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TECH: Unforgettable Characters
Mar. 22nd, 2009 10:14 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mbarker.livejournal.comoriginal posting 5 February 2009
Will you remember me in the morning?
Writer's Digest, February 2006, the column on Fiction Essentials by James Scott Bell, on pages 18 to 19, suggests that you add one or more of these important traits to your lead character to make a hero that everyone will remember. "Grit, Wit, and 'It'"
Bell starts out by reminding us that John Gardner pointed out that memorable characters make memorable novels. So you want to have compelling, interesting characters. Stop and think about it -- when you think about a novel, a really great story, don't you think about the person in the middle? So what makes a character unforgettable?
Exercise? How about starting with the characters that you remember from your favorite stories. What makes them unforgettable? Is it one of these three characteristics, or is it something else? Whatever it is, think about how it was shown to you in that story. Now borrow that characteristic and that method of exposing it, and translate it into your own work in progress. Think about how your main character might display that characteristic.
And write.
when you wish upon a star . . .
Will you remember me in the morning?
Writer's Digest, February 2006, the column on Fiction Essentials by James Scott Bell, on pages 18 to 19, suggests that you add one or more of these important traits to your lead character to make a hero that everyone will remember. "Grit, Wit, and 'It'"
Bell starts out by reminding us that John Gardner pointed out that memorable characters make memorable novels. So you want to have compelling, interesting characters. Stop and think about it -- when you think about a novel, a really great story, don't you think about the person in the middle? So what makes a character unforgettable?
- Grit. Courage in the face of challenges, threats, catastrophe. When the going gets tough... and the way that characters show grit is through action. You need to set it up, and then prove it. So early in the story, there need to be some smaller challenges -- and the character can either stand up to these or give in. Then, in the climax, that's when the character really shows true grit. "Be sure to play up your character's inner battle at the time of challenge. This will add a layer of depth to the confrontation. No one except James Bond goes into battle without fear."
- Wit. Laughing with a character is good. Someone who provides you with sharp insights, often self deprecating. You can show your character making fun of him or herself early in the book. Or perhaps you want to take the edge off of some of the sentimentality? Characters with wit that the reader enjoys are hard to forget.
- It. Apparently this is an oldie, that means personal magnetism. The kind of person that walks into a room and everyone looks, either in admiration or envy. So how do you build that kind of a character? Bell suggests starting with a visual image -- find the magazine picture that fits your character. Second, take them to an imaginary party. What do the other people at the party do when your character walks in? What do they say? Third, do some foreshadowing. Have a scene early in the story where someone is drawn to the main character.
Exercise? How about starting with the characters that you remember from your favorite stories. What makes them unforgettable? Is it one of these three characteristics, or is it something else? Whatever it is, think about how it was shown to you in that story. Now borrow that characteristic and that method of exposing it, and translate it into your own work in progress. Think about how your main character might display that characteristic.
And write.
when you wish upon a star . . .
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