? Do they think they need to be? If you're writing up a report on them, and looking to make them be approachable but honest about their issues/lack of issues/percieved lack of issues, how would it run?
It's been a definite revelation for the first one - he got a LOT more defensive than I expected and it gave me a motivation for why he ends up where he does.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 9:22 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
It's been a definite revelation for the first one - he got a LOT more defensive than I expected and it gave me a motivation for why he ends up where he does.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 9:22 AM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I recently heard a cool writing exercise... Pick a character and ask yourself questions like these:
If he were a smell, what would he smell like?
If she were a fruit, what fruit would she be?
If he were an animal, what animal would he be?
If she were a color, what color would she be?
You can expand the pattern however you like.
In addition to the great tips you've already gotten about character backstories and motivations, you may find this is a good way to work out some of the gritty intangibles that make your characters unique and human. It also lends itself toward creating some great descriptive analogies to pepper throughout your story.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:09 AM on December 17, 2009
If he were a smell, what would he smell like?
If she were a fruit, what fruit would she be?
If he were an animal, what animal would he be?
If she were a color, what color would she be?
You can expand the pattern however you like.
In addition to the great tips you've already gotten about character backstories and motivations, you may find this is a good way to work out some of the gritty intangibles that make your characters unique and human. It also lends itself toward creating some great descriptive analogies to pepper throughout your story.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:09 AM on December 17, 2009
For what it's worth, listen to mr remy, especially points #3 and #4. Start with your protagonist, give her something to want, keep it from her. This becomes your novel's plot. Your other characters, even the guy selling gimcracks on the corner, should have motivations of their own, too, which you may or may not write about, but which will influence their interactions with your protag and your other characters and ... naturally ... the plot itself.
posted by notyou at 10:15 AM on December 17, 2009
posted by notyou at 10:15 AM on December 17, 2009
Response by poster: Thank you, thank you, thank you all for the input! Geez, I'm going to end up clicking so so so many of your comments as "Best Answer". There's so much great info here, and I really appreciate it!
posted by 2oh1 at 11:37 AM on December 17, 2009
posted by 2oh1 at 11:37 AM on December 17, 2009
In writing workshops, I've occasionally been given "get to know your character" exercises in which I was meant to describe my protagonist's preferred brand of toothpaste and fifth birthday party and prom dress, and I never found they did me a bit of good. While you should know more about your characters than is contained in the text you write, what matters is less the trivia of their pasts than their inner lives. In each scene of your novel, you need to understand what is at stake for each character and what their various motivations and conflicts are. If the answer is "nothing/none" it will be a very boring novel, or at least a very dry and intellectual one. In order for the audience to root for a character, he or she must be risking something, must have anxieties and hopes. Understand what's behind your characters' stupid mistakes and unlikely successes, what they're irrational about, what they're passionate about, and you should be able to write them.
It can also help to remember that your characters are not simply plot devices, but also people with complete lives who have to brush their teeth and pay their bills and so on. What's on their minds at any given time other than the Big Drama of the plot? Are they worried about a lost bracelet? Daydreaming about a new car/horse/spacecraft during a dull lecture? Hungry? Upset that their trousers are feeling tighter lately? These details, used appropriately, will make your Big Damn Heroes seem more like actual human beings.
Finally, I agree with previous posters that if you're feeling stuck, writing a scene or two in the first person can help you get a sense of your character's voice - it can be a letter to another character, a scene from his/her adolescence - I prefer to use something that's outside the scope of the novel so you don't have too many prejudices about what he/she says and does.
posted by unsub at 2:06 PM on December 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
It can also help to remember that your characters are not simply plot devices, but also people with complete lives who have to brush their teeth and pay their bills and so on. What's on their minds at any given time other than the Big Drama of the plot? Are they worried about a lost bracelet? Daydreaming about a new car/horse/spacecraft during a dull lecture? Hungry? Upset that their trousers are feeling tighter lately? These details, used appropriately, will make your Big Damn Heroes seem more like actual human beings.
Finally, I agree with previous posters that if you're feeling stuck, writing a scene or two in the first person can help you get a sense of your character's voice - it can be a letter to another character, a scene from his/her adolescence - I prefer to use something that's outside the scope of the novel so you don't have too many prejudices about what he/she says and does.
posted by unsub at 2:06 PM on December 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: PhoBWanKenobi's comment above reminded me of a technique I thought up but for some reason forgot about.
