Friday, May 25, 2012

My Wig Is On Perfectly Crooked

Hey all! Today I welcome Sheri Larsen to my blog for today's installment of GPF. Sheri's one of the bloggers I've stalked the longest and I try to stop by her blog as often as I can, because of her useful and interesting posts on YA and writing. So if you haven't yet, please go visit her and say hi.

Before I leave the blog in her very capable hands, I just want to ask pretty pretty please for writers who are willing to take on the theme of Querying for June. I only have one writer left before my Fridays are blank, and it would be a tragedy, since so many people want to learn about all they can in this topic. So if you are interested, willing and able, please check out this post and contact me.

Okay, Sheri, over to you. Thanks so much for this great post!



My Wig Is On Perfectly Crooked

 



Characters can make or break the success of a story.

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where you absolutely despise one of the characters? What about the hero you just can’t bear to see lose or the underdog who’s backstory is so gut-wrenching that even if they committed murder you’d still love them?

Sure you have. We all have. But why? What makes those characters resonate with us?

A relatable, emotional connection was established by the writers and filmmakers. They were able to get you to invest yourself and stake claim in the character. And if this is done well, they will also get you to connect qualities from a character with someone in your world. It might be your mother or the dog you and your BFF used to dress up in dog clothes. Or maybe the babysitter you had when you were twelve. You might even see a bit of yourself. The possibilities are endless.

Uniqueness, an element that makes the character stand apart from others, was surely also used. Take Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. Her unique quality was her confidence and dogged opinions, which was only strengthened by the world she lived in where it was not popular to be an outspoken woman. A unique quality doesn’t have to be different in itself, just different to the other characters in your story.

Characters who make a story work are believable, flawed, and on some level emotionally jaded. Now, emotional jaded could be as simple as a character having a spider fall on her head as a young child while sleeping in a camp and developing a terrifying fear of the Arachnid. (Not that I ever experienced such an event.) Or it could travel the extremes of depression or anguish over a death, accident, or other traumatic and personal event.

The trick is to make the reader believe said character is haunted by his/her past, present, and possible future ~ whichever of these apply to your story.

How is that accomplished? Before you begin meshing the lives of your characters together in their here and now, give them – at varying degrees:

1.      A PAST worth telling and exploring. Don’t be afraid to push boundaries here. But remember, this past should help motivate the character forward in their current story world. It should help force a change.
2.      A FAÇADE worthy of description, both inwardly and outwardly. Paint a picture for the reader, but do it gradually throughout a few chapters. Nibbles always make the eater hungrier. Give them a meal, and they fill up quickly.
3.      A CHARACTERISTIC different from any other character in your story. It can be subtle or in-your-face. Play with it. Honestly, this is one of my favorite things to do, while I write.
4.      A CONFLICT that will NOT be cured within the pages of this particular story. It could be a Doritos fetish from one character that totally aggravates another character. Kind of silly, but workable, and it can add flavor to scenes.
Obviously most of this should be concentrated on your main characters, but developing secondary characters even a little can add depth to your main characters that you can use and bounce off of. And who knows, if you accomplish success with this first story you just might be asked to do a sequel. You’d have surface material on the secondary characters that you could develop more deeply.

So tip your characters’ wigs now and again. Change the color. Give them a hat of a different texture, unexpected. Make me want them to succeed or fail. If you accomplish this, either way, you’re story will be remembered.

How do you approach characterization?

Sheri Larsen is a published freelance and short story writer, and KidLit author. Her website, Writers’ Ally, is where she explores writing, children’s literature, and motherhood. She lives in Maine with her husband and four children.

14 comments:

  1. Some great info. Characterization is usually what I leave for last. It lets me get to know the characters as I put them through the mess (plot). Some great tips.

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  2. Excellent tip and a great reminder that characters need to be well-rounded in stories (at least in the authors mind) before you sit down and try to breathe life into them. Otherwise, they may not turn out the way you want them to.

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    1. Thank you, Michael, for stopping by and commenting!

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  3. A conflict not cured - I like that idea.

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    1. Haha! Can you tell I live with a bunch of teens????

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  4. Haunted by his past - what a great description. Everyone comes with baggage. Might as well use it to the max.

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  5. Great characterization tips! Introducing an unresolved conflict, especially--it adds another dimension, since few problems in reality are wrapped up nicely.

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  6. From just reading this one post I know that I am going to be busy reading through more of your previous entries. Exactly the kind of advice and help/insight I need - thank you :)

    I'm very pleased to have you join us at the hearth. I hope you enjoy our stay :)
    As for character development? I'm still very much a newbie at the writing thing, so I don't really feel qualified to comment... yet.

    Kind regards

    MK

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    1. That's great to hear, Mark. Misha has established a wonderful opportunity with these guest posts for writers to share what works for them.

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  7. Characterisation is an area I have to work hard on. I tend to saddle them with some peculiarity to distinguish them from others, but then they have to battle against it.

    Great post. Thanks.

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  8. Characters are not easy to draw and take a lot of work. Great tips!

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  9. Creating characters that are real and tangible takes work. Great advice.

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  10. I'd like to thank Misha for hosting my guest post. It was a blast to write and explore. I'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by. It's great to meet all of you. (btw - I was away for the holiday weekend at my daughter's soccer tournament. That's why I'm just getting here to comment. ;D)

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  11. Nice post and the picture is awesome.

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