Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 3: Characters
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. This week we cover the pre-writing topic of character design.
There’s a lot to be said about the role of character in story, because it may be one of the most important elements in fiction. From a technique standpoint, character is the vehicle that moves the story forward; everything else serves to providide the opportunity for expressed characterization. From a reader’s perspective, character is why most readers read – to meet interesting people and watch terrible things happen to them.
The characters you need
In narrative fiction, there are a few roles you need filled in any given story. Some of these roles may be filled by the same characters. Some may be spread between different characters.
Your protagonist is the one who wants something. His desire moves the plot along.
Your antagonist is the one who gets in your protagonist’s way. His job is to provide the obstacles that are overcome.
That’s really it, and the antagonist doesn’t really need to appear on-screen. For a short story, that may be all you have room for.
But we’re not talking about short stories here, we’re talking about NaNoWriMo, and we have 50,000 words to fill.That gives us room for a few more roles.
Sidekicks who aid and support the protagonist
Cotagonists who aid and support the antagonist, even unknowingly
Love Interests if that’s the story you’re telling
Guides who can provide assistance to the protagonist
Or, if you’re feeling super literary about it, you can call them Mentors, Threshold Guardians, Shadows, Allies, etc. Check out Christopher Vogel’s The Writer’s Journey, it gets all up into mythic story structure.
But really, when you’re talking about your cast, what you need to consider is Orchestration.
What the hell is Orchestration?
Orchestration is how well your casts works together, how tightly the pieces fit. Ideally you want characters whose drives and desires clash and create conflict, because conflict is the fuel upon which story engines run.
Less obviously, your characters are what build identification into your book. The more diverse your cast, the wider net you’ll be throwing to haul in readers.
Big Reader Secret: People like to read about people like them.
Okay, maybe not so secret, but people tend not to keep it in mind. Your cast should include characters that in some way resemble your target audience. Want kids to read your book? Make the primary characters a little bit older than they are. Want older fans? Include older characters. Writing for boys? Make your characters male. Writing for girls? Make them female. Writing for both? Mix it up.
Diversity is the key to a broad audience. The more varied your cast, the more appeal your book will have. Plus, it’s a Good Thing to include diversity in your fiction. People need to read about people they’re not like, and depending on your marketplace, it can be hard for some readers to find anyone they can identify with. Don’t they deserve good books? YOUR good books?
What you need to know about your characters
Some people make up these exhaustive list of character traits you need to define, but I don’t bother. Really, all you need to know can be summarized into three categories.
Physiology: What are they physically? What do they look like? How smart are they? What are their talents? How do they dress, how do they act? What is the face they present the world?
Sociology: What role do they take on in the world? How did they grow up? What is their context, their environment? Who are their friends, their family?
Psychology: Where the two intersect. How do the way people react to them (Physiology) and their context (Sociology) create who they are? Who have they become as a result? In real life, sometimes people are the way they are. Fiction, unfortunately or fortunately, has to make sense.
The exact details will be determined by your story needs. After working out the above three detail categories, I recommend writing an in-character journal so you can get a feel for the character’s voice. Doesn’t have to be long, especially for secondary characters. Just long enough for you to know who they are.
Next time: NaNoWriMo begins! I’ll cover the importance of keeping a good record of what you’re doing, both so you can stay consistent with your fictional reality, and so that you can improve your habits.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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