How do you know if this is forced? Things there for the sake of the story?

When they start talking back and saying 'But I'd never do that! I'd [insert what they'd do here] instead'

They have to act in character, or they seem forced. Imagine, hmm say Captain Jack Sparrow wearing a suit, Harry Potter saying 'Who gives a fig for Voldemort, I'm off down the pub', Luke Skywalker saying 'The evil Vader's my dad, how cool is that! I'm just gonna pop over to the dark side, seeya' just so you can get them to a certain place / point in the story -- that would look forced.

They have to do it because that is what they'd do, not because that is what you want them to do.

If a reader can't imagine why a character would do something, it feels forced.

This is often a problem with poorly-scripted horror movies: when the characters go out to investigate the scary killer armed with nothing but a flashlight, you hear people in the theater shouting, "CALL THE POLICE! TAKE A WEAPON! DON'T BE STUPID!"

When you have a character do something, you need to have imagined their motivation for doing whatever, not just your motivation for having them do it.

In regard to characters, they have to stay in character. You can't have the character do something they wouldn't normally do, just because you need it to happen in the story.

This means a punk rock girl is not going to wear a white dress and a tiara to her wedding. She may not even get married depending on how hardcore she is.

She might, however, wear a white dress and a tiara to her wedding if she had been brainwashed by her ego-maniac boyfriend. (Think The Stepford Wives.)

And, people do change and do things that are out of character, but usually only under huge pressure. Think along the lines of a stranger breaking into someone's house and forcing them at gunpoint to do something unpleasant. This means that if your character is a coward at the beginning of the story they are likely to be one at the end. And if they should happen to start becoming more heroic it will likely occur very slowly in tiny stages throughout the story. OR something big (like true love or fear of something worse than getting hurt) will force them to act in a way that is unnatural.

In regard to plot, unexpected things should happen but they have to fit with the overall arc of the story.


If you are writing a Sweet Valley High romance and halfway through a vampire shows up just to make things interesting, that would be forced.

If you're writing a Goosebumps story that begins as a romance, but the MC only ever sees her boyfriend at night and then it turns out he's a vampire, that is not forced. (Doesn't mean it would be a great story, just that it's consistent.)


These are all big, broad examples just to give you an idea of what to look for.

The best advice I can give is to know your characters. If you really know who the characters are you are much less likely to force them to do something just because you (the author) need them to. And, likewise, know your plot. If you understand your story and where it is going you won't need to drop in unnecessary stuff just to spice things up. You'll already know where to look for more action (or things happening) without having to add something unrelated.

Each character has their own personality. If you make them act and react the way you would in any given situation, then you are pushing your own personality onto them. I wouldn't do the things my characters do, certainly wouldn't make the choices they make, but I'm not them. I could push them in other directions and keep them from harm, but it wouldn't make a very good story. So, I let them jump into hot water and they have to pay the consequences for their choices.

BlueLucario said:

What if you made your characters real, but you weren't able to reach that point of the story. Do you find another way of getting to that point? Or do you go where your characters take you?

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Do you mean that a plot point you had planned on doesn't seem like it would develop logically out of your characters' personalities and choices?

In that case, your options are:

1) Introduce a new character or situation that enables the plot point.
2) Change the plot point.
3) Change the existing characters so that the plot point becomes logical again.

Yes, but...

If you're dealing with writer's block, you're probably not in the best frame of mind to make those judgments about how forced the characters' actions are. Just write whatever you can at that stage then later, when you have a full draft and are revising, see whether the characters make sense. You may find that something later on in the story changes things anyway and you'll be able to get them where they need to be another way.

I agree with girlyswot that you need to write the first draft. You can make a better determination of what needs to be in the story much more easily if you can see the whole picture.
I also have a tendency to ignore plot points and follow characters. If you keep the character "real" and follow the character you will end up with a different story than you anticipated, and, likely, a better one. You can adjust plotpoints and fill holes in plot much easier than you can make an unreal character real.

But willing to change your plot if your characters demand it.

Don't confuse YOUR motivation with your character's motivation. Just because you have a good reason to make something happen, doesn't mean the character has a good reason.

Characters seem out of character when they do something without having any apparent motivation. So give him a motivation - give him a reason!

BlueLucario said:

It's nothing to do with my draft right now. It's just a question out of curiosity.

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Whether it was hypothetical or real concern for your writing, the advice remains the same.

BlueLucario said:

Another question. Can forced characters be a result of writer's block? When the writer is struggling to write something?

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damn--I hate to re-write stuff, so I'm just going to lift my latest blog-entry. I did this one tonight about exactly this problem. uhm...first, let me say--no, I don't think wooden characters are the result of writers block.

Writers block is something totally different.

Wooden characters come from not fully fleshing out the motivation and pivotal moments that together with character-traits, and backstory become whoever you're trying to create. In other words--Franksteins monster is only dead flesh, it's only when you add the soul you get Mary Shelly.

a very good reference book on this subject is Linda Seger's Creating Unforgettable Characters

insert entry, lol...

I've been doing a lot of what Kaige would call "pre-writing". Thinking mostly...about stuff in Dead Gorgeous, Connor and Jacey. And how everything works toward the end whether it's laid out or not. I'm a fan of outlines, or at least general ballpark (you are here style) outlines. But I've started noticing the more depth I give to Connor, the fewer options he has.

