Creative Writing 101

Lesson 5: Character Building.

Character Tips and Pitfalls.

There are quite a few pitfalls and problems waiting when you draw characters for a novel. How to make the hero sensitive without seeming weak? How to make a "good" character interesting? How to let your characters be taken in by the villain without making them seem stupid?

EXAMPLES AND HINTS.

Good (i.e. virtuous) characters can be made interesting by giving them small imperfections or quirks. Try to avoid the twin pitfalls of making them too aware of their virtue (smugness) or believing themselves to be sinners (stupidity).

Beware of "opposite" stereotypes. For example, doctors, priests and teachers need not be either saintly or wicked.

Bad characters should have some implied reason for their wicked ways. Avoid making them bad for no particular reason (try showing genetic or social influence, or some lack in their moral makeup). Also avoid too-easy explanations. A bullying child may have been bullied himself, but not all bullied children become bullies. A thief's daughter may become a thief herself, but not all children of criminals follow the family tradition. For every adult child who thanks a supportive family and credits a stable childhood with bringing current success, there is one who is angrily blaming a similar background for current disaster.

How do you avoid making all viewpoint characters carbon copies of yourself?

This is a common problem for inexperienced writers, but is quite easy to overcome. You simply need to learn how to change (temporarily) your worldview.

Next time you create a viewpoint character stop and ask yourself why s/he believes or thinks something is so. Don't ask yourself why you believe it, but why your character does. Another trick is to look at people in real life whose beliefs and opinions don't match your own. Accept that "different" is not a synonym for "wrong" or "bad". Try to work out why they believe what they believe.

With the exception of the criminally insane, most people have a "logical" reason for their beliefs or opinions. Perhaps their opinions are based on experience. Or perhaps on prejudice. Maybe they are following family or cultural tradition, or childhood association.

Just as an example, perhaps you like cats. You like their independence and their beauty. You like their intelligence and their soft fur. You find them amusing. Probably you don't like their predatory habits or the way they clean their claws on your upholstery, but on balance, you like cats.

Now perhaps Susan, whom you know and like, dislikes cats. She dislikes their independence, feeling this denotes cold disdain. She finds their intelligent gaze spooky. She hates their destructive habits. Why does she feel this way? Perhaps she was bitten by a cat in childhood, or inherited a distaste from her parents.

Can you see how her opinion differs from yours? Can you understand that you both see the same feline attributes but interpret them differently?

Now, consider why some people like children (in general) while other people do not. Children are- unexpected, noisy, enthusiastic, self-willed, curious, inventive, creative, self-centred. They can also be destructive, rowdy, tactless and dirty.

Why do some people cheat the system while others don't?

The honest usually take pride in honesty. They see themselves as strong enough to withstand the temptation to cheat, and intelligent enough to see that cheating the system (like shoplifting) will make things more difficult/expensive.

The dishonest take pride in beating the system. They see themselves as clever enough to find ways to cheat the system. They see conforming as weakness, and believe that cheating is justified. "Everyone else does it", they reason. Or - "The system assumes we will cheat and has extras built in."

Thus cheats and honest people each see justification and "virtue" in their attitudes and actions.

Once you have the trick of seeing how and why people hold opinions, you can transfer it to character creation. You need not believe in what your character is doing, but you must be able to justify it in terms the character would use. I was never interested in being one of the "in crowd" in my teens. Instead, I prided myself on being an individual. However, I can see why Rosanna Hopestill wanted what Sari Roberts offered in 'Translations in Celadon'. Acceptance mattered to her, just as other things mattered to me.

STATED ATTRIBUTES.

How can you give a character talents and enthusiasms you don't share?

One way is to take a talent or attribute you have in vestigial form and expand it for your character. Thus I might take my Irish gift of the gab and expand it into acting talent. I might take my genetic tendency to float in water and extend it to a talent for long-distance swimming.

Another way is by substitution and observation. Observe people who do have the attribute, and then substitute it for something you know from experience. For example, maybe your character loves watching soccer, while you don't know a goal from a soccer boot. However, you love listening to music, or horse riding. Transfer the glow of well being or the rush of adrenalin from one to the other.

It's a little more difficult if you are writing about someone who is prodigiously talented, or who has a genius IQ, especially if you are ordinary. It is never enough to state that "Camena was a genius" or that "Jilly was a mathematician"; you need to show these attributes in action. Once again, you must take something you do have and expand it. Remember that talent and high IQ seem normal to the people who have them. For them they are normal. And remember that talent and intelligence are not the same as commonsense. Try to show your characters acting as such talented people might. A genius might solve quadratic equations or cryptic crosswords for fun. A person with great talent for drawing might use it quite casually instead of words.

SEX CHANGE.

How do you write a viewpoint character of a different sex (or sexual orientation)?

Here's where observation comes in. If you watch people closely, you will see how males and females react in different situations. You could also read some pop psychology explaining the different ways of looking at things. And look at your parents or other relatives. See what attributes an opposite sex relative shares or doesn't share with you. As for orientation; if you are straight, you can write a gay character by doing that switch of viewpoint. Most women can appreciate attractiveness in other women from an aesthetic point of view.

AGE CHANGE.

When writing about children, you need to remember the way children see the world. Use their viewpoint, not your own. And project yourself into a later stage of your life to write about older people. In your 30s you will be less flexible than you were as a child. In your teens you will find it difficult to touch your ear with your toes; something you managed easily as a five-year-old. In your 40s you may find yourself able to take a longer view than you could as a teenager. Use all these memories to plot the course for your older characters.

FRIENDSHIPS.

Just as romantic couples need to display attributes that will keep them together, so friendships need to be logical. Kindred spirit friendships certainly exist. So do odd couples. Some odd couple friendships are actually complementary, as each partner offers something the other lacks. Thus a natural protector may be drawn to a protectee, an athlete may befriend an artist, a maths/music genius may enjoy the company of a practical hands-on person.

Close friendships might founder when one partner makes a romantic attachment of whom the other disapproves. Or when both are attracted to the same person. Or when one feels left out. Or when one succeeds in something both wanted. Or when one matures before the other, or tapers off while the other is still extending.

Friends need not be the same age, sex, race, class or species.

BABIES AND CHILDREN.

If you give a baby or young child to a character, you need to remember the child's existence thereafter. Your character, as parent, must make provision for the child's meals, transport, upbringing, and schooling. Also, make sure you have a good idea of what children can and can't do. A three-year-old does not speak like a teenager, and a 14-year-old will not wash her hair once a week. The average mother will find it difficult to carry the average 10-year-old and practically impossible to carry a teenager. The average nine-year-old boy comes just above his mother's shoulder, while the average 12-year-old boy is probably as tall as his mother.

CHARACTERS BEHAVING BADLY.

Sometimes you will hear an author say "my characters ran away with me" or "took over". This sounds trite and a bit precious, but it really can happen.

Why? Characters sometimes develop in a way we did not expect or intend. Remember the section on Roadmap Plotting? I mentioned that plans sometimes needed to be changed and cited the example of Jake, who turned out to be a character who did not tell the truth.

Characters that get right out of control can ruin a book for its intended purpose. For example, a genre romance heroine who just doesn't like her hero can be a real pain in the computer. If something like this happens, you have three choices.

(1) Change the book's genre.

(2) Change the heroine.

(3) Change the hero.

CHARACTER DRIVEN PLOTS.

Some plots are completely character driven. This means that character dynamics rather than incidents drive the plot. Put two opposing characters in place then stand back. What you get is fireworks, and a character driven plot.

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