Lesson 2: Elements of Fiction
Characters - Who Are They?
This section covers characters. Characters need to be realistic. Readers want to identify with one or more of the characters.
Think about these questions: Who is the protagonist? Is the protagonist and male or female? What is this person like? What about the villain? Is the villain a male or female? What is the villain like? Why did he commit the crime? What about the suspects? Who are they? What are their motives? Did any of them have solid alibis during the crime?
Suggested Reading Assignment
(1) Suspects and Their Motives by Janet Blaylock
Making Your Characters Real
It is important that the characters (protagonist, suspects, victim, and the villain) in the stories or books you are reading are realistic. You want to identify with the characters in the stories you are reading. When you read a story about someone experiencing a difficult trial such as a relationship between a man and his wife, then you might be able to relate to that couple if you are married. The main focus of stories is the characters and the obstacles they have to overcome. Therefore the characters need to be well-developed and need to have realistic obstacles they can overcome. Everyone experiences some kind of turmoil in their lives, so it helps when you read a book about a character who is experiencing similar trials.
Example of Character Description
The following passage is an example of how I made my characters realistic.
"Christy and I want to ride our bicycles."
"After you eat breakfast," her mother ordered. She stood up to clear the table.
"Can I be excused?" Christy asked.
"Yes."
"Megan, I'm, going downstairs to start the laundry. When I return, you'd better be finished."
Hoping that her mother wouldn't hear her, Megan dumped her food in the sink and turned on the garbage disposal. Megan ran outside to escape before her mother caught her. When Megan heard the back door open and her mother calling her, she walked back inside. "What do you want, Mom?"
"You can't fool me. I heard the garbage disposal running. Now, you'll stay in your room."
"I want to go outside."
"Sorry, go to your room."
Stomping upstairs to her room, Megan plopped onto her bed and cried.
These passages reveal that Megan likes to be sneaky. She thought she could get away with fooling her mother, but she couldn't. She was also angry and hurt. Her actions showed this in the last sentence.
The door opened and another man, who was a bit taller and thinner entered the room. "Who's this?"
"She won't tell me."
Christy tried to escape out the window. "Jim, go outside and catch her."
"She won't get away. Remember the thorn bush below the window?"
When Christy screamed, Megan realized she landed in the thorns. As she stood up, Jim and Frank grabbed her and pulled her back inside and removed the thorns. "What'a we gonna do with her?"
"Let's tie her up. We could ask for a ransom."
This passage indicated the interaction between Christy and the two kidnappers. Christy wouldn't respond to any of their questions. She wasn't about to give them her name. She was also brave enough to try to escape even though she was caught. Readers could sympathize with Christy now because she had been caught and tied up. The scene changed at this point. It moved to Megan and her thoughts as she lay under the bed and watched what happened to Christy.
Suspense also increased in this passage because readers don't know what was going to happen to Christy or if the kidnappers would find Megan.
Suspects and Their Motives
When a crime has been committed, the detective, private investigator, or sleuth will enter the scene and start their investigation. They will first find out what happened, who the victim was, and the possible suspects who were in the area at the time of the crime. They will make a list of the suspects and their possible motives or alibis. I suggest reading my article titles "Suspects and Their Motives" for additional information on this topic.
