Creative Writing 101

Lesson 5: Character Building.

Character Specifics.

COMPARING PRESENTATION OF PLOT AND CHARACTER.

The plot of a story is what happens, but it is never all of what happens. In real life a person with a slight sniffle might blow her nose fifteen times in a day. A normal man might go to the loo (lav, toilet, bathroom) three times in a day. It is also normal to hitch at a bra strap, scratch an eyebrow, blink and open a window. Some households receive half a dozen phone calls a day, only one of which is of much consequence.

We assume that all this goes on in the course of a day, but we do not include it in our books. That's because it is everyday, ordinary activity, and most people don't want to read about it.

What happened next?

She scratched her ear.

Then?

She unhooked her earring from her collar.

Then?

She flicked a cat hair off her skirt.

Then?

She read Page 13.

Then?

She read Page 14.

Then?

A black gloved hand appeared at the window.

That might well happen in real life, but in a novel all this activity would be elided to read;

"Petra had been reading for a while when a black gloved hand appeared at the window."

The only exception to this might be if the cat hair, earring etc were included to give a sense of time. And this would probably happen just once or twice in an entire book.

Just as we tell only the important things that happen in a plot, so only the important things about characters are portrayed. Some writers, in a quest to make their characters memorable, pile on detail after detail. The reader learns that Jenny likes peanut butter and carnations but doesn't care for roses, that she is wearing green tights and has a cat called "Spain". She has floppy fair hair with a few strands of grey and she wore a hat to Sunday School when she was five.

All this might be relevant if Jenny is the protagonist, but if she's just the next-door neighbour with a few scenes in the book, it's too much. Such details should be used only if they impinge on the plot or on Jenny's actions. Thus if Jenny is given roses and gets angry, which leads her to snub the heroine which in turn sends the heroine off on a plot strand, then Jenny's distaste for roses is relevant. Otherwise, it isn't. What's more, adding so much detail might persuade the readers that Jenny is more important to the plot than she is. It could also make Jenny overshadow the major characters.

CHARACTER THREADS.

When creating characters, you need to draw together several threads.

IMPORTANCE TO THE STORY.

As mentioned above, the protagonist(s) and major secondary people should be the most detailed characters. This doesn't mean that characters with small roles should be one dimensional, rather it means that the reader should "know" major characters better by the end of the book, even if they don't learn much about the characters with walk-on roles.

Consider it this way; in real life we tend to know our family and close friends better than the person we see sometimes in the supermarket.

FAMILY BACKGROUND AND PERIOD.

Most people are a product of both their family background (genetic and social) and of their period.

When creating a major character, you need to bear this in mind. It's a complex subject, especially since some people respond to their background by conforming, while others rebel. Thus a son from a close-knit family might become loving and confident, gathering people around him, or he might respond by feeling smothered and becoming a loner.

A girl whose mother was interested in breeding, showing and riding horses, and who never wore anything but riding clothes might become a horse-person herself. Alternatively, she might become feminine and clothes conscious instead.

A change in family circumstance may affect a character's development. Consider the two young men in 'Translations in Celadon'. Rafe Winter and Asher Phillips are first cousins and foster brothers. Asher comes from a stable, comfortable background, and he responds by presenting as a confident leader. Rafe's world was shattered when his parents died in a fire when he was five. Taken in by Asher's family, he has responded by becoming reserved and secretive. Asher likes and loves easily, while Rafe, having experienced loss, is subconsciously afraid of forming relationships.

Rue Trevallyn, in 'In Search of a Husband', is also from a fractured family. However, her mother died later, and in less traumatic circumstances, than Rafe's. Her father lived on, providing her with continuity and support, and Rue finds relationships easy.

In both cases, the "lucky" characters have hidden flaws. Rue opts first for a comfortable engagement to an older man while Asher has no defence against evil. Their smooth passages through life have given them no experience with harsh emotion. Rue is knocked sideways emotionally and morally when she falls in love with Marcus while still engaged to the missing John, and Asher's lack of defences leads indirectly to his death.

When creating character it is useful to consider difficulties and flaws that can be turned into advantage. The adage that what will make one man will break another is true, but so is the one that suggests steel needs tempering.

Genetic background may play a part in forming character. Sari Roberts, the amoral villainess in 'Translations in Celadon', lives with her mother and stepfather. Her great grandmother, whom Sari hero-worships, was selfish and manipulative. It is obvious that Sari follows suit both from inherited tendency and from deliberate imitation.

The "Nature vs Nurture" debate still thrives, so when creating character you may choose to uphold either side. If you create a likeable protagonist whose family is a nightmare, you must either assume a likeable ancestor somewhere in the mix or else some other softening influence. Genetic sports exist, as offspring exhibiting characteristics that seem to have sprung up spontaneously, but you might play that card just once or twice in your writing career.

While on the subject of inherited characteristics, remember that some talents skip a generation, and also that an artistic talent (say) might manifest differently in two related people. Talents may be present in different degree. Two musical parents may spawn one child who sings better than either parent, and another who has tune and tone but no timing. How will this affect the less gifted child?

Creating a family? Try to make it believable that these people are related! This need not lead to carbon-copy characters, nor to too much harmony.

Some people dislike traits that are unlike their own. For example, a tidy parent might snap at an untidy child.

Others may dislike their own traits in others. A dominant father may resent dominance in his son or daughter. Two abrasive siblings might fight constantly.

Just as characters should be created as believable members of their family, so they should fit in with their social background and period. Some writers make the mistake of providing characters from the past with 21st Century attitudes, or else fail to provide them with an attitude that was endemic in their period.

We need not reflect exact reality, but if giving a character a historically or socially unlikely trait, we must make provision for it in the text.

For example; in 'Anna's Own', a historical saga set in the mid 19th Century, I needed to make it likely that Anna Bailey, a barmaid's daughter "in service" from an early age, could read and write. For this purpose I provided Anna with a (deceased) schoolmaster father.

In the same fashion, it had to be possible for Marcus to be a "gaolbird" in 'In Search of a Husband' without putting him out of court as a romance hero. Thus Marcus has been in prison all right - as a political journalist he was imprisoned for a time in a foreign country.

21ST CENTURY SENSIBILITIES.

Modern sensibilities need to be taken into account. Editors (and readers) will not warm to a chauvinistic hero, even if he's historically accurate. "Positive Discrimination" is still in use, but so is the opposite effect. For example, most modern books set in the 1960s make it appear that radical attitudes were rife in every community.

OCCUPATION.

Another thread that needs to be correctly drawn is occupation. Your characters must have talents and habits in tune with their stated occupations. This does not mean you should rely on stereotypes. It means you should make it likely that your characters would have been capable of succeeding (or not succeeding) in their chosen fields.

In 'In Search of a Husband', Rue is a fantasy photographer. What attributes has she that fit her for this?

She is both attractive and confident. This would be useful in making clients feel at ease.

Her father is an entrepreneur. Thus she might have inherited business flair.

She notices colour and texture, and shows an appreciation of clothes. This hints at an artistic streak.

She comes from a wealthy background. This makes it likely she would risk working in an unusual and possibly chancy field.

A successful journalist should be curious, fluent and self-confident.

A farmer should be practical and interested in outdoor pursuits.

A politician should be fairly thick skinned, committed and confident.

Note that these are all genuine traits that would predispose characters towards their professions. You should learn to differentiate between these traits and others that have become mere stereotypes. For example, cooks need not be overweight, but they should be interested in food, colour and texture. Librarians need not be prim or bespectacled, but they should be interested in books.

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