Building character...

Take a deep breath and let them create themselves. When I was writing my novel, my characters took over the story. The created themselves. I wanted my MFC to have this certain life, and look and she totally turned the story on me. Release your hold on them, and let them take over.

Good Luck

MamaStrong said:

Take a deep breath and let them create themselves. When I was writing my novel, my characters took over the story. The created themselves. I wanted my MFC to have this certain life, and look and she totally turned the story on me. Release your hold on them, and let them take over.

Good Luck

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Let them play a bit in your mind. Give them a life outside of the manuscript.

I accomplish this is by using people and experiences that i'm well aware of and grafting them onto my characters.

I create the characters in my head, make them real, base them on real people and experiences, give them a factual and emotional history, and then turn them loose and let them write the story for me.

not sure if this helps

good luck

Mel...

TruckinTWrites said:

Can someone explain to me, in plain English, how to build characters? Im trying with my three characters that I'm working on and am just having a hard time with it. I can describe them, but I want the reader to KNOW them...to be invested in them. Stephen King is a master at this, but I can't seem to make my characters "real". Any help? Examples? Things to learn?

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Okay, lets build a character. What came to mind is I want to build a character that is an investor.

What kind of investor? Well, what will make the most confict and hence story? How about a crooked investor, like Bernie Madoff?

Okay, how do I make him real? Of course, Bernie doesn't think of himself as evil, from his point of view, he is not doing anything wrong. He probably has an inflated sense of ego and entitlement. I knew this one rich guy who was a trust fund baby and never did a real days worth of work in his life. But he was also very smart and able to twist facts to fit his needs.

Let me combine that guy with this girl I met from Europe who was really into social structures and "class". She was a super snob.

There is another guy I knew who was a condescending prick.

Experiences? Well, Bernie needs to have a healthy disdain for the working class. I know, his father lost millions when the Union went on strike and as a result Bernie's family lost a key contract.

Other experiences? Bernie was forced to volunteer at a homeless shelter once when he was a teenager, part of his school's ultra liberal outreach program, and he was beat up and robbed...

Other experiences? His family name is up their with the Hilton's and ever since he can remember women throw themselves at him, like the Miss America Pageant contestant he strung along for 6 months, like he would ever marry someone from the lower classes...

Okay, so when I write this character, he will have a certain walk, a certain talk. All of the above will make its way into the story. And not via info dumps, but via his actions. It will be an intrinsic by-product of who he is...

okay, its late and i'm babbling.

there are different ways to go about it.

All I know is what works for me.

good luck

Mel...

Give them needs the reader can identify with. Most of us have wanted something/someone desperately - or wanted something not to happen. Find those needs in your characters and explore how they will try to achieve them.

Unless you give your readers these emotional hooks - and weave them into the story - there's nothing for them to invest in.

Simple, really

You build them through their actions and reactions. They will be challenged in various ways in a story, so let those actions and reactions to the challenges show the reader who they are. I don't care if they have blonde or brown or black hair, and if their eyes are brown, green, or blue. I want to know who they are on the inside, and if a writer has to tell that information to the me,the reader, the character becomes very two-dimensional in my eyes.

This is textbook:

Characters are built by three points:
What they do.
What they say
What others say about them.

So you have John who helps a old lady cross the street. Says "no problem" when he is given a compliment and his neighbor tells him that he is a "good man."

That's definitely a Flat character setup.

Now let's say John helps the old lady out and his neighbors says "that's unlike you."

Now there is a note that either John isn't usually like this or the neighbor doesn't know. If we say the neighbor is his best friend, then John is actually changing. But he's not, this is how he acts and the neighbor hasn't seen it.

This is a example of a Round character. He found a situation and changed to it as he would.

This would also be a example of a Static character. He didn't change his ways, but he worked within them.

Let's say before he met the old lady, he saw her being hustled by a younger kid and didn't think that was right. But in fact, he would of done it too. So he looks back on his ways and changes himself.

