If you had to switch lives with a fictional character for a week, who would you choose?
I’d switch lives with my own fictional character Nadira. She’s had it rough, but the adventures she gets to go on are amazing.
Switch Lives
Tag: character
Character Depth
When creating fictional characters, so many details needed in building them exist. So, how do you choose what traits to give them externally and internally? Let’s focus on the internal, for now. In the reading a work of fiction for pleasure, part of what pulls me in is the depth of character of the protagonist. Their emotional response to the people and events going on around them, their thoughts, and their actions taken all play a role in achieving this.
Emotions:
Do: Tears skated down her cheeks. Don’t: She cried.
The goal here is to allow the reader to feel right along with the character. You want to pull them in. The first example does this.
Do: Sam backflipped, shot his arms into the air, and danced. Don’t: Sam was excited.
Actions:
Do: Gwen sat on the park bench and waited. Her hands rested either side of her knees, tapping out a nervous rhythm. She checked her watch, continued tapping, checked her watch again, and continued tapping. Why was he late?
Don’t: Gwen sat on the bench tapping her fingers
In the first example we get a clear picture that Gwen is nervous about her meeting with a man. In the second example we don’t know why she is there. Her actions don’t indicate whether she is nervous, relaxed, or happy.
Thoughts:
Do: My heart ached, watching him go. Would he be back? Would he find another? Would he get killed? I knew these long missions away from home was part of his job. One would think I’d be used to this by now. Maybe some do. But a nagging pit in the well of my stomach sat lying in wait each time he went on assignment.
Don’t: I didn’t like him leaving on assignment.
Clearly the first example paints a deeper picture of what she’s going through. Her situation carries quite a bit of emotional baggage and fear. It is conveyed to the reader. The second example tells us nothing.
Think of creating character depth this way:
How can I cast a line into the character and pull out a wealth of emotions, thoughts, and actions that will pull the reader in, make them care, and turn pages?
Fictional Character Dinner
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
I would have dinner with Jeff Carson’s fictional character, Detective David Wolf. He’s innovative and analytical, which serves him well when solving cases. He’s also a very likeable character, and he cares about people.
Character Moments
Creating book characters can be a lot of fun, but there is a process. How you wield that process is really up to you as the author. Many authors create a character bible consisting of everything from physical attributes to personality analysis. Some do this before writing that first chapter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always a good idea to know who your character is before you place them in your story. But you will not know everything about them when you start writing that first chapter.
There will be moments while you’re writing your story when ideas about your character will begin to germinate in your mind, thereby giving him/her more depth. That’s great! Go with that! Those are unplanned parts of the character’s personality. Now, that type of situation typically works out great. But there are times when that happens, and it can throw a monkey wrench into the situation. For example, years ago when I was in the middle of writing my first novel, I had one of my male characters do something out of character. And I’m talking WAY out of character. I sat there, stared at the screen, and said, “What do I do now? I like what I had him do?”
The easy way to fix this situation would have been to change his action and move on. The complex way to fix it was to go back to the beginning and change his whole character, moving forward to that point. So that is what I did. In the end I was happier with him, and the story was better off as a result.
Can you plan everything about your characters from the start? You can try, but be ready when that runaway moment comes that makes your story that much better.
Believable Characters
Traces
When you’ve depicted a character so well within a story that traces of them are left behind in the reader’s heart, mind, and soul.
Flashbacks
Have you ever read a story that had a flashback, and it left you wondering why the flashback was used? Simply put, if your flashback doesn’t drive your plot forward in any way; or if it doesn’t build your characters, don’t use it. Flashbacks should be used sparingly. They must serve a purpose or you risk the reader getting bored. What happens when readers get bored? They put the story/book down.
Story Strengthening
If you are a writer, whether you write fiction or nonfiction, learn about what adds strength to your writing. There is a difference between what strengthens your writing, the do’s and don’ts (which are finite), and what works for you (writing methods that work for you and are comfortable for you). Strengthening your writing means drawing your reader into your story, essay, research, etc., and keeping them there. You don’t want your readers to be half with you. I’ll pick on fictional writing here. See the list below.
