Fran Shaff's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-development"
Character Creation--Putting it all Together
Even with a framework for character creation in fiction it isn't easy to build compelling fictional characters. Having a guide definitely makes the job less challenging, though.
Summarizing the character creation posts of the last few weeks:
1. To nudge inspiration, begin your character creation exercises by writing a description of a real or fictional person and embellish where necessary. (See post on 1/17/11 at cavewriter.blogspot.com)
2. Show rather than tell facts about a person. "George was stupid." vs "The teacher explained four times the process of opening a jar of peanut butter, but George still did not understand the procedure." (See post on 1/24/11 at cavewriter.)
3. Compare and contrast to fully illustrate a character fact. "He moved as fluidly as Michael Jordon executing a perfect layup." instead of "He was graceful." (See post on 1/31/11 at cavewriter.)
4. Choices characters make give readers insight into their hearts. Read the post on 2/7/11 at cavewriter.blogspot.com to see how three different people react to a bus accident.
5. Whether or not a character lives up to his belief system can tell readers volumes about who he is. The preacher and the pregnancy illustration of this in the Cavewriter post on 2/14/11 shows exactly what I mean.
6. The hearts of characters are clearly illustrated by the way they treat others. Remember the example shown in last week's post at Cavewriter regarding Melanie and Belle from "Gone with the Wind?"
These six helpful ideas in character creation should go a long way in aiding writers struggling with characters as they hammer out their stories.
These points may also inspire fresh questions in the minds of writers such as "Do I use all of these ways of building characters in all of my works of fiction?" "When do I use them?" "Do I use them on all of my characters?"
Naturally, the writer is the creator when it comes to his or her stories. When, how or if writers use these techniques is totally up to them. I would suggest, however, that it might be most effective to use the type of character illustration which best suits the scene being written.
I'd also suggest interspersing these techniques throughout the story, using the most appropriate technique for each part of the story.
One more suggestion--as writers flesh out their characters before they write a word of their stories, it might be a good idea to consider answering questions about each of the character's belief systems, life choices they've made prior to the beginning of the story, how they'd treat another person given a certain situation, and things of this nature. It's very helpful to know the characters' hearts as well as their overall personalities, their connections to other people and the way they look.
Remember, the better a writer knows her characters, the more believable they become to readers when they react in ways true to who they are as they face the challenges presented to them in the plot of the story.
Still sound complicated? As I said, character creation isn't easy, but all the work necessary in building believable characters is worth the effort. It truly is.
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
Summarizing the character creation posts of the last few weeks:
1. To nudge inspiration, begin your character creation exercises by writing a description of a real or fictional person and embellish where necessary. (See post on 1/17/11 at cavewriter.blogspot.com)
2. Show rather than tell facts about a person. "George was stupid." vs "The teacher explained four times the process of opening a jar of peanut butter, but George still did not understand the procedure." (See post on 1/24/11 at cavewriter.)
3. Compare and contrast to fully illustrate a character fact. "He moved as fluidly as Michael Jordon executing a perfect layup." instead of "He was graceful." (See post on 1/31/11 at cavewriter.)
4. Choices characters make give readers insight into their hearts. Read the post on 2/7/11 at cavewriter.blogspot.com to see how three different people react to a bus accident.
5. Whether or not a character lives up to his belief system can tell readers volumes about who he is. The preacher and the pregnancy illustration of this in the Cavewriter post on 2/14/11 shows exactly what I mean.
6. The hearts of characters are clearly illustrated by the way they treat others. Remember the example shown in last week's post at Cavewriter regarding Melanie and Belle from "Gone with the Wind?"
These six helpful ideas in character creation should go a long way in aiding writers struggling with characters as they hammer out their stories.
These points may also inspire fresh questions in the minds of writers such as "Do I use all of these ways of building characters in all of my works of fiction?" "When do I use them?" "Do I use them on all of my characters?"
Naturally, the writer is the creator when it comes to his or her stories. When, how or if writers use these techniques is totally up to them. I would suggest, however, that it might be most effective to use the type of character illustration which best suits the scene being written.
I'd also suggest interspersing these techniques throughout the story, using the most appropriate technique for each part of the story.
One more suggestion--as writers flesh out their characters before they write a word of their stories, it might be a good idea to consider answering questions about each of the character's belief systems, life choices they've made prior to the beginning of the story, how they'd treat another person given a certain situation, and things of this nature. It's very helpful to know the characters' hearts as well as their overall personalities, their connections to other people and the way they look.
Remember, the better a writer knows her characters, the more believable they become to readers when they react in ways true to who they are as they face the challenges presented to them in the plot of the story.
