| Writers Workshop Series: Developing Characters |
| Written by Carolyn Oravitz | ||||||
 “He was a dark and stormy Knight,” writes Snoopy, after Lucy tells him he should start his stories with a character rather than his usual setting of “a dark and stormy night.”As writers, we already know how important setting and character are to a story. In our last Writers Workshop Series, we learned some tips on writing setting. In this issue, we take a look at the enjoyable and creative experience of developing characters. When I was a young girl, I often played with dolls and thought up elaborate stories for them to act out—the early writer in me I guess. Some of my dolls were made of paper—flat, cardboard figures with attachable clothes. When I turned these dolls sideways, they became indistinguishable lines. From the back, they were featureless, colorless silhouettes. I also played with three-dimensional dolls which, when looked at from the side or back, were still recognizable figures. If we want to keep our books or stories out of a publisher’s slush pile, along with a “Don’t call me, I’ll call you” rejection letter, our characters must be three-dimensional, not flat. So how do we create these three-dimensional characters? Here are a few tips. First of all, we must know our characters as we would a close friend or relative or even as we know ourselves. We can, in a sense, interview our imaginary characters and get to know them. Part of my writing work involves interviewing people and then writing about them. I find that people generally love talking about themselves. From an interview, I might learn what they feel passionate about, what their goals are, what they love, what they hate, and what drives them in life. When writing about fictional characters, we need to tap into all of that in their fictional lives. For a character to be three-dimensional, he must first and foremost be believable. He must become a real, living person with goals and motivations and internal and external conflicts. He must be a physical, emotional, and spiritual being with failures and triumphs. He must have personality traits that the reader can understand or relate to. He can be loving, hateful, fearful, grief-stricken, or shameful. People read fiction to be entertained by exciting characters who capture their interest. The protagonist, or main character, must be interesting, likeable, and deep. This “good guy” does not have to be perfect but should be someone who the reader can care about and identify with. The protagonist must connect with the reader, who will then root for him to overcome the obstacles he faces throughout the story. The antagonist, or “bad guy, ” must be equally believable and interesting to the reader. Just as the protagonist is not perfect, the antagonist does not have to be totally evil. If you choose to write a character sketch, include the following information: • family background • education level • social status • economic status • personality traits • distinguishing features • body type • height • weight • age • hair and eye color Don’t get caught describing your character as a brunette on page 5 and later write about his blond hair on page 54, as writers sometimes do when they get caught up in their stories. Also determine their admirable traits, negative traits, fears, interests, occupation, and idiosyncrasies. When you start writing a story with these characters, be sure to follow the advice of “show, don’t tell.” Don’t tell the reader that the character is angry. Show him pacing the room like a caged lion. Don’t tell the reader that the character is arrogant. Show that she enters the room expecting everyone to take notice of her. Show through dialogue and action rather than through narration. And finally, be an observer of people. Let your imagination run free and create unique people who step out of your book and into the mind of the reader. Now that we have worked on setting and character, we are ready to tackle plot—in which we can place our setting and characters. Watch for the next Writers Workshop Series on Writing Plot.Carolyn Oravitz teaches a writing class for theContinuing Education Department of Luzerne County Community College. Bookmark with:
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