I used to bounce around in google images or flickr in search of faces that looked like the character I was writing about. I'd save the pics while working on the idea and figuring out who my characters were. It seemed easier to get to know them as real people if I had a face to attach to the character. I don't know why I got away from doing that, but I'll try it again, and I'll try combining that with many of the suggestions above.
posted by 2oh1 at 7:43 PM on December 17, 2009
I used to bounce around in google images or flickr in search of faces that looked like the character I was writing about. I'd save the pics while working on the idea and figuring out who my characters were. It seemed easier to get to know them as real people if I had a face to attach to the character. I don't know why I got away from doing that, but I'll try it again, and I'll try combining that with many of the suggestions above.
posted by 2oh1 at 7:43 PM on December 17, 2009
How did you get to know the characters in your novel?
Big question. Not unlike asking a magician to reveal his tricks. My favorite answer (so far) is one of the shortest, so I'll repeat it in its entirety:
I get to know my characters by writing the book. Usually, I throw away around 30k words with a new novel. Those are the words I spent figuring out the world and the characters- not interesting to anybody but me.
Thanks for that, headspace. My experience is that there's no short cuts when it comes to quality fiction. That is, for all the research, exercises, etc, nothing succeeds like just "doing it" (ie: writing) and then "improving it" (ie: rewriting).
The one thing I'd add to headspace's comment is that, as important as your characters are, the thing that allows you (implores you!) to " ... throw away around 30k words" is THE STORY. Does this mean I'm arguing for plot-driven fiction as opposed to character-driven fiction? No, because it's a false division, just like those nature versus nurture arguments. All good fiction is a synergy of character and plot, just as all humans are a synergy of their nature and their nurture.
And so on ... Writers talking about writing. Always a dangerous diversion.
posted by philip-random at 10:28 PM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Big question. Not unlike asking a magician to reveal his tricks. My favorite answer (so far) is one of the shortest, so I'll repeat it in its entirety:
I get to know my characters by writing the book. Usually, I throw away around 30k words with a new novel. Those are the words I spent figuring out the world and the characters- not interesting to anybody but me.
Thanks for that, headspace. My experience is that there's no short cuts when it comes to quality fiction. That is, for all the research, exercises, etc, nothing succeeds like just "doing it" (ie: writing) and then "improving it" (ie: rewriting).
The one thing I'd add to headspace's comment is that, as important as your characters are, the thing that allows you (implores you!) to " ... throw away around 30k words" is THE STORY. Does this mean I'm arguing for plot-driven fiction as opposed to character-driven fiction? No, because it's a false division, just like those nature versus nurture arguments. All good fiction is a synergy of character and plot, just as all humans are a synergy of their nature and their nurture.
And so on ... Writers talking about writing. Always a dangerous diversion.
posted by philip-random at 10:28 PM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I used to bounce around in google images or flickr in search of faces that looked like the character I was writing about. I'd save the pics while working on the idea and figuring out who my characters were. It seemed easier to get to know them as real people if I had a face to attach to the character. I don't know why I got away from doing that, but I'll try it again, and I'll try combining that with many of the suggestions above.Excellent technique! I've got ~500+ images in my screensaver, characters, items, places, the works.
Highly recommend trying it. The random sequencing of images will trigger surprising ideas and connections you hadn't thought about.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:34 AM on December 18, 2009
I dont know if this is helpful to you, but i have some characters im really fond of. When you find yourself in weird situations, try to figure out what your character would do in your place. When youve got a good idea of how they would be, day to day, as a person in real life, i find that helps make them feel more "real."
I tend to start with characters, and then any plot evolves from them. The problem with that being, you get in the situation of "ugh, but they wouldnt DO that..." even though it would be very convenient.
Disclaimer - i have never written an actual novel. Im more into drawing my characters. Sorry if this is irrelevant to you.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:12 AM on February 6, 2010
I tend to start with characters, and then any plot evolves from them. The problem with that being, you get in the situation of "ugh, but they wouldnt DO that..." even though it would be very convenient.
Disclaimer - i have never written an actual novel. Im more into drawing my characters. Sorry if this is irrelevant to you.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:12 AM on February 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
So take the primary heroine. Look at how old she is, what she does now, what she did before that, and tell a story about how she got there. Go into some detail describing her looks, her demeanor, and her interactions with those around her.
Maybe limit yourself to a few pages per character. Write some dialog to get a feel for how she speaks and what's important to her. And work from there.
You might be tempted to adjust the realities of these characters as you go, but it might be more fun and challenging not to—people become characters in and of themselves through the sum of their past experiences, their upbringings, their relationships, and their outlook on life. You shouldn't be crafting your character to the experience you have in mind for them in your novel. You characters should come as they are, and you should have to work around them, just like you would any group of people you meet.
Just my two cents. I've never tried this and never written anything, again, but I think that abstracting the characters from the story and building a compelling history to each of them will go a long way. Force yourself to write the novel for the constraints the characters present to you, instead of trying to mold them and care about them that way.
posted by disillusioned at 10:06 PM on December 16, 2009