Back when I created Connor, he was the too-good to be true, kid brother, plot-driver for Hot Contract. Keegan needed a reason to agree to Art's demands. Poor Connor. I threw everything at that guy. Former Delta, ripped, drop dead gorgeous, good with weapons--all sorts, wears nice clothing, smells good (hey! It goes with the territory...). Like I said--too good to be true. He wasn't supposed to have his own book.

I have over half of Tris's story already done.

But...the more work I put into Dead Gorgeous, the more Connor grew. He'd already started inching away from the template, and as I created background and motivation--and thought, and thought and thought about why he'd be the way he is...the more fully fleshed he got. He started creating, not his storyline, but back story. He made one choice which influenced every choice afterward. And once he took that final step, that mental look into the mirror, everything flowed through that decision.

The character traits, the reactions, everything he says and does--and the bits and pieces that were in place at the time he decided to turn inward, became his overriding personality. He has a strong sense of responsibility, and his personal honor won't let him walk away. He hates himself. Seriously. He has self-loathing down to a science. He doesn't want to be with family because he can't understand why anyone would want him around for anything other than his looks--he can't leave DalCon because they "do" want him around, but staying--with Jen and Keegan so happy--hurts.

Putting them in danger triggered his sense of responsibility, and his need to get away became overwhelming, but he can't walk away, and next thing you know--every option is gone.

This guy is so fully formed, there aren't more options. He would only react one way. The way true to his growth--at this point in the story.

Despite self-hate, he would go off to save his family--even knowing, or thinking he knows, that he isn't going to be able to do it. After all, didn't Keegan have to rescue him from the Samoy? Doesn't that prove how much of a loser he is? What about the nightmares? Keegan doesn't get nightmares. Why does Connor? Hell--even his sister is better. It's a wonder Delta let him in, he obviously played them for chumps, and then when they found out about his problems--they kicked him out.

No wonder Dante created a circular Hell.

BlueLucario said:

Do you guys think character development is easy? I found it to be.

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That's great. You should have no trouble finishing your manuscript then.

You can complete your manuscript. You can do it! F-I-N-I-S-H!!!



-An

BlueLucario said:

#Mel I thought every author puts themselves in each character.

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Some writers do, some don't. There's nothing of "me" in my characters. I've tried to see if there is but never found anything. Some writers also take bits and pieces of real people to form their characters. Mine come purely from my imagination. That said, it doesn't mean you can't slip into their skin to experience, in your mind, what they are doing and why they are doing it.

BlueLucario said:

Hi, me again!!

Do you guys think character development is easy? I found it to be. I'm going to make a guess, that characterization may depend on other elements, like dialogue. You try to make them real, pretend they are real. They are the writer's imaginary friends(Okay I'm insane.) You're observing their activity and writing down what you see.

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I think "the writer's imaginary friends" can be a very good way to describe it. Granted, some of my characters may be dirty, rotten, vile people, but I still have to get to "know" them in order to realistically write about their life and what is happening with them.

As for character development, I've started writing character studies for my next WIP. By doing this, I am fleshing out some of the things that may hinder my writing and some details will be in a separate file.

For example, in one piece of flash fiction I wrote, my MC has long, chocolate brown hair. In another, I completely forgot that I had changed her appearance and gave her short, bleach blond hair. Now that I have a character study file for her, I can read over it for the basics, and then I will add significant events I have written about. In the first piece, she went to the lakefront cabin where her husband had proposed. I'd hate to get months down the line and have her remember him proposing to her in a restaurant.

BlueLucario said:

Hi, me again!!

Do you guys think character development is easy? I found it to be. I'm going to make a guess, that characterization may depend on other elements, like dialogue. You try to make them real, pretend they are real. They are the writer's imaginary friends(Okay I'm insane.) You're observing their activity and writing down what you see.

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Though it's one of my strengths, I also find it quite challenging at times. I'm doing a character who is so far out of anything I've done before that I know I couldn't have written this book five years ago. For me, elements of the character's background, the impression they want to present to the world (this is an important aspect of the story, though it might not be in another story), and conflicts with other characters are how he gets developed. I have to pay particular attention to what motivates each character because, again, it's really important to how the story develops and why the characters do certain things that could put them at risk. Some of those motivations are backstory, but some are also things that develop over the course of the story. The characterization and story really work hand in hand for me.

#Mel I thought every author puts themselves in each character.

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My characters are more based on what I've observed about people over time.

BlueLucario said:

I thought every author puts themselves in each character.

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Mmmm....I don't think it's that simple. Most writers, IME, don't sit down and say "oh, Lucy's going to have my flowing raven locks and Susan will have my wonderful spelling ability and Marsha my annoying little sister". Not unless they're hellbent on writing The Further Adventures of Mary Sue, anyway. OTOH, the rage that's required to write a vicious murder, the tenderness or intellectual curiosity or any of a thousand other qualities...yeah, that's the author's, and it's pouring out onto the paper. (One horror writer I know writes her best stuff when she's furious with her husband. Better that than using a fish knife on him, after all.)

And the characters themselves vary, dependent upon the writer: both Diana Gabaldon and Terry Pratchett write about improbable redheaded men in kilts fighting against tremendous odds, but I don't think most readers would confuse Jamie Fraser with the Nac Mac Feegle.