Still sound complicated? As I said, character creation isn't easy, but all the work necessary in building believable characters is worth the effort. It truly is.
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
Fun With Characters
Writers might disagree whether plot or characters come first when they are fleshing out a story, but they probably all agree great characters are essential to great stories.
Think about it--almost every story we remember, we remember because of the terrific characters.
Series in books, movies and television are successful because of compelling characters, in most cases. Whether the characters are vampires, detectives, cowboys, southern belles, knights, aliens or comic figures, there is something so irresistible about them we readers/viewers keep coming back for more because we love the characters a writer has created.
Here is a great example of the importance of character: the Lucy character in "I Love Lucy" was created for television back in the 1950s when TV was in its infancy. Anyone who has ever seen this series knows the story lines are virtually all the same--Lucy pulls a prank or tries to get into show business, Ricky (her husband) gets angry with her, and, in the end, they're as in love as ever, no matter what terrible thing went on between them. It isn't the cliched plots of the stories which have kept this series on television for more than six decades, it's Lucy's character. Thousands of people, maybe millions, truly "Love" Lucy.
One of the most important things a writer should keep in mind while developing his characters is this: a character should generate his or her own stories. For example, in the movie "The Pacifier" Vin Diesel plays the part of a Navy SEAL who's mission puts him in charge of the care of several children from infancy to teens. This man has NO experience with children. He is pure Navy SEAL--and he behaves like the tough guy he routinely needs to be while carrying out his usually dangerous missions.
In other words, the Diesel character stays true to who he is and he "generates his own story" just as a well-developed character should. Whatever situation a character might be in, he must react to his circumstances in a true, honest way. If he doesn't readers (and viewers) will walk away from a writer's stories.
Writers, and readers who just want to have some fun, try this exercise. Select a character or maybe a group of characters you know well, and play the "what if" game with them. Put them in unusual or challenging situations and, staying true to who these people are, let them generate their own stories according to who they are and the situation they are in.
Examples
1. What if -- cowboy Clint Eastwood found himself at a quilting bee?
2. What if -- Mickey Mouse was called to be a clergyman?
3. What if -- two or three characters (you choose which ones) from the TV series "Friends" were trapped in a gas station during a tornado with two or three characters from the "Twilight" movie series?
Fans as well as writers should have fun with an exercise like this, but writers might just also find something helpful they can use when developing characters for their next stories.
Have a great week!
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
Fran's Web Page
Think about it--almost every story we remember, we remember because of the terrific characters.
Series in books, movies and television are successful because of compelling characters, in most cases. Whether the characters are vampires, detectives, cowboys, southern belles, knights, aliens or comic figures, there is something so irresistible about them we readers/viewers keep coming back for more because we love the characters a writer has created.
Here is a great example of the importance of character: the Lucy character in "I Love Lucy" was created for television back in the 1950s when TV was in its infancy. Anyone who has ever seen this series knows the story lines are virtually all the same--Lucy pulls a prank or tries to get into show business, Ricky (her husband) gets angry with her, and, in the end, they're as in love as ever, no matter what terrible thing went on between them. It isn't the cliched plots of the stories which have kept this series on television for more than six decades, it's Lucy's character. Thousands of people, maybe millions, truly "Love" Lucy.
One of the most important things a writer should keep in mind while developing his characters is this: a character should generate his or her own stories. For example, in the movie "The Pacifier" Vin Diesel plays the part of a Navy SEAL who's mission puts him in charge of the care of several children from infancy to teens. This man has NO experience with children. He is pure Navy SEAL--and he behaves like the tough guy he routinely needs to be while carrying out his usually dangerous missions.
In other words, the Diesel character stays true to who he is and he "generates his own story" just as a well-developed character should. Whatever situation a character might be in, he must react to his circumstances in a true, honest way. If he doesn't readers (and viewers) will walk away from a writer's stories.
Writers, and readers who just want to have some fun, try this exercise. Select a character or maybe a group of characters you know well, and play the "what if" game with them. Put them in unusual or challenging situations and, staying true to who these people are, let them generate their own stories according to who they are and the situation they are in.
Examples
1. What if -- cowboy Clint Eastwood found himself at a quilting bee?
2. What if -- Mickey Mouse was called to be a clergyman?
3. What if -- two or three characters (you choose which ones) from the TV series "Friends" were trapped in a gas station during a tornado with two or three characters from the "Twilight" movie series?
Fans as well as writers should have fun with an exercise like this, but writers might just also find something helpful they can use when developing characters for their next stories.
Have a great week!
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
Fran's Web Page
