Characterization

[Cia]

Well... since some of the mentors are speaking to their strengths in here, I thought I would do so as well. One of the things that has annoyed me many times as I read was the way poor word choices fail to describe the character, their actions, or their speech properly. If you have a brainy character who happens to be top of their class and they say, "We don't got a hope to save ourselves." then you're obviously not keeping the character 'in character'.

 

Another aspect of this is word choice, especially for actions. A teenager might stomp across a room or slouch but you'd expect a small child to dart or skip. An adult might stride across the room if they are a confident character or scurry if they are scared or a less dominant character. I once read a published ebook where a female character comes into a room to her remaining 2 werewolf mates after one had just been killed. She 'sauntered' into the room. Would I saunter (stroll or walk leisurely) to the remaining loves in my life when they are holding the one who died? Heck no! I'd be rushing or bursting into the room. That single word choice ruined the scene for me and made it completely unbelievable. (Yes, I know werewolves aren't real but they were in this world )

 

One of the biggest keys to creating dynamic characters, beyond keeping them in character and using proper word choices for their personality/age/role, is to consider 'status'. Your hero needs to be someone the reader can admire, respect, lust after.. That means giving them a higher 'status' than the characters around them. They need to have confident demeanors, strong word choices when it comes to the verbs you use to describe their actions. The villian also needs to have a high status, but never higher than the hero. However, one isn't always high status. A real person has people they turn to, moments of doubt... you need to create those small clues to the reader to show that the hero isn't always perfect, the villian isn't always a completely evil person, or it's just not believable. Even in fiction, we must work within the structure of what the reader will and will not accept. The perfect man or an unrelentingly evil villian? Boring and flat.

 

Some examples of sharing 'status' by word choice and character behavior:

 

"Let me go!" he shouted in anger versus "Please, let me go," he whimpered. Here, which character appears stronger, more in control? The one who is demanding release or the person who is asking to be let go?

 

Ben strode into the room and paused a moment to meet the eyes of all four men seated at the table versus Ben hurried into the room and glanced at the four men waiting at the table. Here, who seems in control? The man striding which implies a larger step and slower walk, who his taking his time to enter and deliberately meeting the eyes of the men who are at the table or the man who is hurrying, implying he shouldn't be making the men wait, and who makes only the briefest shows of eye contact? Who would you consider more dominant in each sentence, the man coming in or the men at the table?

 

Now, these examples don't always hold true. Some cultures don't consider eye contact to be confidence but rudeness. Some people consider shouting to be a loss of control, not an attempt to make yourself heard. You have to consider the culture of your characters and the setting when picking your words to highlight the character's status. Status also should be fluid. The characters should gain it as the story progresses, becoming stronger, more determined, more confident. Small setbacks can happen and should or the character won't be believable but overall, you should have a character that changes throughout the story.

 

A few examples of this can be seen in my story, Double Down. When I wrote the story I was focusing on character development, 'status' in relation to the varying protagonists and the antagonist, and the word choices I used to describe their actions and interactions. Marc, the narrating character, really changes as the story progresses and he builds himself back up with the help of the other characters.

 

Okay... so now, to your questions. Feel free to drop any in the topic here or paste in a short example if you have a character or scene you would like me to point out uses of these key elements to create more realistic characters for your stories.

[Tiger]

Cia, I have a question. I noticed that you said that characters shouldn't be completely evil. However, I can't help but think of demons. Shouldn't they be completely evil? I happen to write about demons, and they're like the epitome of evil for the most part. I have thought about adding a good half-demon though.

[Cia]

Perhaps I should clarify and say no 'human' antagonists or villians. Fantasy is a bit different. No person lives their life constantly acting evil or over the top villianish. That makes them laughable and unrealistic to readers. However, when you are creating an intrinsically evil fantasy character such as a demon you have to clearly outline that they are evil to the very core. Then you have to back that up with their actions through the story. You can't introduce any mitigating circumstances or behaviors. If you do, you're contradicting your character's nature which will make it as fake as making a human being that never has a moment of kindness or doubt.

 

There are things you can do to make your evil fantasy character still have a multi-faceted personality. Maybe they can act in a devious fashion and create harm by setting up your protagonist from behind the scenes or through someone the character should be able to trust. Then you can have another instance where the antagonist is creating outright harm and mayhem with direct violence. Both are aspects of their evil nature but showcasing it in different ways you keep them from seeming two dimensional.

[Graeme]

I've only got one quibble with Cia's post. What she says about status is very accurate - everyone has status, though the status can vary in different situations. Personally, I have high 'status' in a work environment due to experience and confidence. I have a low 'status' in a social environment because I'm naturally introverted.

 

My quibble is with the following phrase:

Your hero needs to be someone the reader can admire, respect, lust after..

'Needs' is a poor word choice in my opinion Most heroes will be like this, but there are also certainly 'heroes' who feel like average people... someone we can relate to. That includes their flaws that we don't admire or respect.

 

But the core of Cia's post is spot on - if you have a character who is supposed to be dominant, then using techniques such as she's suggested will help give the readers that impression. If a character is supposed to be unsure within themselves, her counter examples show that without having to explicitly tell the readers the fact.

[Cia]

Good point Graeme. I'm so used to my own style of fiction and reading preference (gotta love a good hero) that I discounted stories that showcase a more realistic main character. However, I think that the story I mentioned shows how I would relate that type of character. My main character slouches a lot, looks down and away from the more confident and outgoing 2nd lead protagonist who develops a type of mentor role. He gradually gains confidence in his actions and his speech as the story progresses to the point where he ends up saving the 2nd protagonist toward the end. I never make him into a gung ho muscle bound alpha male... but I do make him into a confident character who holds his own against the always dominant portrayed antagonist.

 

 

[Lugh]

actaully, about the demons... demons are all what you make them. I've read books where the demons are the ones who bring about the change BECAUSE their dark overlord wasn't dark enough or... because they were tired of being thought of as evil when all they wanted to do was fit in with the other paranormals... demons can be whiney bitches too: I mean summoning me when I'm watching the game or doing my hair? really? Hello I was enjoying -- that sulfa soak, that beating I was receiving, that human flesh of the last idiot who summoned me... really it's all in how you make them.