Writing - How to Develop Your Characters

 No, not photoshop. This was taken by one of my Facebook friends, Melissa Locklair Welch, on Anna Maria Island, not far north of Venice, where I lived for 25 years. Anna Maria is a picturesque barrier island that stretches from Sarasota north to Bradenton.

 

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Not new to FB, but always charming.

 

 

 

The following video is an eye-opener, the reaction going viral. (Someone even wrote a song about it.) The incident occurred not too far south of Venice, FL, and ended up with the loud-mouth bully charter captain in jail. Thanks to the highly graphic, revealing, and incontrovertible video, which the young man posted to social media the next day, and the @#$% hit the fan. (Ending in a charge of piracy. (You can't board someone else's boat unless invited.) 

For the "assault & piracy video" on Florida's Gulf Coast, click here.

Whatever the alleged cause, nothing excuses the egregious behavior of the charter boat captain (tarpon fishing) or of his passengers who sat there like lumps and allowed him to bully two young men—the speaker in the video, 21. (If desired, you can search for the many comments on the incident, including the statement of the North Port fire department announcing they are reviewing the inaction of one their fireman, who was on the charter boat.

Grace note:  I suspect the charter boat captain will have to fall back on a PTSD defense. 

Monday morning update (4/7/25):

The latest information:  the two young men, very much part of the Social Media Age, merely posted their video. But outcry from viewers prompted local police to arrest the captain, who has since bonded out.

 ~ * ~

 

The next two posts in Writing - How to Develop Your Characters (from Making Magic With Words) :

October 29, 2012

HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR

CHARACTERS - Creating Personalities

My personal approach to developing characters is pretty laissez-faire. I have, of course, spent some time thinking about these people and their possible problems before I even attempted to name them (as we did in Part 1). For how can I know what names are right for them if I haven't "met" them yet? That's one of the great things about being an author, we don't have to "take what we get"; we can create exactly the people we want. (Wow, if only we could do that in real life!) I guess that's why so many people enjoy the fantasy world of romance.

But beyond a general idea of my main characters' personalities, creating their names and a bit of family background, I let these people develop on their own. This, however, is not a method that works for everyone, so today I'm going to suggest some more questions you might want to ask yourself about your characters, particularly the hero, heroine, and villain (if applicable). If you wish, you can extend the same questions to your most important secondary characters.

First, a not-apocryphal tale.  
My mother, Wilma Pitchford Hays, was an author. While I was growing up, she wrote serial stories for Modern Romances, a Dell publication. We lived quite a ways from New York City, but I can recall her getting all dressed up, complete with hat and gloves, to go into the city to meet her editor. After each discussion, the editor would always escort her "upstairs" to Mr. Delacorte's office to speak for a few minutes to "the boss." (Sorry, I don't think I ever knew which Delacorte brother it was.) But according to my mother, he evidently had an appreciative eye for an attractive author!

When my mother paid my last college tuition, she switched to writing children's books (for three different age levels) and became well-known in that field. But I never forgot the story she told me when I was in high school and she was writing one of her serial romances for Dell. She said she never intended for her heroine and the two men vying for her love to all end up in a lake at the same time. The characters simply took over, and it happened, just like that. Since this was an open-ended story, where the readers got to decide which man triumphed, I expect this caused quite a stir. Did she have to drown one of the men? I don't think she ever told me that. But the concept of characters grabbing a story and running with it stuck in my mind. And it's certainly happened to me. Some days I start out intending to write A, and suddenly my fingers are typing B, or maybe something so very different I should call it XYZ.

Is this good? For me it has been. The new zig or zag always seemed to be more creative than what I'd planned. Which is why I'm an "out of the mist" writer, always willing to accommodate fresh ideas.

If, however, this new idea takes you off on a tangent not relevant to the story, then it's bad. Change your intended plot angle, change your setting, change the point of view, but never wander more than a few inches off the path of the story you're telling.

Questions you might want to ask about your characters:

1.  What makes your main character (or characters) tick? Are they tough and streetwise or sweet and innocent? Sophisticated, loud, sarcastic, a wise-guy or gal? Sly or honest? Thief or Protector? Full of humor or never cracks a smile? Arrogant or humble? Loner or People Person? Maybe a Turtle—hard outside, soft inside? A Clam (90% of the males of the species)? Or maybe a Brick—hard through and through. (If so, he'd better be the villain.)

2. What triumphs or anguish have your main characters suffered in the past? How has it affected them? (The same for the villain.)

3.  Are your hero and heroine different from the main characters in your previous books? If not, figure out how you can make this pair of main characters unique. Even if you're writing a series, you will want to add some new quirk to your primary character's personality that might not have shown up before. And you will want to provide a different set of secondary characters for your main character to play against.

4.  Have the hero and heroine met before?  If so, was it significant?

5.  Do some of the secondary characters know each other? If so, how? Do they work together, party together, study together, etc.

6.  What is the major conflict between the hero and heroine? Is it a product of their background, lifestyle, inner angst? Or are they more beset by outside forces (someone's trying to kill them)?  If you're dealing mostly with inner conflicts, you need to get inside your main characters' heads and show your readers what they are suffering, and why.

7.  What do your main characters do for a living? Even if you're writing an historical, your characters undoubtedly have a particular job they are expected to do, although that job might have been "inherited," rather than the "choice" we expect to have today.

