Nobody’s perfect – especially your characters

Nobody’s perfect – although I’m sure a few people will disagree. But at least when you’re writing fiction, you don’t want perfect characters. It’s often the flaws and the imperfections that make our characters unique and interesting. Also, perfect characters aren’t likely to get themselves into situations that are worth reading about. However, you’re trying to create characters who the reader will empathise with, and not find annoying or pathetic. It’s a fine balance.

There are so many personality flaws that our characters could suffer from, so spend time considering the complexities of their personalities. Obviously, there are some that certainly would never fit into your ‘hero’ category. For example: being cruel to animals, old folk and children; or being a bully. Save those traits for your villains.

By giving your character flaws and weaknesses – and you as the writer knowing how these have come about, you will create believable, interesting characters. It’s that knowing on your part that will make a difference. Spend time creating the back story of your characters, and make sure you don't just tell the reader that hard guy, Jim, is a real softy at heart; or Sarah is totally impatient. You need to write scenes where these traits are revealed.

While we need characters to ‘stay in character’, they can be contradictory in their behaviour if the right circumstances come about. Also, people behave differently depending on who they are with or talking to. If this is happening in your story you need to be consistent.

So, your protagonist has flaws and weaknesses. If you plan on bringing them to the fore at some major turning point in your story, it might just seem that they are acting out of character, which the reader won’t appreciate. It's odd, as people can behave out of character in real life and get away with it, but do this in a story, and it probably won't work. So, if you need a character to act 'out of character' at some point, then the solution would be to hint at any such flaws in their character before they appear. Be subtle in your handling of this as you don’t want to alienate the reader.

For example, showing your protagonist with a furious temper could turn some readers instantly off. Unless of course you show it when he or she is angry about someone being treated unjustly or unfairly. Jealousy isn’t an attractive trait, but your protagonist ‘beating themselves up’ about feeling ridiculously jealous, as they try not to be, reveals their flaw but could also be endearing to the reader.

Then, there’s the baddies and villains of your story, who you want the reader to feel strongly about.  Reveal their unpleasant traits in whatever way you find effective. No need to show them in a good light. Just be sure to show them in their true light. Let the reader see how they are behaving and make up their own mind.

When creating an unpleasant character, have them behaving in ways that will get some sort of emotional response from your reader.  The last thing you want is the reader shrugging their shoulders having no interest in them at all. Make the reader so irate that they must keep reading in the hope that the ‘baddie’ gets what’s coming to them. 

In my book Kill or Die, there are two ‘villains’ both are pretty repulsive, but my aim was to evoke two different emotional responses from readers. One character is utterly merciless, cold hearted and frightening. I didn't want the reader to have any sympathy with him. While the other does get the reader’s sympathy despite being pretty nasty. It was fun finding ways to do this.  

So, enjoy weaving flaws and weaknesses into your character's personalities. It all helps to ensure  your characters are complex and interesting enough to keep the reader right there – reading.

Today’s Exercise:

Spend some time creating a character who could potentially be in conflict with your first character. Give them different goals, ambitions and moral values. Make sure their background accounts for the flaws or negative values in their makeup. You might find it helps to write scenes from their past that made them the way they are today.

Tomorrow: Character motivation

Getting the reader to care about your characters

It's so important that the reader cares about your characters. If they don't care, they aren't likely to read on. So, for readers to care, you must care about the characters you create. You have to believe in them and be intensely involved with them.

To be honest, this rapport with your characters isn’t an immediate thing. Usually this bond develops as you write, as those characters start talking in the dialogue and reacting in the narrative – when they start thinking and acting for themselves. Often, it’s only as you get into the story that their true personalities emerge, and sometimes in ways that surprise you. Perhaps you’ll discover their changing moods, their fears, their humour – or lack of it, what spurs them on, what they love and what they can’t stand. Often you will discover skills that you never knew they had – yet turn out to be important later in the story.

On the other hand, as you get well into the story, you might realise that certain aspects are missing. Then it’s a case of going back to the beginning and blending in the important details you need for later. But that’s the great thing about writing, you aren’t writing in stone. You can go back over those early parts of the story and re-write, once you know your characters better.

As well as knowing your characters, you also need to understand them. It is not enough to have characters simply disliking one another, there has to be a reason behind this. Similarly, don’t expect the reader to believe two characters are in love, or falling in love just because you say so. This must come across through their interaction, thoughts, dialogue and emotions.

A fun way of really getting to know your characters, is to make a list of random questions to ask your character. For example, what do they keep hidden in the box at the bottom of their wardrobe? When did they last cry? When did they last laugh? What secret do they hope never comes out? Their answers will surprise you.

Probably only a fraction of your character sketches and traits will come to light in your story, but if you know all this and more, your character will be real to you, true to themselves and believable to the reader.

Spending time on creating well rounded characters with personality all add up to making the reader care about them. And if they care, they will read on, wanting to know what’s going to happen. The last thing you want is for your readers not to care what happens to your characters. You want some emotional response from the reader. They don’t necessarily have to love your characters – you might actually want them to hate your character. That’s great. But what you don’t want is some mediocre emotion where the reader couldn’t care less one way or the other.

 

Visualise your characters

Before you can write anything, you need to see your character in your mind’s eye, even if it is just a vague image to begin with. Once you start to write about him or her, they will become much clearer to you. Gradually, as you get to know their background, their skills, their personalities, their fears, their dreams and so on, they will start to become real.

As you start to colour in your sketchy outline and fill in the blanks, your character will become a living, breathing person with a mind and opinions of their own and with a background and a life that involves others. It’s worthwhile to spend time writing a character sketch for each of your characters. This would be just for your own reference, don’t even try to include all these points in your story.

                                                                                                                               

Appearance: Gender, age, height, shape, colouring, hair style, nationality, clothing; mannerisms, gait, habits. The way they speak and move. What’s their own opinion on how they look? Do they see themselves as others see them?

Normal life: Where they live; marital status, their work; education; birth date, star sign, intelligence; financial situation; hobbies and interests; family circle; friends; relationships; enemies; skills; fears and phobias; favourite things; likes and dislikes; aim in life.

Personality: Here’s a few traits to consider:  Shy, outgoing, talkative, quiet, moody, cheerful, optimistic, pessimistic, depressive, revengeful, timid, thoughtful, thoughtless, kind, unkind; forgiving, unforgiving, sense of humour; calm, easily angered. What’s their opinion on political issues, religion and topical issues?

Background: Past experiences shape a personality, just as their current situation affects their moods and behaviour. Make sure your characters have solid backgrounds.

Today’s Exercise

Working from the character you started to develop yesterday, now do a full character sketch covering everything mentioned here.  And if you find yourself going off at a tangent as certain traits take on a life of their own, then go with it, and see where your imagination leads you. You might surprise yourself by writing entire scenes that you might use in a later story.

Tomorrow:  Don't make those characters too perfect.

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