Developing Believable Characters

When I was young my older brother used most of his spending money for books. Because those books were in our home, I wanted my mother to read them to me. She agreed, but on the condition that after she read a few pages, I would read a page. This no doubt accounts for my early reading and comprehension abilities. I think it also was the beginning of my love affair with strong characters.

One of those early books was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Tom was all of the things I admired: free-spirited, mischievous, clever, manipulative (in an endearing sort of way) but also respectful, courageous, and heroic. What more could I ask of a protagonist?

Twain not only created strong protagonists, but he also developed convincing antagonists with solid character traits. His antagonists always acted in ways that challenged the abilities of his protagonists.

Following are just a few of the ways authors can develop strong story characters:

Be a people watcher who focuses on things that might be missed during casual observations. Every person has a unique way of positioning in a space, interacting with others, and using the senses. Understanding the established behaviors of others is helpful to writers when they are developing characters.

Be sure characteristics are consistent. While physical appearance will change over time, character traits will not. If a protagonist is known to be kind, loving, and honest, it will not ring true for readers if that character attempts to acquire something in a dishonest way. Altering character traits mid-story causes discomfort for readers.

Be careful not make the protagonist perfect. Everyone has faults. If the protagonist is described as flawless, he or she will not seem authentic. Even fictional characters need to seem genuine.

Be certain characters are realistic. All characters need to be “real.” A fantasy character, such as Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia ( C. S. Lewis), is just as real to readers as is Emma Woodhouse in Emma (Jane Austen). When skillful authors imbue them with human traits and emotions, readers connect emotionally with fantasy characters in the same way they relate to human characters.

Anyone who doubts the “realness” of fantasy characters needs to watch a child cry with Wilbur, the pig in Charlotte’s Web (E. B. White), when his spider friend, Charlotte, dies.

Be aware of character conflicts and resolutions. Stories are presented in various ways, but all should have an effective, easy-to-follow, storyline that functions as the framework for characters’ actions.

Main plots, as well sub-plots, include protagonists, antagonists, conflicts, and attempts to find resolutions to those conflicts. In order to hold the interest of readers, protagonists need to be portrayed as effective problem solvers. A character attempting to solve a continuing problem in the same way each time the problem is encountered seems neither creative nor intelligent to readers.

No dull protagonists please.

Observe – Write – Make It Real

Happy Writing!

While reading back over this document, I noted all of the “Be” advice and was reminded of a book my mother read to me when I was a toddler. I think it was called the “Be-Attitudes.” I remember some of the page titles such as, “Be Kind,” and “Be Loving.” Much better advice than was given here!

Temptations Writers Face

Writers face many temptations. Unfortunately, yielding to some of those temptations will cause problems with manuscripts. While there are many temptations, only a few are discussed in this post.

Temptation 1: To overuse adjectives and adverbs

Carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs serve to make dull sentences impressive. Conversely, the overuse of adjectives and adverbs often produces lackluster sentences.

The following is a partial sentence from a novel I recently read: “…long black hair pinned back in a bun at the top of her long, slender neck.” The fix for this type of awkward description is to fold details into the moment. How about, “As she removed the pins, her dark hair uncoiled from the bun and tumbled down her back.” (Challenge: Respond with a better sentence.)

Adverbs are overused in everyday conversations, and it’s easy for writers to write what they hear. The fix for overusing adverbs is to choose strong verbs. One might say, “Patricia really likes Persian cats.” Using a stronger verb, this sentence could be written, “Patricia adores Persian cats.” By using a stronger verb, the pesky -ly adverb can be eliminated.

Temptation 2: To over-write

In an effort to construct convincing scenes, writers often “over-write”. Unfortunately, rather than promoting clarity, too many details or too many plot twists can cause confusion for readers.

Some authors over-write when they are endeavoring to meet high minimum word counts set by publishers. It is always tempting to take the easy way out and add minutia rather than expanding and developing the story.

In general, “adding to” causes confusion and boredom, while “subtracting from” leads to clarity and enjoyment.

Temptation 3: To assume readers’ knowledge

When readers are transported to places yet unknown to them, it is important to write in a way that assists them in developing schemas (schemata) needed for story understanding.

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible (1998) was, in my opinion, a great read. I could fully appreciate the story because I had an understanding of the era and a good feel for the circumstances that affected the plot. Many who read the book felt that the female characters in the story should have solved the “lack of respect for women” problem. Their judgments were based on the stature of American women in the 1990’s. Had Kingsolver developed concepts with relationship to time, culture, and circumstances, younger readers would have had a better understanding of the characters and the plot.

