Characterization

Warning: Long Post Ahead

Today's post is basically a smorgasbord of the things I've learned about characterization from different classes, books, and experiences throughout the years.

For my new project (WIP2), I began with character sketches. First Draft in 30 Days gave me a worksheet to go from, but I cherry picked and added a few categories of my own.  So far, for every WIP2 character, I know all, or most of, the following things:

• Full name (and nickname if applicable)
• Birth date and place
• Role in the novel (e.g. relation to MC)
• Eye/hair color/description (careful of olive skin and almond-shaped eyes... How many times have you read those descriptions??)
• I flipped through magazines and tore out images of people (celebs, advertisement models, headshots of people randomly interviewed on the street, etc) to match with what I envisioned my characters looking like. I didn't keep them whole every time either... I used eyes from one pic, hair from another--you get my drift!
• I also did this when creating the setting sketches... SO helpful! (School, houses, bedrooms, dining rooms...)
• Any scars or other distinguishing marks
• Build & style of dress
• Mannerisms
• One note here is to avoid using clichéd mannerisms too often (biting lips, rolling eyes, etc)...
• Also--make note of the phrases or words that certain characters repeat
• Personality traits: (likes/dislikes/typical mood/hobbies/allergies/anything you can think of should be added) Also:
• How does this character view themself? Do they have any contradictions (e.g. a mother who's a slob but expects her children to keep neat rooms...)
• How does this character react to bad news? How do they function under pressure?
• How does this character react to perceived threats (physical or otherwise)
• Background (This is one of my favorite parts. I can't tell you how much it sucked to cut almost the entire first two chapters of SHATTERED when I began editing. But I had to do it because I'd started off with all backstory. It was important for me to know, but not for readers at the moment. This time I can start my new project already knowing the things I need to about my characters, so it will be easier to layer that info into the story when it's necessary.)
• Internal Conflicts (This is my absolute favorite thing so far. Each character has MORE. THAN. ONE. internal conflict.)
• What are this character's biggest fears? secrets? desires?
• External Conflicts (Who/what will get in the way of what this character wants?) I was worried about being able to flush this section out before starting the plot outline, but man did my characters ever come to life and tell me a lot more than I was expecting this early on!

Whether or not you know how things will end up when you first start writing, your main characters should have changed in some way by the end of the book. Growth is really important. In fact--I think it's what separates the good guys from the bad guys. Villains remain villains because when faced with adversity, they don't change or adapt... They don't grow.

Speaking of bad guys, I don't think they should be cruel all the way to the bone--in most cases, anyway.  You can add so much depth (ah, my favorite word these days) if you give the villains a redeeming trait or two... Maybe they take care of their feeble grandmother. Or maybe it's as small as caring for a pet fish. Or maybe they find peace each morning in a cup of tea with honey... But give them SOMETHING and their connection to the story will seem much more believable.  Also, make sure you understand WHY your villain is bad. What happened to them in life to make them the way they are today?

A lot of beginning writers (myself included if you read the above part about cutting the first two chapters of SHATTERED) make the mistake of throwing everything about their characters into the beginning of a story. While, yes, you should know your characters inside and out. Your readers? Not so much. At first anyway. Instead, unveil your characters at a more gradual pace so that each reader has a chance to form their own ideas about them. This, in turn, will create a much deeper sense of who your characters are than you ever could push through with a summary.

We're all driven by our own personal experiences, and authentic characterization follows suit.  But our characters' past experiences should be revealed to readers on a "need to know" timeline... Not in one big infodump.

Finally, characterization is a BIG part of the whole "show don't tell" principle.

• Don't tell a reader that your character is funny, allow it to come out through humorous bits of dialogue.
• Don't tell a reader that the character has a short fuse, show it in the way she slams her locker shut at the slightest teasing from her best friend.
• Don't tell a reader that your character loves his best friend, show them through his actions... In the tender way he brushes a stray strand of hair from her forehead... In the way his heart turns into a box of Mexican jumping beans when she's near. (Okay, that's cheesy, I admit it, but give me credit--this is a LONG post and I'm getting a little loopy here at the end!)

And, most of the time, you don't really need to explain characters' motives for the types of things mentioned above. Let readers draw their own assumptions based on the behaviors of the characters. Again, it will allow them to create a much deeper connection.

What areas of characterization are the most important to you? Did I leave anything out?

♥ me

Outlining 1, Sara 0

Some of you might remember this post, in which I said I'd be outlining my next project--instead of just flying by the seat of my pants, like I did with Shattered.  (If this is old news to you, feel free to skip the next two paragraphs!)

In case you're one of my newer followers here's a brief synopsis: I didn't outline my first novel, Shattered, and loved it. I've always been anti-outlining, because I just knew it stifled creativity. Even in high school when we had to outline projects, I'd write the project first and then go back and create an outline from what I'd done.

But by the time I finished Shattered, I was really frustrated with myself. I felt like it'd taken a LOT longer than it should have because there'd been weeks at a time when I'd been stumped about where (my characters wanted me) to go next--so I decided I'd try a new method for my next novel. Around that same time I stumbled across First Draft in 30 Days which goes into detail about some pretty cool ways to outline. And that's what I'm (loosely) doing now. Okay, you're caught up.

