Last month, we considered how to create sympathetic characters—those a reader can feel an affinity for because they have desirable character traits. This month’s subject is closely related. How do we create characters who realistic and believable, even if we feel little sympathy for them? Villains must be as credible as heroes are, minor characters as realistic as protagonists. Anything less betrays a careless author.
Koontz says, “I believe very strongly that the success of a
novel hinges on good characterization as much as it hinges on good plotting. To
my way of thinking, those are the only two absolutely essential elements of
fine popular fiction. I expend a considerable percentage of my writing time in
the careful development of three-dimensional characters.”[1]
He suggests compiling a dossier on each character before you
begin to write. This detailed list of factors that have shaped the character
won’t be used in the text itself, but it’ll make you aware of attitudes and
actions that would be natural for a certain character—and which factors would
not. Scrivener™ provides a character template to help you start such a
dossier, but you could include so much more. Here are the elements of a
character dossier that Koontz recommends:
·
Physical Appearance
·
Voice and Speech
·
Movement and Gestures
·
Past Life
·
Religion
·
Sexuality
·
Vocation
·
Skills and Talents
It could include much more, of course, but these factors
will help you begin to paint a credible portrait of the person in your story.
It’ll help you maintain consistency in the way you handle that person and it
will remind you to avoid cookie-cutter character designs. No one that you know
has a cookie-cutter personality. Neither should anyone you
create on paper.
I know it takes patience to do all of the above when you're chomping at the bit to get WRITING! But character sketches ARE writing.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would add that as my characters develop and I notice a particular quirk or detail about them, I add it to the list.
I am a stickler for realistic, believable characters. Just ask my husband who must listen to me lament characters in movies/TV shows who act and react in unrealistic or uncharacteristic ways. On second thought, I'm pretty sure he's stopped listening, so asking him would yield little information. So, you'll have to take my word for it.
ReplyDelete