Temptation 4: To write backstory

Backstory is history. Nothing is more annoying to a reader than suffering through multiple pages of being brought up-to-date on what happened before. Before what? Before anything.

In an effort to clarify, writers are often tempted to educate readers concerning things that happened in the past. An author might present a review of the Civil War or give an account of something that happened during the protagonist’s childhood. If not an integrated part of a story, both are backstory.

Backstory can be presented either as narrative or as dialogue.

(Narrative example from a winter read.)

     “… It was true. A few months ago she had on a whim attended a masquerade party at the church hall, an event held to raise money for the very choir robes to be previewed at the upcoming performance.

     She’d dressed as an angel on a lark. She thought there’d be no harm in going in disguise. She’d donned a gold silk mask and a long, white robe with flowing sleeves bound by one of her gilt-tasseled drapery cords. She’d made ostrich feather wings out of a feather arrangement she kept in an urn near the fireplace.

     From the moment she’d stepped into the hall she’d been uncomfortable.

     When three liquored-up cowhands began to stare, she realized she had made a terrible mistake. She gave them an icy glare and their attention turned to A­­­­­_____. When H___ L______ came to his sweetheart’s rescue, a fistfight broke out. Then La___ slipped out a side door and hurried home.”           

(Dialogue example from a spring read.)

Character 1: Mentions the beauty of the new area where she just arrived.

Character 2: Responds by giving the history of the community (132-words total).

 

I never figured out why this information could not have been woven naturally into the story.

YEILD NOT TO TEMPTATION

 Happy writing!

Previous post about my temptation while writing: Gummi Bears and Writing

It’s in the Details

Authors are aware that details matter. Incorrect details, no matter how small they may seem, loom large to some readers. However, it’s not just to please readers, but also to satisfy themselves, that writers spend extensive time researching and ensuring that even the smallest detail is accurate.

 A Few Details That Mattered in Child of Desire

• A major event occurred on the night of the full moon in a particular month. It was important to coordinate the event with the correct date.
• In the 1930’s, most people who traveled long distances went by train. Old train schedules were used for planning travel for the characters.
• Easter was one of the special days referenced in Child of Desire. The date on which Easter occurs impacts both weather and events. The Internet yielded a chart that provided dates for past and future Easter Sundays. Assuring correct dates and days for other holidays was also accomplished by using Internet charts.
• Characters in Child of Desire attended a number of different schools. The existence of such schools in Virginia, Philadelphia and Colorado had to be verified.
• At one point in the story, a young couple made plans to go to a nearby town to attend a movie. This had to be changed when research uncovered the fact that the theater there opened some years after the dates of the story.
• When a young child in Child of Desire needed hospital care, Children’s Hospital in Denver, which first opened in 1908, was within a reasonable distance of the setting.
• The path of the Arkansas River through Southeastern Colorado was determined in order to document that a river ran though a particular town. Old maps were used for this purpose. Maps were also used to verify highways and the locations of towns and cities on or near those routes.
• Clothing styles and common names in the 1920’s and 1930’s were important when establishing a feel for the historical setting of the story. Much of this was done using family archives.
• Research yielded the format for the 1935 telegram received by the story’s protagonist.
• Among other things, the following story “facts” were documented: children rode school busses; one-room school houses were common in rural areas, girls graduated from high school and some attended college; many who prepared for church ministry attended Bible Schools rather than colleges; people canned vegetables and fruits and stored them in cellars under their homes; outhouses were the common small town “accommodation,” the majority of married women were homemakers; some people had telephones, but most did not; doctors regularly made house calls, lower income people sewed much of what they wore; and people in small communities cared for each other during the Great Depression.
• A chart was created for the purpose of monitoring and coordinating the events in the story. Actions and dates were recorded of this chart. It served as an in-house research tool to confirm that things were “hanging together.”
• Because multiple activities occurred inside of a home, a floor plan was developed for the house. This plan was used for each scene that took place inside of the house. Below is the floor plan for Sam and Amanda’s church-owned housing in Southeastern Colorado.

• After the story was completed and had gone through multiple edits, all quotations were checked for copyrights. In order to avoid permissions and fees, only materials not under current copyright were included in the book.

 A Bit of Advice

Once published, don’t dwell on mistakes. Nothing can be changed. The sun will still rise again and most people won’t even care.

“Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery

Research - Just do it.

Happy Writing!

Related Blog Post: Anachronisms and Almost Words