Now he crosses with her and his neighbor speaks out "that's unlike you."
Now John has changed. His ways concerning his personality has changed and now he is a Dynamic character.

These four traits:
Flat - They show no other side to their established characters
Round - They do show

Static - They do not change through the story
Dynamic - They do change

With the combination of the three things that the character says, does and others say about him with his Flat/Round and Static/Dynamic setup, this is what makes up character.

Show don't tell comes into play with character creation a lot... you think about your character in the situation you have put them in and think 'what would they do' and then think 'why are they doing that?'. You may not necessarily be explicit about the latter but you need to keep it in mind. Their actions then become more logical because you know the underlying reason for them.

Some writers keep detailed files on all their characters which they can refer to. Add to this everytime you think of something to do with that character, especially when you bring it in to play in a story. Generally, you can often start with a basic hook (i.e. corrupt investor) and your file will merely say 'Bernie Madof - corrupt investor' and add to it as you go along. Maybe you might decide that he is allergic to peanuts (which is why he refuses the Satay when he goes to dinner with his date but he never says that, merely claims that he doesn't like chinese food, because he is afraid to show weakness and then you suddenly have a whole extra level of information about him you can apply to other situations...). As you go through this process you will add more and more layers to him. It is sometimes worth brainstorming ideas about a character too. Just writing down as many ideas as you can in a short time then developing the best ones.

I begin with a basic physical outline: what they look like. That can lead to all sorts of interesting details. For example, perhaps she has a scar, or perhaps he walks with a limp. How did she get that scar? Why does he have a limp? You can make up all kinds of back story for your characters this way. Was the man teased as a child because he was born with a defective hip? Does this affect how he interacts with people today? Was he injured playing professional hockey and now he resents that his career was taken from him? Or was he caught by a grenade in Afghanistan and became a hero because he shielded his comrades? Is the woman ashamed of her scar? Does she go out of her way to hide it, or does she allow it to show and be a conversation starter? There's so many possibilities!

Next, I do a psychological profile. This includes quirks and habits, fears and phobias, likes and dislikes. Perhaps she fell from a tree as a child and so now she has a fear of heights. Is that significant? It can be, if you make it part of the story. Suppose she has to cross a rope bridge in order to escape the madman that's hunting her in the desert. Or perhaps she has to go out onto a ledge to talk her best friend out of killing herself. Conquering your fears makes for a good story. Or maybe she doesn't conquer her fear . . . maybe she tries and fails and her friend commits suicide and now she must live with the fact that maybe she could have prevented it. See how the possibilities open up?

One key to remember is that characters must change as the novel progresses. They must grow and learn. Otherwise, what's the point? Show them making mistakes---and learning from them. Show how his attitudes change, how he betters himself, how he becomes a stronger person because of the challenges he faces. But do it subtly, gently, so that it's a gradual process. You can go in the opposite way, as well, showing how a person slowly loses control of their life and becomes worse off than when the story began. Just so long as their life isn't static.

One trick is to have the main character try and fail at something in the beginning. They grow and mature through the story, until finally, at the climax, they're ready to face that challenge again---and succeed. For example, perhaps the lady who's afraid of heights needs to climb a tree to rescue a kitten. She tries and fails, and ends up humiliated when the fire department shows up to get her kitten down from the tree. But she gains strength as the story progresses, she becomes more assured of herself, and she realizes that sometimes you have to do things even if you're afraid. When she's faced with crossing that rope bridge to escape the serial killer who's chasing her, she braves up and does it, saving her own life.

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress. It goes into great detail about how to create well-rounded, interesting characters.

I think it helps to begin by thinking of a character as a real person.

Next, I've heard it said that action is character. So, your character is what he/she does. A good example of this is the story of Alexander and the Gordian Knot.

I figure out what my characters want/need within the story, internally and externally -- their character arcs. Then I figure out what they want/need relative to other characters in the story and WHY. By the time I've got that, I have a well-fleshed-out character with a back story and clear motivations.

