Bring in your characters

Where do all those amazing characters that we’ve met in stories come from? Do writers use people they know in real life, or simply conjure characters up from thin air? Ask any author how they created their characters and you’ll get a multitude of answers. Often, the author can’t say exactly where they came from. Some just seem to jump into the author’s mind and demand to be written about. Other characters emerge more slowly, as the author begins to write, discovering their personalities and foibles gradually.

Some characters appear speaking words, acting out scenes and behaving in a way that the author has no control over. If that happens to you, be grateful and get everything written down as quickly as possible.  Or maybe you’ll find that you create characters by writing a character description about them, covering their appearance, personality, background and so on.

When creating characters we automatically draw on our own experiences and people we know or are acquainted with; even strangers and passers-by in the street can often spark an idea for a character.

But a word of warning about basing a fictional character too closely on a real person, as this might hold you back when it comes to creating conflict for this character. You might not be able to take things to the extreme if you’ve got for example, your grannie or best friend at the back of your mind.

Also, no matter how well you think you know someone, you can’t know their every thought, every action, every hope and dream. And you need to know all of these things and more if your characters are to appear real. It’s a similar situation when writing in the first person, the ‘I’ character, really does need to be a character in their own right and not actually yourself.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that writing in the first person is the simplest option because it’s you. If you’re thinking of the character in your story as yourself, you aren’t likely to push the boundaries beyond your own experiences, and that might not make for a great story. After all, would you really want to put yourself through danger, disaster and heartache as your protagonist will probably endure? Obviously, draw on your own experiences, beliefs, emotions and so on, but let that character have an independent existence and not be a reflection of you.

Get inside your character’s head

Stories are all about characters. We create them, give them lives and backgrounds, then place them in situations where they find themselves in some sort of difficulty – emotional, physical or both. The story then is how they react to the problems facing them.

As writers, it’s our job to keep the reader engaged as the character works through their problems. Somehow, we must make that character interesting enough for the reader to care what becomes of them. If your character is one-dimensional, wooden, or nothing but a caricature, then the reader probably won’t be bothered one way or the other.  Or if you as the writer haven’t allowed the reader to really get to know the character, that won’t hit the mark either.

So firstly, your characters need to be real three-dimensional people who the reader – and you as the writer, really believe in.  Secondly, and most importantly, you need to write through your main character’s (your protagonist) viewpoint. That is, writing as if you are that person. The world is perceived through their eyes and emotions – not yours.

As the writer, think of yourself as a puppeteer. You’re sitting back in your chair pulling the strings at arms’ length. You create the characters and then set them free in this fictional world which you’ve also created and see what happens.

As the writer, you remain operating those strings. If you let go, the characters and the story will collapse. It’s just that you must stay well out of sight, so you’ve giving the illusion that the characters are standing up for themselves. And when it comes to the narrative, that is, where you’re setting the scene, describe it in a way that’s in tune with the atmosphere of the story, and the mood and emotions of the character at that moment.

Today’s Exercise

Take a look back at the story ideas you’ve already come up with. If you haven’t done this, read my blogs of 29^th and 30th March for inspiration. See if you can come up with a story idea, even if it's just vague at the moment. Next, give some thought as to who the main character would be in that story. Free write about this character and see where your imagination takes you.

Tomorrow:  Getting the reader to care about your characters.

Thank you Rob Tysall, Tysall's Photography for the photos.