Lesson 3: Casting Your Book.
More about the Cast of Your Book
Child and Teenage Characters
If you are writing about ordinary, or fairly ordinary, human children or teenagers, you still need to know the attributes and capabilities of children at different stages. Chronological age is only part of it; we have all known “teenaged” ten-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds whose attitudes are quite childlike.
The natural naivety of children fades earlier these days. Just as an example; in my childhood, girls of fifteen were still wearing lipstick only for special occasions, and with parental consent, whereas now you see this happening up to three years earlier. Children are less innocent, and more likely to know about the subjects that worry adults. They can’t avoid it, if the News is showing while they’re eating dinner.
Find out what ten year-olds or fifteen-year-olds are doing now, and never rely on recreating what they did when you were young. On the other hand, it pays to remember that a lot of kids are dependent for longer periods these days. They’re still at school at an age when their grandparents were wage earners, and many of the “traditional” ways for children to earn extra money have disappeared. Therefore, we have the oddity of earlier maturity and extended childhood all in one package.
Parents and other Adults
Parents and other adults are treated more realistically in books now than they were thirty years ago. The best writers for children show adults as characters rather than caricatures, and allow them to have feelings and personality. Scenes from parental or teacher viewpoint shouldn’t be allowed to be too pervasive in JCB, but in SCB and YA the adults can be fully rounded.
In “The Orange Outlaw” Dink’s Uncle Warren plays quite a large role. He is seen to be upset when the painting is stolen, and he helps the kids in their investigation. He provides the microscope for comparing clues, and later helps organise the trap for the thief. In some ways, Uncle Warren is the driving force of the plot. He is the reason the children are at the block in the first place; he is the one who is storing the painting. He discovers the theft, provides the children with information, and liaises with the police. The three children put the clues together, but Uncle Warren is there for support. He is not a protagonist, but he is a major and essential character in this book.
Jed’s dad in “Alien Dawn” is not supportive. He depends heavily on Jed to a degree that isn’t healthy for either of them. He is not powerful, despite his formidable intelligence, but his problems and actions form a strong strand of the plot. He is definitely a character, and not a cipher or generic “bad parent”. Again, he is not a protagonist, but his role is important because of the effect it has on Jed.
In “Trinity Street”, adults play varied roles. Tell’s mother Maureen is a “good” mother, while her father, David, is cold and distant, and never appears. Camena’s adopted sister is too immature to deal with her strange charge, and the immaturity isn’t all a matter of age. Mr Blenning arranges the disastrous trip to the marina, but he is functioning as a teacher rather than an active character. The four most active adults in the story are all from the 27th Century. Sib and Moss are highly intelligent but their amorality makes them act like selfish children. It is their activities that have brought Gerhardt, Tell and Camena to this stage. Jens plays a smaller part, but his influence on the young Gerhardt casts a long shadow. Pris is a fanatic: a terrifying true believer.
Generally, adults play more complex roles in books for older children and teenagers. Sometimes an eccentric adult (usually not a parent) will function as a friend/companion. This technique is useful if you need a way for your younger character(s) to travel. Children’s options for getting about are limited in much contemporary fiction. They can’t drive, long bike rides are too dangerous, and few would have the money for long-distance train or bus tickets.
Creating Rounded Younger Characters
The age of the characters you create will always play a part in their personalities. It seems perfectly logical that Ruth Rose will go about with Josh and Dink in “The Orange Outlaw”, because they are around eight years old. Josh is always eating, and not as keen to help as the other two, while Ruth Rose is quick thinking and cheerful. Dink is quieter. “The Orange Outlaw” is part of a series about the same characters, and according to the character biography on the author’s website, Dink is an enthusiastic reader. This attribute isn’t evident in this particular title.
From observation of real life, it seems less likely that preteen boys and girls like Karen and Jed would hang about together as they do in “Alien Dawn”, but the author shows that both are used to unusual social groupings. They are about the same age, but Jed seems older. He has no siblings, while Karen has three older half-sibs, all flamboyant and precocious, and one younger brother. Jed’s method of dealing with problems is to try to push them out of mind, which makes Karen, who is more direct, annoyed. In some ways their ages and sexes are not very relevant; these two are people whom it would be easy to imagine as toddlers or adults.
Tell and Camena (“Trinity Street”) are both fifteen, and neither is an average teenager. Camena is highly intelligent and socially retarded, and tends to withdraw from normal social life. She depends on Tell to interpret the world for her. Tell is also intelligent and talented, but has been used to comparing herself with brilliant Camena, so she undervalues herself. She is used to defending her friend, and, since seeing her parents’ break up, tends to cynicism.
Gerhardt Watchman is even less average, but he is a very good actor. He is an eighteen-year-old genetic construct from the 27th Century pretending to be the same age and of the same background as the girls. He is a young adult rather than a teenager. The relationship between the three is quite complex. Camena depends on Tell, while Tell defines herself by looking out for Camena. Tell is jealous and suspicious when Gerhardt attaches himself to Camena, and afraid when she finds herself attracted to him.
You should always try to make your major characters rounded, with understandable motives, likes and dislikes. With the minor characters you don’t have the room (or word count) to show their personalities, but you can still colour them by a specific item of clothing, catchphrase or feature.