Most of my main characters come to me fully formed. I know them like an old friend. They flash into my head, saying 'here I am. Look at me. I am ambitious, talented. I make decisions on a whim. I'm lucky, so they mostly pan out, but my luck is about to run out. Here is what I want. Here is what I'm getting. Here is what I need, even if I don't know that yet. Here I am. WRITE ME.' As an example.

But the supporting characters don't, I have to build them. How much building I do depends on how much they;re in the plot- I'm not going to have a whole background for someone who's there for two lines- so I start with the basics. Why are they here, what do they want, how are they trying to get it. From those three things I can build everything- including the way they walk, speak and how they interact with my main character.

But I don't just sit down and say 'The man was a desperate drug addict. He wanted money for drugs and would do anything to MC to get it.' because while that may be true, it has nothing else going for it.

Trucking -
Looking at you post again, so you say you can describe them - I'm guessing you mean you know what they look like.

Can you say a bit about how any of these three characters are presented in your story? What is getting in the way of the reader 'knowing' them?

Orson Scott Card's Character and Viewpoint might be worth a look.

TruckinTWrites said:

Can someone explain to me, in plain English, how to build characters? Im trying with my three characters that I'm working on and am just having a hard time with it. I can describe them, but I want the reader to KNOW them...to be invested in them. Stephen King is a master at this, but I can't seem to make my characters "real". Any help? Examples? Things to learn?

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I tend to start by patterning them on people I know, or by imagining what less-known people might be like if I knew them better. Daydreaming helps a lot. If you are a trucker, as your handle suggests, you should have lots of time to daydream. One of those cheap, one-hand voice recorders will help in remembering details.

Most of the time, I'll start writing without knowing a character very well, but after five or six chapters, I'm pretty familiar with them. When the novel is finished, I go back and rewrite those chapters to fit what the character has become.

If I find a photo that resembles my characters in a magazine or online, I print it off and pin it over my desk.

NeuroFizz said:

You build them through their actions and reactions. They will be challenged in various ways in a story, so let those actions and reactions to the challenges show the reader who they are.

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^Agreed.

The physical stuff is just as important -- to me. But for that human connection, the thoughts, dialogue, interactions, reactions, actions -- it all goes into a fully realized character.

Relax. Stop trying to follow so many rules. Write in first person, even if that's not your preferred POV and let that MC be himself/herself. If you're the one writing the story as in I did this, I went there, I bought that, I threw that, I killed her ....

You get a very intimate feel for that character. In effect, you're a child again pretending to be someone else and you can live out that character vicariously in your writing. You can be a serial killer; a debutante; an elderly detective; a dashing warrior; a woman unjustly imprisoned for witchcraft...whatever you want to be or imagine yourself to be.

With such a close connection to that character, you should be able to breathe life into him or her. Details should spring up, and not just physical ones, but emotional and social ones as well.

Anyhow, just a suggestion. I simply find when writing in first person, the writing feels more intimate to me and I can delve quite deeply into the psyche of my character. I write in third as well, but first is my favorite.

Here's how I think about it. First, I thought about what makes humans attracted to each other. What makes them grow close.
I think it's several things, but one is secrets, another weaknesses. When we share a secret with someone, something personal about our lives that we don't tell others, they feel special. They feel loved, trusted. This makes a stronger bond.
We can use this to our advantage in stories. Have the MC share a very private matter with another character, something they don't tell others. As a result, the reader learns the secret and feels closer.
It could also be done in narration.
He was five when he shot the bird, never sure why, but he did it. To this day, it gives him nightmares, although he hasn't killed a living soul since. He never told anyone and probably never will.

Learning about people's weakness makes us closer to them as well. For example, if I'm on a date and reveal a weakness, I actually gain a bit of her trust. Not much, but I do, and that's the first time I met her.
This can be done in narration or showing it in scenes.
Fear of heights, such a common thing, but it shamed him. He tried hard to fight that fear by crossing bridges whenever he could; even though, his hands sweated and his vision tunneled.

