I am not an expert creative writer. In fact, I haven’t done much creative writing at all since I was a kid. But I have always wanted to be a novelist, and this year I have decided to do something about it. I see my 3210 class as the perfect opportunity to do so.
My students are now fully focused on their short stories (I am also going to write one), and the other day we spent class discussing how to make a great character. I think that most great literature holds our attention because of great characters. I also think that when many people (myself included) think about writing a story, they don’t think enough about characters, and they also don’t realize how vital any character they create will be to the success of their story.
As I was researching the topic of how to create a compelling character, I came across [this article]that I felt gave a pretty good pattern to follow. I adapted a bit, and this is what I came up with.
Context
Every character has to live somewhere. This point is not at the top because it is the most vital to a character (in fact, great characters would still be great characters regardless of where and when they live), but I put it at the top because I think that it helps get students into a creative frame of mind if they can start to imagine a world that their character(s) might inhabit. I have had great authors tell me that they have created a character for one story only to have that character refuse to participate until the author could find a better context for them, so context is definitely subject to change, but it’s a decent place to start.
Type
Going back to the [hero’s journey from last week], as the hero progresses through the steps of the monomyth, they will often find a cast of characters along the way. When creating a story that will follow the hero’s journey, it makes sense to identify the role of your characters while you are creating them. Is this character a sidekick, or a villian, or a messenger. Could it also possibly be a trickster or a shapeshifter.
Feeling
Now the rubber is starting to hit the road. When readers are reading about your character, what do you want them to feel? There may be no greater indicator of the success of a character than this. People may forget what your character does, but if you do your job right, they should never forget how your character makes them feel. Do you want your hero to make people feel happy, or tenderness, or rage? Do you want your villian to make people feel dread, or anxiety, or empathy? If you can nail this down, you will be moving in the right direction toward making really memorable characters.
Goal
Last night, I took my son to watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I was struck by how clearly in the first lines of the play Shakespeare clearly identifies the goals and motivations of all of the characters. This is crucial, and probably the lynchpin of all of these steps. Good characters have clear motivations. Weak characters do not. Actors are taught to identify the motivation of their characters because once they know what they are supposed to want, they will know how to act in any situation. Conflict (a crucial element of any good plot) very often revolves around an obstacle in the way of a hero’s goal. Identify the goal, and you are halfway there.
Likes and Dislikes
This is a great way to flesh out some details about your character. Everybody has things that they like and dislike. The whole Facebook ecosystem revolves around people liking things. Try thinking about if your character were creating a Facebook profile. What would they put as their interests? What kind of music would they listen to? What kind of food would they like to eat? On the other hand, what would they hate?
Unique Traits
Does your character possess some defining characteristic? The superhero genre is LOADED with examples of this, but a unique trait does not have to be a super power. Think about Don Quijote’s hat, or the awesome way that Jed Bartlett puts on his suit coat. Is there something that would make your character stand out in a crowd, or something you could use to identify him or her against an imposter?
Fears, Secrets, Weaknesses
Is there something that your character fears above all else? Do they harbor a dark secret? Do they have some kind of achilles heal? Fears and secrets are sometimes associated with goals and motivations, but not always so, and they almost always make for more compelling characters. Batman’s power comes from his childhood fear of bats. Dumbledore intrigues us because we know that he is keeping secrets from everyone. Superman is only interesting as a character because we know that kryptonite can do him in.
Think about your favorite characters from literature, film, or TV. I am sure you will be able to identify their goals, and you can also certainly identify them with a feeling. You will most likely be able to identify some of their likes and dislikes, but especially their fears, secrets, and weaknesses. They might even have some unique trait that makes them special. I guarantee that if you can answer these questions about the characters in your story, you will be on your way to creating something awesome.
I'm very interested in hearing what you all think. Am I missing something vital here? Have any of you had success teaching students how to create strong characters? Let me know. I'm in very new territory here.