Dr. Jasmine asked Richard R. Becker:

Hi Richard :o) Please share how do you work out the details about your characters, to make them come alive! Is it your imagination? Or do you recall some people you have met? something else..? Thank you, Dr Jasmine

Richard R. Becker This is a great question Dr. Jasmine. I subscribe to a concept shared by David Mamet, which is that characters grow out of a plot and not the other way around. As characters do things, they demonstrate qualities we can relate to through their actions.

I learned this working in commercial advertising, whereby you sometimes only have 30 or 60 seconds to convince an audience your characters are real and relatable. This approach worked well on short stories inside 50 States and Ten Threads. It also proved true in my novel Third Wheel as well. Despite the protagonist sharing similar life experiences with me, he became his own person because some of his choices or reactions were different than mine might have been. Thus, instead of being a character based on me, he becomes a living, breathing character who serves the plot.

Many writers disagree with this approach. They prefer to create these elaborate character sheets that include every detail, including what flavor of ice cream their characters might like. This creates unnecessary complications because pre-determined qualities or 'likes' might not serve the plot or contradict what's needed at that moment. The truth is that we only need to know what ice cream a character might order when the plot demands it. And, based on prior actions, the answer will be evident. Of course, if the plot calls for that flavor to be determined to make a point, those characters won't even have a choice. Everything about them will bend to that answer.

Thanks for asking such a great question! I might distill this into a 60-second writing tip that I share on places like Facebook and TikTok.

flag