"Now what is this silly girl talking about?" you might ask.
Well... your characters, of course. For your story to work, your characters need to be realistic. By realistic, I mean they must act in a way that people do.
Which is a fun concept, because every person is different.
So how can I say characters must act like people?
Easy. People (usually the sanish ones, but the less than sane ones too) have motivations, dreams, desires. They have personalities. Complex personalities. Including quirks. And they are ruled by them.
So. Take this guy (and yes, I am aware that this will be a cliche fest):
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| Image by extranoise |
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| Image by tibchris |
He's not going to snark. He's not going to be a badass dude waiting to knife you in the back. So anything that he does and says that goes against that, has to be fixed when you edit.
Except, of course, it happens around this guy.
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| Image by xlordashx |
So if you were to write Jack's story, it's vitally important that everything that Jack does and says fits with who he is. Even the things that look like they're out of character until closer inspection.
Look out for these:
1) Moments sticking out because it isn't gelling with the rest of the scene.
2) Dialogue that doesn't suit the character.
3) A supposedly sane character looking bipolar because there's no constancy to the way he acts.
Do you get your characters to act true to who they are? What shows you that your character's "acting" is off?
Now in my novel..when putting it all together sometimes I would have the FOUR idiots saying something intelligent which was way not them. My critters always caught it, thank God.
ReplyDeleteGood post, Mish!
Shelly
http://secondhandshoesnovel.blogspot.com/
That's definitely the way to catch characters doing something out of character. A CP will catch the fault immediately, because they'll notice if something jars.
Delete:-)
A...great checklist.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. ;-)
DeleteExcellent Misha! At this point it seems to have been fairly easy to keep my characters in character. Hmmm, I wonder if that means something?
ReplyDeleteYep, means that you're strong on characterization (like me). ;-)
DeleteGreat post! This can be hard to keep straight sometimes. I had a rather uncouth and uneducated character spout out a philosophical, large worded line once and just shook my head when I realized it. It was definitely a slap yourself on the forehead kind of moment. *grin*
ReplyDeleteChecking in from the A to Z challenge. Great 'A' post, lady!
That can actually be a hilarious moment in a book, if played right, but so few people can.
DeleteGlad you picked it up, though. :-)
And that you enjoyed my post.
Very good point. Like Bish, I think my characters have stayed in character from the feedback I have been given. But it definitely is something to keep an eye on.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm lucky like that too, but issues with how characters act definitely crop up whenever I'm critting plot driven writers. :-)
DeleteSo much when I write the characters take over, and they let me know if something's not right. If a scene stalls or is really tough to write, it's usually because it's not right for that character. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI'm like that too. It's definitely something I count among my writing strengths. :-)
DeleteGlad you enjoyed my post.
Definitely something to keep an eye on. Thanks for the point to check.
ReplyDeleteGlad if you found my post useful in some way. :-)
DeleteOne thing I've noticed in some YA novels, is sometimes the 17-year-old protagonist ends up spouting off a diatribe fit for a 40-year-old. Eventually, the get back into character and finish off the novel as a 17-year-old again. I find situations like this hilarious!
ReplyDeleteNicely done!
Yeah those moments can be really funny, if the scene's not that way for a reason. Like my teens act really grown up most of the time, but for a very valid reason. :-)
DeleteInteresting observations. If I ever do write a novel,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use things like what you've said to keep me on track.
Blessings, Geoff.
If you ever write, you already have me for a potential crit partner. ;-)
DeleteGood post for making me think. Another stumbling block is setting your novel in a time-period and making sure that the slang they use (or expressions) is right for that time.
ReplyDeleteYeah slang is definitely something I get stuck on when I write my Western. So much so that I gave up and am writing it in Queens English until I can focus on only the dialogue.
DeleteYou make a very good point with this post. And if you do have a character act, well, out of character (!) you need to make sure you explain it somewhere along the line.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. Characters can and do sometimes act weird, but if there's a really good reason for it, and it's handled well, it can lead readers deeper into the story.
DeleteBut like you said, it has to be explained.
Brilliant post! It's so important to keep this in mind...and so tricky to do sometimes. Looking forward to the rest of your posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you liked it.
DeleteIt is tricky to catch this one on your own. That's why crit partners are so important.
:-)
This is a great post about consistency. There are times when, I believe, characters act--well--out of character. But it's usually driven by something in the story and within themselves that pushes them deeper into the arc.
ReplyDeleteYeah that I have no issues with. In fact, I think that if the plot is pushing them out of their comfort zone, and they don't change, they're acting wrong.
DeleteIt's so great to visit with you!!! Missed you, girl. GREAT A-Z post. It is aggravating to read a book where a character does something totally off the wall for no reason.
ReplyDeleteMissed you too.
DeleteI find it just as aggravating. That's probably why I hit on it first when I crit other people's stories. Can't see the errors in my own work. Which would be why I have so many CPs. :-)
Great pointers!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteJust yesterday I was talking about characters and consistency in terms of speech patterns and how it all fits into dialogue. I did mention that readers would think characters were unstable if their reactions and normal speech patters are too way off.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's a dead giveaway. :-)
DeleteActing something we want all our characters to do well. Sometimes we need reminders.
ReplyDeleteYep. I actually went back to my WiP and paid some closer attention to how my characters act and found that some errors had slipped in while I was looking somewhere else. :-)
DeleteI have been known to occasionally mix up the ways two characters act when they're with each other. Luckily I can usually catch it when reading aloud.
ReplyDeleteThat almost happened to me too, because two of my characters are really close. Blood brothers. So they can sometimes sound really similar. Their motivations are completely different though.
DeleteSo it's really important for me to pay attention when I work with both of them in one scene.
Love the post. I'm not a writer myself, but as a reader I have had times were characters don't act the way they are portrayed and it drives me nuts. Glad the majority out there do try not to do this.
ReplyDeleteYeah sometimes when I find errors like this in a book, I wonder how the author got past every level to publishing and still got the book published in its present state. :-/
DeleteThe moment a character acts 'out of character,' the readers spot it!
ReplyDeleteWhich is another reason why CPs and Betas are so important.
DeleteI sometimes wonder if it would be harder or easier to write a bipolar or insane character--then the swings would have to be purposeful.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! :)
The Golden Eagle
The Eagle's Aerial Perspective
Hmm. I wonder... One day we'll have to try and see?
DeleteGreat post! And such good points. I think this is one of the hardest things about writing. It's so easy to spot someone acting out of character when reading or watching someone else's work, but very hard with our own.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's my weakness. I usually can't see errors in my writing until my CPs point them out.
DeleteExcellent advice, Misha! I trust mental method-acting while writing my scenes.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to your challenge posts!
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
---Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Thank Damyanti. Method-acting is definitely the way to go when it comes to writing. :-)
DeleteGreat advice!! I use a body-language book to help with my character's "acting."
ReplyDeleteBody language is definitely a big part to the character's acts.
DeleteSUCH good advice! I love these suggestions!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked them. :-)
Delete