Well, in case you couldn't tell from the title of this post--whoa was I wrong about outlining cramping my creative style! (So far.)  I finished with Day 2* and I'm feeling more inspired than ever. Why? Because:

Day 1 was dedicated to developing my characters. Primary and secondary. And you know what happened? They've turned into these real people that live entire lives in my imagination.

My characters in Shattered did that too, eventually, but it would have been so. much. easier. had I known them this intimately when I first started writing. When I began editing Shattered, I had to go back and flush out most of the characters for the first few chapters--and I had to change a major part of the plot because I realized that the character it involved absolutely wouldn't have gone in the direction I had them going in... I'm now fairly confident that I won't run into the same problems with my new project.

Have I created every single character yet? Doubtful. I'm sure a few secondaries will still pop up along the way, but I can tell you here and now that I'll come back and create them through this process as soon as I become aware of their existence!

Day 2 was allotted for sketching out the settings of my new novel. Another thing I wish I'd done with Shattered. Because now I won't have to pause my writing process to think about what a certain place might look like. I know exactly what my characters' homes (and rooms and front yards, etc) look like. I know what the school looks like. I know what the... well, let me stop there before I give something too major away ;-)

Are there settings that will come up along the way that I didn't plan for yet? Absolutely. But, just like with any new characters, I will take my new settings through the same process I dragged the current ones through.

What are these "processes" I'm writing about? Well, you'll have to check back the next time I post--I promise it will be all about my characterization process! (Otherwise this post would be fairly epic in length...)

I'll leave you with this: Apparently outlining isn't just sitting down and making a roman numeral list with a timeline of things that are going to happen in the novel. (I'm not kidding, that's what I always pictured when people talked about outlining.) There's a LOT more to it, and just with the first two steps, I've already got such a well-rounded view of my new project... I've had ideas that I might never have thought about otherwise. I'm completely inspired, brimming with creativity, and can't wait to start the next section! (Plot sketches)

*I call the days Day 1, and Day 2, and so on, because that's how they're broken down in the book, but I sometimes take my time and use more than one day to complete that particular section.

♥ me

Knowing Your Characters... Inside AND Out!

An introduction to my take on conflict.

I've slowly but surely been giving thought to my new project. It's still untitled and it's still unwritten. But I have been getting to know my new characters. And, man, let me tell ya--I'm having FUN doing it!

All fun aside though, the process is teaching me about something really important. Okay, maybe "reminding me" would be a better phrase, as it's something I already knew... And I'm sure it's something you already know as well. But, for me, "knowing it" and concentrating on it? Apparently they're two completely separate things!

Characters need to have internal conflict AND external conflict. And we're talking ALL characters--main & secondary.

Because conflict adds depth. It keeps characters from coming across as cardboard cutouts.

Knowing my characters' internal and external conflicts ahead of time is helping my new plot to practically write itself. Seriously. I WISH I'd done this with Shattered! Though I came to understand what drove my characters through how they behaved with the twists and turns I threw into their lives, I think it would have been much easier to write, had I known those driving forces ahead of time.

Internal Conflict:

• Takes place in a character's mind. (Man vs. Self)
• Helps readers to identify with the character.
• Includes: Mixed emotions. Decision making.
• Includes: Longings/Desires
• Includes: Doubts

External Conflict:

• Takes place outside of a character's mind.
• Could be: A person (possibly the antagonist, but not all of the time) who stands in the way of what the character wants. (Man vs. Man)
• Could be: Weather keeping the character from what they need. (Man vs. Nature)
• Could be: Government impeding a character's actions. (Man vs. Society)

*And these lists contain just simple examples. There are a plethora of conflict options for you out there (or in there--in your crazy writer's imagination!)

Something else to think about:

Okay, that's all for today folks :-) Stay tuned for more in this series down the road... There are lots of things to learn/review/think about regarding conflict!

♥ me

Tottering Regarding Plottering

About a month ago, I came across this post of W.M.Morrell's.  She introduced me to the concepts of plotters and pantsers.  I loved it. As you can see, from the comment I left, I was (mostly) a panster for Shattered.  I loved just sitting down and letting the words stream from my fingertips.

But sometimes the stream was more of a trickle... sometimes all I found at my keyboard was a dry riverbank - with a few puddles here and there. Because I didn't know where I wanted to go next. I got stuck. There were more than a few weeks in which I didn't write anything at all.

This is why I've decided to outline my next project. (For which, by the way, I just came up with a very cool concept... more on that later)

I'm a fan of Writer's Digest books... I peruse their online shop often.  The other day I came across First Draft in 30 Days.  A few clicks of the mouse and it was delivered a couple days later. 

As I'm sure you surmised, the book offers a 30 day plan for outlining a complete novel.  Apparently, the outline should be so comprehensive that the first draft will be practically written at its completion. 

So here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to follow the 30 days plan and see where it takes me.  I'm not going to do the 30 days consecutively - it's the holiday season and my sister's here for 6 weeks!  Plus I'll be editing Shattered at the same time.  But I will blog about each day as I complete it from the schedule.

The book seems really thorough.  However, I have no clue if it really works, I haven't read reviews or heard anything about it... and don't tell me if you know one way or the other - because I'd like to go into this completely unbiased!

Wish me luck!  Day 1 will fall sometime in the next week or so :-)

♥ me