Thinking of Characters as “Real People”

Here is a video to go with the post in case you want the audio version.

I’m quirky enough to think of my characters as real people. For me, this is part of the fun of writing. I don’t know how many other authors are like this. I’m going to assume at least some are. Today, I’m going to talk about how thinking of characters as “real people” can be beneficial. (If you aren’t wired this way, then you can ignore this. I realize that every writer has their unique way of viewing things in the storytelling process.)

Every character has a background.

I’m sure most (if not all?) writers can agree on this. Some writers know this background going into the story. I don’t. I have to write the story to figure it out, and sometimes I don’t even know the background until I’m in the middle of the story.

Background tells us important things about our characters. They tell us the characters’ strengths, weaknesses, and religious and political beliefs. They have a way of viewing the world around them, just as we do. While I was getting my Bachelors in Psychology, there was this debate. Are people formed by nature (basically, what genes they are born with) or are they formed by their environment (how they are raised. I’m sure most of you have heard of the nature vs nurture debate. Well, it’s pretty much both. Our genes do give us certain personality traits, and these lead to our strengths and weaknesses, but our environment does bring in stuff the compose our view of the world (religious, political, etc). This is what makes the human experience so complex and fascinating. We can bring this complexity and fascination into our stories by realizing our characters are not “us” (per se) but are their own unique individuals.

Characters within your story will interact with each other, and you can play around with how similar or different they are based on their backgrounds.

The beauty of characters being their own people is that they will see the exact same event but perceive it differently. This can be a useful tool in your storytelling process.

I’m going to give a ridiculous example. (It came to me in the middle of the night. I probably had a weird dream.) But bear with me because I am going somewhere with this.

The event: a clown is running down the street. He is running down the street, and his hands are in the air.

You have Character A on one side of the street. In his background, he’s seen clowns at parties and circuses, so he sees this clown and thinks it’s funny. To him, this clown is harmless and fun.

You have Character B on the other side of the street. He does not find the clown fun at all. In fact, he views this clown as being menacing due to all the horror movies he’s watched over the years.

Now as the author, you know the clown’s real motivation for running down the street. In this scenario, the clown is freaked out because a dog is chasing him. He has a fear of dogs. (His own background would apply here in some way.)

This scenario all boils down to this:

There are three sides to every story. What he said. What she said. And what really happened. (What really happened is what the author can choose to disclose to the reader if the author wishes.)

Why point of view matters in storytelling.

As the writer, you have decisions to make in this scene. You can present the point of view of Character A. You can present the point of view of Character B. You can also present the point of view of the clown. If you choose never to reveal the clown’s motive for running down the street, the reader will not know the truth here. The reader will only know which character’s point of view you are presenting. You can present all three viewpoints through narration or dialogue. It’s up to you.

This is what makes writing so much fun. You can play around with a variety of scenarios.

So let’s say with this example, Character A and Character B talk to the clown. After you present what Character A and/or Character B thought when they saw this clown, you can dive further into the characters’ perspectives with another angle. Now Characters A and B KNOW why the clown was running. They have a new frame of reference to work with. They know the clown was not having fun and he was not on a murderous rampage. The clown was just scared of the dog.

But they can still have a different perspective on how they interpret this event to the reader.

In this case, Character A remembers his past (background) and recalls being scared of a great big dog when he was a little kid. So he understands and is sympathetic toward this clown. Meanwhile Character B never came across a dog that was scary. His background led him to believe all dogs are friendly all the time. He thinks that it’s common knowledge that if you run, a dog will naturally chase you. Therefore, Character B is not sympathetic. He thinks the clown was overreacting to the dog.

You can show Characters A and B’s differences by giving their point of view in the narration, or you can have it done through dialogue. Perhaps the point of view character is the clown. The only way the reader will know what Characters A and B are thinking is if the clown talks to them.

The beauty of perspective.

At the end of the day, you get to choose which character presents the “facts” to the reader. Choosing the character(s) to do this can alter small things in the story that I find fascinating. The main thing is to be true to their perspective. It doesn’t matter what the truth is as you (the writer) know it. What matters is how this character (who is a “real person”) is viewing everything that is being said and done around them, and how does this affect how this character will feel and act in return. I think in doing this, we can make characters that come alive in our work.