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Writing dynamic characters
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Arielle wrote: "I find a lot of the times when I get writer's block, it's actually more of a character block, and it's usually because my character is not developing in a natural or compelling way. This article wa..."Good job, Arielle! Welcome to the group!
Very nice article. I work hard to make sure that my character's story arc is central to the plot, so it was a self-affirming read!
I think that once you've got a storyline, the second thing to do is creating the characters who will be carrying it all the way through. Each of my main characters have their own personality. I defined the way they would talk, act, their past, how they looked, the way they thought of themselves before feeding them to the lions (scenes) my story would come up with. The funny thing I felt while writing was knowing these characters wanted to take part in every single scene and wouldn't appreciate me limiting their role. A sort of 'Five Characters In Search of an Author' Pirandello play situation.
I have to laugh when people ask me where I get my characters. I tell them, of course, that they come from my life. P.D. James, the late crime novelist, once remarked: "All fiction is largely autobiographical, and much autobiography is, of course, fiction."So, Ted Stone, in my Antarctic Murders Trilogy, who is both narrator and participant in the novel, is . . . me (Ted Cohen; the novel is based, in part, on my work in Antarctica in 1961-62). And Missy Dugan, the NYPD's Principal IT Specialist who, for lack of a better description, is Det. Louis Martelli's 'partner in crime' (he would admit, if pressed, that he couldn't have solved some cases without her) is my eldest daughter, Missy. As for Martelli's wife, Stephanie, well, she's my youngest daughter by the same name. And on and on it goes. When I write, I see these 'characters' from my life in my mind's eye, I hear their voices, I know their mannerisms and how they will respond to situations. Why? Because I've know them, in some cases for decades. I've heard them laugh, watched them cry, seen them tease, heard them angry . . . and so, I can make them human. Sometimes, what they do and what comes out of their mouths even surprises me. Some I've made so 'real' I almost wish I could sit down to dinner with them (e.g., Lieutenant-Commander Antonio Del Río of the Chilean Navy’s Office of Internal Affairs and his wife, Señora Emilia).
Next time you're searching for characters, reach back into your life. You might be surprised at the richness of choices.
PS Sometimes I just name characters after friends and family just to see if they're reading my books!
Just as an example, this is how I introduced Missy Dugan in Death by Wall Street (which, by the way, is based on a real case of corruption within the FDA I uncovered in 2007). Everything below is fact, going back to what P.D. James said:Missy Dugan, a Principal Information Technology Specialist, stood five-five, and weighed a sleek 125 pounds. She wore her auburn hair in a stylish pixie cut with a soft fringe, and accentuated it with two diamond-stud earrings in the upper part of each ear. Her ‘uniform’ du jour was a pair of designer jeans and a long-sleeved chambray work shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal two Swatch watches on her left wrist. If they differed in time, she knew she had a problem, something neither her schedule nor her personality accommodated easily. Missy’s great-great grandfather had been among a very few who in the early 1920s sent steel, brick, and glass thrusting skyward from the streets of Broadway into the virgin sky of Manhattan, creating embryonic skyscrapers that to this day still hold their ground against the intrusions of taller interlopers.
It makes it so much easier when you base your characters on the characteristics and mannerisms of real people. Of course, you never want to use their real (full) names or intimate facts that would allow the public to look into their personal lives.
Tim, your last comment made me laugh...and it made me think about the possibilities. Good point.BTW, in my novels and short stories, the characters based on real people are the more enduring (and, in many cases, though not always, endearing) ones. There is no end to the number of characters I've created out of whole cloth, which, as you no doubt have found, gives your imagination license to roam the literary landscape. Tremendous fun, to be sure, no matter how you conjure up your people.
My most unbelievable eccentric character is based on a real person. Well known too. I'm not telling about the others...I know someone whose grandmother is a respected author and the author uses not only family members as characters but also barely disguises their names. Needless to say, this upset several people who do not like what they see.
I have promised not to use close family - on pain of being strung up, I think.
Anna Faversham wrote: "My most unbelievable eccentric character is based on a real person. Well known too. I'm not telling about the others...I know someone whose grandmother is a respected author and the author uses n..."
Actually, my family members thought it was a hoot to use their first names and mannerisms (how they talked, laughed, and so forth)...and as I said, 'hearing their voices' as I typed dialogue almost let the stories tell themselves at times.
