Characters
You Crave to Know
by
C. Hope Clark
Remember
that character you fell in love with a long time ago? The one you wanted to be
friends with, live with, maybe even marry? Without the author’s adept touch at
developing that character, you might’ve skimmed over him, or skipped him when
he spoke, or not read the book altogether.
Writing
three-dimensional characters is intentional, not accidental, and you don’t just
start writing in hope you make them appeal to a reader. So, what steps can you
take to infuse color and style into your characters to make them memorable, and
entice a reader to want more of your talent?
1)
Create a bible.
List your characters, each on a page or in
his own column on a spreadsheet, and note every defining item you could
imagine: height, weight, skin color, hair color, hair style, eye color, age,
education, birthplace, parental relationship, marital status, hobbies,
occupation, political affiliation, car, clothing preferences, dialect,
religion, favorite food, favorite music, favorite movie, favorite color, shoe
size, jewelry, and so on. Anything you’d want to know about a person you meet.
2)
Take that bible
deeper.
Take the description into their
personality and history. What is their worst fear, second worst fear, biggest
failure, biggest regret, missed opportunity, biggest success, scar, weakness,
trength, habit, quirk, deepest dream or desire, type of friend preference,
addiction, and so on.
3)
Interview the
character.
Ask the character questions, then write
his responses as he would actually speak in person. Don’t list his answers, but
instead, act as if you are transcribing his words, to include his stuttering,
cursing, uhs and ums, big words, choppy sentence, misuse of words, humor,
sarcasm, machismo, flirtation, and body language. Here you are practicing
writing his dialogue so that it comes natural later in the story. Ask him how
he likes his steak cooked, or how would he react if he came home and his house
was burgled? What does he think about his parents, or his boss at work? Think
of everyday conversations and bounce them off your players, reaching for a wide
range of reactions.
4)
Define his status.
Is your character a power figure, a
peacemaker, or subservient (follower)? What makes your character
three-dimensional is often in recognizing how they will change depending upon
the situation they step into or the other players they encounter. A sixth
grader amongst high schoolers acts entirely different than a sixth grader
around other sixth graders, or around third graders. Personality shifts depending
upon the people, places, and moments. Understand how your character would morph
as situations alter.
5)
Master dialogue.
You already have a feel for your
character’s speech patterns after interviewing him, but attempt to write your
dialogue without tags. Tags are phrases like he said, she cried, they shouted. Instead, use beats as much as
possible, showing the character’s actions, reactions, and foreshadowing. None
of us speaks with reacting to our surroundings. Covering our eyes in the sun,
talking over our shoulders, stroking a cheek, crossing our arms, pacing,
fisting our hands. When you can write a dialogue between players without tags
and still follow the conversation, you’re mastering your characters.
Check the following excerpt from Echoes of Edisto, my third book in the
Edisto Island Mystery Series, coming out in August 2016. Note there’s only one
tag in the entire excerpt yet you have no problem recognizing who speaks to
whom.
“Callie?”
Beverly caught her daughter in the hallway before Callie exited and reached the
chief. “They’re leaving a mess on my doors,” she complained, pointing at the
fingerprint technician.
Yes,
let’s worry about smudges and ignore the crime. “No other option, Mother.
They’ll take your prints as well, to rule them out of the ones they find. Just
do as they ask. And can you bring me about three aspirin?”
Beverly
held up her hands, flipping them over to analyze her nails.
“Jesus,
Mother, they aren’t here to inspect your manicure.”
Beverly
snatched her fingers closed. “I know that.”
Regardless
the genius of your plot or elaborate scheme, if the characters don’t jump off
the page, the story will fall flat. Plot does not
drive the characters. Characters drive the plot. And most of the time a reader
will thoroughly enjoy any tale . . . if the characters are remarkably
entertaining. And you cannot make them entertaining unless you write them as if
you’ve met them in person.
*****
C.
Hope Clark writes mysteries in the rural South, preferably along the coastal
Lowcountry of South Carolina. She has published two award-winning series, her
most popular being the Edisto Island Mysteries. The most recent is Edisto Jinx,
and the upcoming release is Echoes of Edisto, August 2016, by Bell Bridge
Books. Hope also founded FundsforWriters.com, a resource aiding writers seeking
to earn a living at their craft, chosen by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best
Websites for Writers for the past 15 years. Her weekly newsletter reaches
35,000 readers. She teaches at workshops, conferences, and libraries across the
country. www.fundsforwriters.com / www.chopeclark.com
*****
Give-away
Today's prize is the book The Shy Writer Reborn: An Introverted Writer's Wake-up Call
by C. Hope Clark. If you are a signed-up member of ChaBooCha, all you need to do to be entered into the drawing for this book is comment on this blog post. Winners will be selected from a random number generator on March 31st at noon (GMT).