You could also show the above in a scene.

1. Secrets, privy information
2. Weaknesses
Two more are bad past experiences, like a hard life, and talents.
Why do we often feel closer to an actor than a stranger, or a singer than a stranger? Talents. For whatever reasons, we are attracted to talents.

You can show your MC's talents in a scene. Maybe they sing well, or dance well, or draw, etc.
We tend to grow closer to people when we learn about their hard life growing up. Before that, we might not even feel sorry for them. We might see a killer on the news and be disgusted, but then we learn about the killer's hard childhood, and we can't but help to feel a bit sorry for him. His father raped him. His mother abandoned him. He was shipped from foster care to foster care, no one ever showing him love. He was then on the streets at the age of 14, etc.
After reading the Shoemaker, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the serial killer Joseph Kallinger, and his son. Great book, BTW.
TV shows like the X Factor use human psychology to their advantage. They show us a bit about the singer's life, their goals, how much they want that goal, and some of their struggles. This builds sympathy, and we want them to win.
Grandmother paid for all her granddaughter's singing lessons. All she wanted before she died was to see her granddaughter succeed as a singer, but now she's dead, and the granddaughter is on X Factor. She's doing this for her grandmother. She will win. Her grandmother is up there in heaven, watching. This is for you grandma. I'll do it for you!

Stephen King mainly focuses on their real-life struggles: relationships, kids, rent, losing the house, alcoholic husband, etc. This gives us a sense that these are real people with real issues. We can relate to them. Then he throws them in a bizarre world, but because we feel the characters are real, we accept the horror that befalls them. We want them to succeed.
I hope this helps.

TruckinTWrites said:

Can someone explain to me, in plain English, how to build characters? Im trying with my three characters that I'm working on and am just having a hard time with it. I can describe them, but I want the reader to KNOW them...to be invested in them. Stephen King is a master at this, but I can't seem to make my characters "real". Any help? Examples? Things to learn?

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You don't "build" characters. You tell a story. No story works without characters who populate it fully. Do not try to do characters outside the story, or the story absent characters. To Kill a Mockingbird would not work without being inhabited by Atticus Finch, the principled widower attorney raising two precocious children, or Mayella Ewell, the oppressed and impoverished girl who violates the biggest social barrier of the day, or Bob Ewell, her viciously racist drunken brute of a father, or Boo Radley, the tormented and isolated neighbor.

Think story. Characters will come along and populate it.

caw

Whew!! I didn't know it was sooooo much work. I just think about my characters a lot. As I write the story, I ask myself, what would he do now? It never seemed that difficult. This thread makes me wonder if I got it right.

TruckinTWrites said:

OK...let's talk about Bobby.
Bobby has NO CLUE what he is in for in this story. I dont think it will be pretty, though.

Any help?

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so, TruckingT -

How is Bobby presented *in your story*? And most importantly - the most important - in making your character real is *how does Bobby react to what happens to him*?

That was a lot of lovely information you shared with me about your writer's knowledge of the character - but as a reader that fact that he changes tires for others is completely without significance unless it is part of what happens in the story.

So, what happens to Bobby in the story?

Hate to say it for sweet old 14-yo Bobby, but generally the more you make him suffer, the better the story will be for us readers. Poor old Bobby. Now go give 'm your worst. And watch what he does in reaction. That's what will make him 'real'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p_kvKUvyf4 I don't think you're writing Fantasy, but give this a look if you have the time. It's labeled description and viewpoint, but he goes into character development. Brandon Sanderson.

I use a questionnaire to flesh out my characters. I will write maybe 10,000 words to get a really good idea of what I'm trying to achieve with the character and then I use this 45 question list:
http://anitariggio.suite101.com/developing-memorable-characters-a52915

Fully filling this out helps me to really flesh out the character in the story and it helps me to keep them 'in character'. When I fill this out, I make it my goal to try and mention everything in the list somewhere in the book(MCs only) and this helps to flesh out the character.

I hope this helps.