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Carole wrote: "Only think what it does to them when they are represented by wacky animals as in my Captain No Beard series. Most never recognize themselves. hahahha"Hey, they're all fair game, right? Look what Charles Lutwidge Dodgson did to his friends.
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The main character in my 'Penny White' urban fantasy series is around 30% based on me--a Church of England minister who loves 'Doctor Who', single malt whisky, and copes with the demands of parish life by a witty, running commentary in her head. However, I don't drink as much as she does, nor do I have a shoulder sized gryphon in my life. Sadly.
Chrys wrote: "The main character in my 'Penny White' urban fantasy series is around 30% based on me--a Church of England minister who loves 'Doctor Who', single malt whisky, and copes with the demands of parish ..."Oh, you gotta love it...the secret lives we lead.
I do have a small green parrot instead of the gryphon. One advantage of the parrot is that she eats pellets, whereas the gryphon would be ripping garden birds apart...
Chrys wrote: "I do have a small green parrot instead of the gryphon. One advantage of the parrot is that she eats pellets, whereas the gryphon would be ripping garden birds apart..."Parrot or parrotlet? I've had two of the latter, one green, one blue. There are unbelievable! Would have one now, but just don't have the time to spend with them, and it's not fair to simply leave them by themselves. Am also intrigued by ring-necked parakeets.
She's a Green cheeked conure, so larger than a parrotlet. There's a photo of her on my website, here: http://chryscymri.com/about-me.html
Chrys wrote: "She's a Green cheeked conure, so larger than a parrotlet. There's a photo of her on my website, here: http://chryscymri.com/about-me.html"
Wow, what an interesting life you've lived. Where in the Antarctic did you travel? I performed research there in 1961-61, on the North Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, including Deception Island.
BTW, while Jewish, most of my books and some of the short stories involve the Catholic Church...that's what happens when you're born in a Catholic hospital, in a Catholic town (Fond du Lac, WI), and most of your friends growing up are Catholic. LOL Throughout my four years in high school, I was the go-between between Queen of Apostles Seminary in Madison, WI, and St. Mary's Convent in Milwaukee, using ham radio every day after school to pass messages, saving the seminary a ton of money on long-distance calls (those were the days when AT&T was the only game in town and charged a left lung for every minute you were on the line!). We used Morse-International code, and on the other end of the link was my very good friend, a Palatine priest, Fr. John Haas. He loved to come to the house for my mother's cooking at Passover...said he never could get such good food at the seminary!
I went on a typical tourist expedition cruise on the peninsula. This included a stop at Deception Island, where I did the plunge! I write a travel blog: www.travellinghopefully.co.ukOn that blog is also a write up of the two weeks I spent visiting North Korea. I wouldn't go now, though...
Theodore wrote: "Chrys wrote: "She's a Green cheeked conure, so larger than a parrotlet. There's a photo of her on my website, here: http://chryscymri.com/about-me.html"
Wow, what an interesting life you've live..."
I just read about your trip to Antarctica. Wow, you went late in the season. We had packed up and left by the end of the first week in March, when the weather had started to close in. But it was great to see Deception Island again (when I was there, I did some work at the British and Chilean bases that ultimately were destroyed when the volcano later erupted). As well, it was nice to see the other Chilean base at which your stopped. You indeed were fortunate to have seen the Frozen Continent. I'm sorry your friend slipped and injured herself. That's never good.
Late in the season meant I could afford the trip. I'm not on a large income as a full time minister!
Chrys wrote: "I went on a typical tourist expedition cruise on the peninsula. This included a stop at Deception Island, where I did the plunge! I write a travel blog: www.travellinghopefully.co.ukOn that blog ..."
Yes, NK is out! You might never get back...look what just happened to Kim Sang-duk.
Okay...I'm outta here...have to practice the violin for my lesson on Tuesday. Talk later.
I suppose we writers can seem boring to an 'outsider' as we appear to sit and tap away at every opportunity.While that may be true, some of us have lived amazing lives by the sounds of it, which gives us something to write about!
Chrys wrote: "Late in the season meant I could afford the trip. I'm not on a large income as a full time minister!"Late in the season also mean very bad weather, but hey, it's part of the experience.
And yes, Anna, it does give us something to write about, indeed! I've met some of the most amazing people in my travels.
Thought other people might find it as useful :) Find it here: https://blog.reedsy.com/dynamic-chara...