DO’s/DON’TS:
- Create strong characters your readers can relate to (see numbers 11 and 12 below for more details).
- Be direct. By this I mean use action verbs not adverbs (see my posts from April 12, 2023 Adverbs and Your Writing, and from April 19, 2023 The Opposite Side of Adverb Usage for more information on this subject).
- Use the three act structure for fictional stories. Story Structure–Demystified by Larry Brooks will help you learn where to put in your story what you write. Trust me…you want to read this book.
- Be relevant. This means to make sure that what you put into your scenes has something to do with your story. There is nothing more boring than reading a book and being bored because what you’re reading has nothing to do with the story. Readers can figure out real quick when there’s information in a scene that doesn’t need to be there.
- Edit, edit, edit. Edit your book/story first, then give it to an editor to do the rest. Trust me, too many mistakes will cause the reader to put the book/story down, not finish it, and/or give you a bad review.
- Ensure your story has conflict. Conflict ensures the turning of pages.
- Setting. The one thing you don’t want your readers to do is ask, “Where are they”, or “What do the surroundings look like”. Be sure to include where the story is taking place and describe it. You want your readers to ‘see’ where the story is taking place.
- Don’t be predictable. Add some twists and turns, you know…unexpected story surprises. Have fun with this.
- Learn how to write dialogue. Yes, this can be messed up if not done correctly.
- Use of clichés. Don’t use them.
- Unrealistic characters. Creating credible characters who’s motives, actions, and backstories is important if you want your readers to relate to them.
- Unlikable characters. Your protagonists must be likable, and if they aren’t completely likeable, then they should be relatable. Create some kind of commonality through emotions or use of humanity. Here again, it’s about connecting your characters to your readers, so your readers will care about what happens to them (characters),whether it is the protagonist or villain.
Of course there are more, but this is a good ‘meat and potatoes’ list. Learn as you go.
Identifying with Characters
When I’m reading a book, I like to be able to identify with the main character(s), empathize, get to know them, and miss them when the book is finished. This means the author must create them in such a way that they become ‘real’ to the reader. I know, that might sound silly to some, but it isn’t.
To start, the main character(s) is introduced at the beginning of the book (typically in chapter one). Then, throughout the book this same character will or should convey their feelings. Now this should be done in such a way that not only tells the reader how they’re feeling without literally telling them but also show how they’re feeling. This humanizes them and makes them real to us (the reader). (See linked article at the end of this post)
Throwing situations at your main character that draws out these emotions is the key. BUT make sure the emotion(s) fit the situation. You don’t want your male who is madly in love with his girl friend to lack in devastation if she breaks it off with him. This will cause us readers to roll our eyes. You don’t want that.
You want to hook your readers not repel them. Do everything you can to draw them in to your story world with your characters by their side. Make them your readers’ best friend.
For more on character emotions, please refer to my blog post Emotions from April 28, 2021.
What Works
If you’ve chosen to be a writer, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, you will see quite a few books and articles regarding the do’s and don’ts if you want to be successful. I’m here to tell you there is no hard and fast rule you must follow to be a definite success. What I will tell you is to read what others have tried in the past and try it. If it works for you, continue using it. If not, either tweak it to your liking or stop using it. We are all different writers with different writing styles. What works for one writer will not work for another.
Example: Characterization
Some writers like to make a detailed personality sketch of their characters. This is a great idea because you can use it to refer back to, while writing your story. Does every author/writer have to do this in order to create great characters that come alive and stand out? Certainly not. You might be the writer/author who would prefer to make a video about your character. How you do this is up to you, of course. Or, you might make it up as you go along. Hey, whatever works for you and creates memorable characters.
Don’t stress yourself out by trying to write how others write and whether or not you’re getting it just right. Use their strategies, but use them in YOUR OWN way.
