Writing a Character

So, it turns out that for a later-in-the-semester project for one of my courses I have to give a relatively (20-minute-ish) long presentation/demonstration on something I like to do. Well, I do like to write stories…

A story is nothing without its characters.

Sure, a plot is important, and people decry the stories that have weak or nonexistant plots. The “plot hole” is the bane of many. And sure, a setting is important. It makes a difference whether your story is set on the surface of the sun or in a cave deep underground on Earth. However, that cave is uninteresting without someone (or something) to inhabit it, and that plot can’t even run without characters.

The best place to begin is with the role you want the character to fill. Say you already have a plot, and you need to come up with interesting characters to make it move. Well, that’s not exactly right. Plots and characters, in the best of situations, are interdependent; the plot is driven by its characters, and the characters are (at least in some small way) driven by the plot.

The key here is to be able to answer the question, “In this situation, how would this character react?”

Another key is not to have one-dimensional characters. It’s all well and good to imagine the “chivalrous, if slightly lecherous, swordsman/fighter/similiar job-type”. It’s a commonly used character model in today’s media… and that’s the problem with it. What’s going to make your character stand out from other characters if he or she is exactly like other characters, with only (perhaps) aesthetic differences?

The memorable characters have something unique and/or unusual about them. Consider your favorite characters. Why do you like them? I’ll take odds on them being somehow different from the ‘average’ character, even if it’s just some particularly funny quirk.

As a parting note, don’t rely too much on quirks to define your character. A character having some quirks is essential, since real human beings are very quirky, but don’t let a quirk define your character. Most times, that won’t work very well.

~ by Danielle on October 2, 2008.