Severe Problem Fleshing out MC

hey

I dont know about any tips - but some stories are definitely more plot driven than character driven. Sounds like plot is your thing.

Laurie Halse Anderson (of Speak and Wintergirls, etc) talks about how she doesn't really know her characters that well until she's completed the first draft. Then in her subsequent edits, she's much more familiar with them and can see which bits are stale/need tweaking, and hear their voices clearer, change their reactions etc. She also mentions writing pages on her character - like 10 000 words of scenes that will not be included in the book. Then she chucks them out, but feels at the end of it all, she knows who they are, so they are stronger in the story.

My advice would be to just start writing with what you've got and as they start playing out on the page, they may become more real to you.

Also, all books have round and flat characters. The flat ones are not necessarily uninteresting, or one dimensional stereotypes, they are clear-cut with consistent behaviour patterns. Round characters are 3D: multi-faceted, complex, unpredictable with mixed motives and contradictory behaviour patterns - yet credible. I've found when I've let my main characters stuff-up and do things they prob shouldnt, they become more real - their emotions, motivations etc.

Other good plot/character advice I've read is to make sure that all the bad stuff doesn't happen externally, but let the characters stuff up and the plot come from there as well, so the plot intertwines with them - gives the plot a lot more energy.

dont know if any of this is helpful. but, hey, definitely just start writing and see how she develops

Here's an exercise which I find helps. Imagine that you are watching your character with the sound off, so to speak. How she moves, her tics, her tightness/looseness? What's her body language when she's alone or talking to people, people she likes, dislikes, trusts, doesn't trust? How does she fidget (with her hair, clothes), stand (one leg, two), sit (leaning forward, back)? Does her chin stick out or drop? What are her hands doing?
How much can you tell about her without hearing a word she says?
You can also try using someone you know and exaggerating his/her traits.

All I can say is... do what Helen says!

Well, that and I've also done an excercise where I'll read an article and then write a response to it (sort of like a letter to the editor type thing) from my character's point of view. I think this is a really effective way to get into their head.

If your main character isn't jumping out at you, perhaps you aren't putting her through enough? If she's blah, what would you have to do to her to get her really riled up? Do that! Find the exact most horrible thing that could happen to her (specifically her, not a General Stock Character) and do it and find out what she does. You get your character's best when you give her your worst.

Another thing you might consider-- did you choose the right character for your MC? How would your story change if you presented it from a more dynamic character's viewpoint?

You could also force a bizarre trait upon the MC, whether they like it or not. Give them a huge quirk, and maybe their personality will develop around it.

Make your MC interesting. There are dozens of ways to do this, and some of them have been suggested. Just get an MC that has a unique dilemma, past, personality, etc. Someone that fascinates you, and by consequence, will fascinate the reader.

I often have the same problem with flat/two-dimensional main characters, probably because I focus too much attention on the love interest instead. You could try writing short scenes about your character's reactions to events, comments, mundane things, etc. Those scenes don't need to appear in the novel, but they will help you gather a better idea of your character's traits and quirks. :>

I'm reading Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors. So far the information is perfect for flushing out your character's traits and quirks. I'm looking forward to try it out on my next book. Heck, I now understand why some actors do a great job portraying the characters they play. There's definitely an art to it.

Have you considered basing the character off a character you've already familiar with - whether that be yours or somebody else's? I'm not advocating wholesale plagiarism, but perhaps if you use a familiar character as a template, you can then give the character enough life and energy that you can branch out in unique and interesting ways. Hopefully by the time you finish the first draft you'll know them back to front, so you can go back and rewrite the manuscript in keeping with your more complex and interesting understanding of the character.

edit: Another tactic I occasionally use is to think about situations in which the protagonist would something spectacularly unusual - letting her unique and compelling qualities come out. What scenario would your protagonist react to so unusually, so uniquely, that a reader would definitively say, "This protagonist is not like any other protagonist I've read"?

Does your MC have any weaknesses you and other women can relate to? For example, I despise a lot of female MCs because they are too pretty, and too thin. Makes their male woes seem stupid to all of us girls who don't feel that pretty. So I wrote my current MC a little differently. While cute, she is also a little chunky, and is constantly battling her weight. To make things worse, she has a mother figure who picks on her weight--something I, and many women, can relate to. Therefore, like most young women, she has self esteem issues (her self esteem is one of the obstacles she'll have to overcome to get the guy).

Oh, and on the other hand, I gave her strengths I envy and admire. She's giving to people in ways I never am. Plus she's a mechanical/computer genius.

So yeah, perhaps it would help to give you MC weaknesses you can relate to, and strengths you envy.

I know you said first person POV wouldn't work, but it really helped me when I switched from third to first. I've written in both, but when I'm going for a really distinct voice, first seems to work better.

Maybe you could try for a few chapters and see how it goes.

OP: have you ever thought of doing a personality test for your MC? like Myers-Briggs sort of thing? You'd be amazed what thoughts pop into your head for your MC - even if the end result means nothing. e.g. would your character answer the phone when it rings or wait for someone else to answer it first?

EDIT: i have a jung type questionnaire on my laptop that i could send you but its work orientated - so questions are very much work focused.
Definitely jungtype would be best in my opinion, i don't know any sites to be honest cause during my course i got access to professional quizes but i'd say there would be no problems. Perhaps even going on some career websites might be helpful too - as some provide free personality quizes.

There are also a number of character questionnaires that can help you flesh out your character. Here's a link to one, though there are others:

http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/106

You could also start a journal for your MC. For a few weeks, write in it at least once a day as your MC - what is she thinking, feeling, what is happening in her life, her experiences. Maybe that will help you start to hear her voice and get to know her. You might find you even start writing scenes in the journal - then turn them into non-journal entry scenes.

~suki

You said your other MC was just following others around. Is that the same with this one? If that's the case, why not, every once in a while, give a line to your MC that would otherwise go to one of the more interesting characters. It might feel like it's so not right for her to say something like that, but considering you don't much like her personality anyway, it might actually make it better. Any time you want someone else to solve a problem, let her do it. Basically give the cool fun stuff that you are giving your other characters to do, to her. Well not all of it, but some of it.

Don't know if this actually helps, just working off what you said. If this isn't the case, then never mind, lol!

Parametric said:

Have you considered basing the character off a character you've already familiar with - whether that be yours or somebody else's? I'm not advocating wholesale plagiarism, but perhaps if you use a familiar character as a template, you can then give the character enough life and energy that you can branch out in unique and interesting ways.

Click to expand...

I did that, because I fell madly in love with the insane mind of a minor character and missed him so much after he died that I sat back one night and said to myself, 'I miss you far too much. I want a mind to play around with. Character time!'

And the plot came about from there.

Add flaws. Adds depth to your main character.