8.  How does their job relate to their goal in the book? Do they love what they do or hate it? Are their actions in the story from a sense of duty, a need for revenge, frustration with the life they have, desperation to save someone? Or maybe save themselves. Perhaps their everyday life has nothing to do with the action of the book. This is just one more thing you need to consider. And while doing it, you might find a whole new aspect (or even a small detail) to add to your story. Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy. The jobs are different and so are the personalities required to do those jobs.

Reminder: Keep in mind that, whatever you decide, your hero and heroine must be likable. They can have faults, but the reader must be able to trust that those faults will be overcome. Even if one or both starts off perfectly obnoxious, there must be something that indicates this attitude won't last. (Kind to children, animals, his/her grandmother, gives to charity, etc.)

 

November 5, 2012

HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR
CHARACTERS - Showing Personalities

The most important lesson to be gained from this series on "How to Develop Your Characters" is:  No Cardboard Characters Allowed!

No characters taken verbatim from movies, television, or other people's books. No characters skimmed off the top of your mind without thought. (Except one-sentence walk-ons who don't really need a lot of depth.) Yes, movies, TV, or books might give you that germ of an idea, but you must take it and make it your own. Figure out who these people are, what made them who they are, and are they worthy of a place in your story?  If not, keep mining the depths of their characters until they are. Or get rid of them!

But how are you going to let your reader know what you've discovered about your characters? Are you going to sit down and write a couple of brilliant paragraphs telling us about them, as Nora Roberts told us about Tucker Longstreet in Carnal Innocence? Sadly, today's market, particularly the romance market, says, "No." There are, however, several acceptable ways to "show" readers your characters rather than "tell" us about them.

1.  Dialogue. When writing dialogue, always keep in mind the depths of your character's personality. Would he or she really say that? As the book progresses, you reveal the various characters' personalities by what they say to each other. (It's possible your character might develop to the point where you have to go back and change previous dialogue because you suddenly realize he/she "would never say that."

2.  Narration. You can use your characters' actions to reveal more about them. Do they pace the room? Run hands through their hair? Do they remain calm, even cold, poker-faced, in time of trouble. Are they strong and silent, or do they talk all the time? Do they cry, panic, run for cover? (Hm-m-m, the last is definitely not recommended for anything but secondary characters. Modern heroes and heroines are expected to be stalwart.)

3.  Introspection.  Most important, and all too easily forgotten, is Introspection. This is revealing the Point-of-View characters' thoughts through narration. [Beginning writers are urged to keep to the Point of View of Hero, Heroine, and Villain (if applicable).] It is all important for an author to get inside his/her main characters' heads and let readers see the story through their eyes. Do not stand on the outside and be a narrator! Get inside the Hero's and Heroine's heads and let us see what they see, hear what they hear, feel what they feel. This is what grabs readers' hearts and makes them care about your characters. Repeat: readers do not want you to tell the story. They want you to let your characters show them what is happening.


A Note on Villains.
I know no one who does a more evil villain than Karen Rose. I knew her before her first book was published and became an avid fan. The problem is, I had to stop reading Karen's last book. Really evil, sickly evil, villains just aren't my thing. They make me squirm. That's not why I read. But for those who do like something stronger than your usual villain, I strongly recommend reading Karen Rose's books and noting how she creates her villains. I've heard Karen speak on this subject twice now, and she has prepared herself with an excellent understanding of the inner workings of evil minds. She didn't just jump in and say, "I'm going to write a Bad Guy today."  

For those of us who prefer something less strong . . .

We still have to take the time to understand our bad guys and gals. Why would they be so mean? Is it money, jealousy, something twisted in their past? Or are they simply bad seeds? I personally prefer what I call Jack Higgins-style villains. I like to see some contrast in their personalities, something not all bad. I prefer villains who are not insane or basically evil. And I like to see an occasional villain be redeemed. As Higgins did with the villain who became the hero in a subsequent series of books. Or the German submarine commander readers liked so much he had to resurrect him!

Whatever style villain you want to write, don't make him/her skin-deep. Justify the villainy with solid motives, glimpses into his/her background, and plenty of Introspection, showing us his/her thoughts. My best villain, I believe, is in Shadowed Paradise. I was almost shocked to discover that those scenes just flowed out, needing almost no revision over the several versions of the book that have appeared before its present incarnation as an online indie pub. Truthfully, I'm still not sure where that villain came from. An excellent example of a character taking over and telling his own story!

Wind-up of “How to Develop Your Characters”

Look to friends, relatives, and not-friends for inspiration. Everywhere you go—Walmart, Target, a sports arena, national park, church, school, Disneyworld, international travel sites—keep your eyes and ears open, your imagination quivering for input. Newspapers, TV, movies, the mall, the neighborhood—pay attention! Absorb the feel. Be aware. The world around us is a gold mine of characterization. No, not copying, but catching those tiny sparks that can lead to an explosion of something new. A smile, a frown, a slouch, an accent, a burst of laughter, a baby gurgling, the guy who yells, "Bitch!" because you passed him. A political rant that makes you wince. Any and all can inspire ideas that move your characters from two-dimensional to three. That take a cardboard stereotype and turn it into someone readers can laugh and cry with, love or hate . . . and want to keep turning the pages (or flipping that button on their e-readers).

Or you can make every last bit of it up, straight out of your imagination. As long as you take the time to discover your characters and don't settle for a thin façade, it's okay to grab your characters out of the "cloud."

How to Develop Your Characters? Just plunge right in, ask the questions a good reporter must ask:  Who, What, Where, When & Why? Whether your character is good or bad, sweet or annoying, weak or strong, figure out what makes them tick. And don't forget to share the parts that are important to the story with your readers. The rest, more subtly, will take care of itself.